VegFest best practices
Vegan Society of Canada News
Published
June
16th
2018
Updated
July
21st
2022
To avoid confusion and recent problems at some VegFest here are some best practices to follow. While all this seems logical it can easily be overlooked in the chaos of event planning.
- If your VegFest is only allowing 100% vegan certified products make this clear.
- If certification is required, be clear on which ones are allowed. Right now vegan certification is the new green rush and is akin to the wild west with organizations certifying something vegan that we would not.
- If no certification is required do not assume that everyone has the same meaning of what is vegan certifiable and what is not, since certifying organizations have some disagreement individuals do as well. Be clear on what will and will not be allowed. As more and more vegan certified products become available less and less people who sell them are interested or familiar in the vegan philosophy. Do not assume that vendors know what is the vegan philosophy or what constitutes a vegan certifiable product.
- If your VegFest will allow the exploitation of animals, for example by encouraging directly or indirectly the slavery or slavery-like conditions of animals, the animal testing loophole, or non-human animal workers, be clear about it. Furthermore, your VegFest will not be eligible for any support by us.
- Will vendors selling both vegan certifiable and non vegan certifiable items be allowed? If so, have clear rules on how this will happen. Once again here do not assume that vendors are familiar or interested in the vegan philosophy. While it might be clear or logical to you it might not be to others.
- Have color codes if the VegFest will have non vegan certifiable products.
- Be readily available to support your vendor who might have questions.
- Communicate clearly to event goers on all the above points so there are no surprises.
