International Vegetarian Union (IVU)
IVU logo
About IVU

IVU is a growing global network of independent organizations which are promoting veg'ism worldwide

Origins

IVU was founded in 1908 in Dresden, Germany. The idea came from the French Vegetarian Society, the first Congress was organised internationally by the British Society and locally by the Dresden Society with support from the Deutsche Vegetarier-Bund. Since then a series of World Veg Congresses have been held on most continents and, in 2008 IVU returned to Dresden for the Centenary 38th Congress. See the list on the right and full details at The History of IVU. From 2012 this major global event has been renamed the 'IVU World Vegfest'.

Membership

IVU is a non-profit making organisation.

  • Full Membership is open to any non-profit organisation whose primary purpose is to promote vegetarianism and is governed exclusively by vegetarians.
  • Associate Membership is open to any non-profit organisation which advocates vegetarianism.
  • A Supporter of IVU may be any individual, family or organisation that supports the aims and objectives of IVU, regardless of whether they are vegetarian or not.
 

IVU defines vegetarianism as a diet of foods derived from plants, with or without dairy products, eggs, and/or honey.

  • IVU recommends a diet of foods derived entirely from plants, as the only way to provide full benefit for animals, people and the environment.
  • IVU does not promote the use of any animal products but understands that many vegetarians include dairy products, eggs or honey in their diets.
  • IVU includes all types of vegetarian/vegan organisations in its worldwide membership and treats everyone with equal respect and without discrimination (more below).

By way of background:

  1. We now know that the first people to call themselves 'vegetarian', in England around 1840, used food entirely derived from plants.
  2. Since 1847, the world's first Vegetarian Society, in the UK, has consistently defined 'vegetarian' as 'with or without' eggs or dairy products. This is still the most common understanding in the West, those using both being known in full as ovo-lacto-vegetarians.
  3. From the late 19th Century, in India the word 'vegetarian' has become commonly attached to the traditional Hindu/Jain diet, which is 'with dairy' but 'without eggs' (lacto-vegetarian). This understanding is used by many ethnic Indians around the world.
  4. From the late 20th century, the majority of organisations in North America that call themselves 'vegetarian' have been promoting a diet of foods entirely derived from plants (ie without dairy products/eggs). Since it was founded in 1974 the North American Vegetarian Society has referred to this as 'total vegetarian'.
  5. From the outset of the 21st century, IVU has promoted vegetarianism without either dairy products or eggs, whilst understanding that some member organisations take a different approach.

For further background see 'Definitions' in the FAQ

Objectives

The aim of the IVU is to promote vegetarianism throughout the world. In order to achieve this aim the main objectives are:

  • To encourage the formation of local, national and regional vegetarian organisations, and co-operation between them.
  • To promote both World and Regional Vegetarian Congresses to publicise and develop interest in the vegetarian cause and to give opportunities for vegetarians to meet together.
  • To raise funds to support member societies wherever possible.
  • To encourage research into all aspects of vegetarianism and the collection and publication, in all media, of material on all aspects of vegetarianism, by IVU itself and by all member societies.
  • To represent the vegetarian cause on appropriate international bodies and to speak on behalf of the global cause when appropriate.

The affairs of IVU are governed by its member organizations through email ballots. Between ballots IVU is managed by the International Council (see below), which is elected by the members organizations, with the addition of co-opted Regional Representatives .

The International Vegetarian Union is a "not-for-profit" company limited by guarantee and registered in the United Kingdom, (Reg No 4213430). The registered office is Parkdale, Dunham Road, Cheshire, WA14 4QG, UK.
The above address is the office of the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom and IVU is grateful to VSUK for the use of their address for registration purposes.

World Veg Congress Venues

  1. 1908 Dresden, Germany
  2. 1909 Manchester, England
  3. 1910 Brussels, Belgium
  4. 1913 The Hague, The Netherlands
  5. 1923 Stockholm, Sweden
  6. 1926 London, England
  7. 1929 Steinschönau, Czechoslovakia
  8. 1932 Berlin/Hamburg, Germany
  9. 1935 Daugaard, Denmark
  10. 1938 Hurdals Verk, Norway
  11. 1947 Stonehouse, England
  12. 1950 Oosterbeck, The Netherlands
  13. 1953 Sigtuna, Sweden
  14. 1955 Paris, France
  15. 1957 Delhi/Bombay/Madras, India
  16. 1960 Hannover/Hamburg, Germany
  17. 1963 Barcelona, Spain
  18. 1965 Swanwick, England
  19. 1967 Delhi/Bombay/Madras, India
  20. 1969 Jerusalem, Israel
  21. 1971 The Hague, The Netherlands
  22. 1973 Ronneby Brunn, Sweden
  23. 1975 Maine, USA
  24. 1977 Delhi / Bombay / Calcutta / Madras, India
  25. 1979 Loughborough, England
  26. 1982 Neu-Ulm, Germany
  27. 1984 Baltimore, USA
  28. 1986 Dubrovnik, Yugoslavia
  29. 1990 Tel Aviv, Israel
  30. 1993 Madras, India
  31. 1994 The Hague, The Netherlands
  32. 1996 Johnstown, PA, USA
  33. 1999 Chiang Mai, Thailand
  34. 2000 Toronto, Canada
  35. 2002 Edinburgh, Scotland
  36. 2004 Florianópolis, Brazil
  37. 2006 Goa, India
  38. 2008 Dresden, Germany
  39. 2010 Jakarta/Bali, Indonesia

From 2012 the event has been renamed 'IVU World Vegfest' and is held annually. For full details of the 40th onwards, see: www.worldvegfest.org

History of the IVU Regions and Regional Events