Vegetarian Society

Relations between the Society in Manchester and the London branch were strained by disagreements over the definition of vegetarianism also known as the London Vegetarian Association. After this, the Vegetarian Society was often called the Manchester Vegetarian Society (MVS). In 1920, the MVS hosted a summer school at Arnold House, Llanddulas, with around 70 attendees each week. Both societies organised holidays and outings for vegetarians, and the MVS's May meetings remained annual events after World War II.

Meat rations during the war were small, to increase the food supply. Many meals were vegetarian, and the government promoted vegetarian recipes. The population ate more cereals and vegetables, and less meat. Many people retained wartime eating habits after the war. There was also public interest in nutrition and diet, and the effects of eating less meat.

Reunification

In the 1950s and 1960s, the MVS and LVS began working together, with calls for unification. In 1958, their magazines combined to become The British Vegetarian. They reunited in 1969 as the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom. In 1986, it introduced a scheme allowing manufacturers to use the logo on foods that met its vegetarian guidelines. McCartney became a patron of the society in the same year.

21st century

The Vegetarian Society Awards began in 2001 and recognised businesses and services for vegetarians in the United Kingdom. The first ceremony took place at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, with later events at the Waldorf Hotel and the Magic Circle headquarters. These early events were open to members and the public, and included fundraising activities such as celebrity auctions and raffles, with prizes donated by vegetarian-friendly companies.

In 2003, the Society launched a "Fishconception" campaign after a survey found that many restaurants, canteens, and hospitals mistakenly believed that vegetarians eat fish. The campaign sought to correct this misconception and advise the catering industry on vegetarian standards.

In 2017, the Vegetarian Society launched Veggie Lotto, described as the first vegetarian and vegan lottery in the United Kingdom. Tickets are priced at £1, with 50p allocated to the Society. Funds raised support training for caterers, free courses for community groups and vulnerable people, and the promotion of vegetarian and vegan food.

Historian Ina Zweiniger-Bargielowska has written that "against the background of growing concern about the environment, animal rights, and food safety the society has flourished in recent decades."

In 2024, the Vegetarian Society announced a rebrand. It adopted a new logo, magazine branding and website. In the same year, the Society moved its head office to Ancoats, Manchester. In 2025, the Vegetarian Society opened COOK in the former Ancoats electricity sub-station as a cooking centre, supper club, and event space.

Publications

thumb|Title page of the first volume of the Vegetarian Messenger (1849)

The Vegetarian Society has issued several periodicals since its founding. Its first was William Horsell's The Vegetarian Advocate (1848–1850). Its current membership magazine, The Pod, is published three times a year.

During the 1870s and 1880s, contributors to The Dietetic Reformer and Vegetarian Messenger often used biological evolution in their arguments, interpreting it through a teleological lens to support vegetarian ideas.

Women including Dr Anna Kingsford (1846–1888), Dr Frances Hoggan (1843–1927), Annie Besant (1847–1933), Chandos Leigh Hunt Wallace (1854–1927), and Beatrice Lindsay lectured on vegetarianism, and their names and work appeared regularly in The Vegetarian Messenger. In 1885, Lindsay, a graduate of Girton College, Cambridge, became the first woman to edit the Society's journal, then titled The Dietetic Reformer and Vegetarian Messenger.

Presidents

{| class="wikitable"

|1847–1859 || James Simpson

|1859–1870 || William Harvey

|1911–1913 || William E. A. Axon

|1914–1933|| Ernest Bell

|1933–1938||Peter Freeman

|1960–1987||Gordon Latto

|1987–1989

|Isabel Wilson

|1990–1994

|Neville Hall

|1994–1996

|Kathy Silk

|1996–1997

|Brian Feast

|1999–2005

|Maxwell G. Lee

Patrons

The Vegetarian Society has had several patrons. Rose Elliot, who became a patron in 2002, is the author of more than fifty vegetarian cookbooks and received an MBE in 1999. Actor Jerome Flynn became a patron after adopting a vegetarian lifestyle at 18. Musician Paul McCartney and his late wife Linda became patrons in 1995. Fashion designer Stella McCartney and photographer Mary McCartney joined their parents as patrons. Television presenter Wendy Turner-Webster, a vegan, became a patron in 2004.

References

External links

National Vegetarian Week
The Vegetarian Messenger