The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vegetarianism and Veganism provides a forum for discussing issues around vegetarianism and veganism. The group is funded by The Vegan Society and Vegetarian for Life. The Vegan Society serves as secretariat.
How to Get Involved
We very much welcome attendees with an interest in vegetarianism, veganism, or special diets; public health; the environment; and animal welfare. Meetings will usually take the form of presentations by speakers and then a Q&A with the floor. However, parliamentarians do have priority in asking questions.
How the Group Works
We hope that meetings will be attended by a range of parliamentarians and stakeholders. Potential topics for discussion include food and medicine labelling, vegetarianism and veganism as protected beliefs, impact of diet on climate change, and institutional catering provisions. This is not an official website of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. It has not been approved by either House or its committees. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of Members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues. The views expressed in these web pages are those of the group.
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Previous Meetings
Planting value in the food system
Recent years have seen a dramatic change in attitudes about the role of animals in our food system. While those following vegan or vegetarian diet remain a minority, there is a growing acknowledgement and understanding of the harms caused by the mass farming of animals.
Research from the United Nations Development Programme and the University of Oxford found that 43% of the UK public would support policies to promote plant-based diets as a climate solution[1]. This suggests that support for political leadership in this area goes well beyond the current willingness or ability of individuals to drive change through dietary choices alone.
But challenges in the food system, such as the treatment of animals or the climate impact of animal products, cannot be seen in isolation. The food system reaches into many aspects of our lives: it is a key determinant of health, a major driver of climate change and habitat loss, a large sector of the economy and source of employment, and also a repository of deeply held social and cultural values.
The UK’s National Food Strategy (Part 2 due to be published this summer) is based on the idea that fixing problems in the food system requires joined up thinking. This idea of a coherent food policy designed to address multiple objectives – rather than one at the expense of others – is the starting point of a new piece of research commissioned by The Vegan Society, Planting Value in the Food System.
In this meeting we will be joined by the report’s author, Dr Alex Lockwood from the University of Sunderland; The Vegan Society’s CEO Louise Davies; Dr Helen Harwatt, a senior research fellow in the Energy, Environment and Resources programme at Chatham House; and Alexandra Clarke, an advisor at Veg Capital.
We’ll be asking: What should vegans and vegetarians hope for from the National Food Strategy? What do we want the food system of the future to look like? And what changes are needed to move it in the right direction?
Joint letter to Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, from the officers of the APPG
Documents from the meeting
Out of the EU, can the UK now lead on more inclusive medicine development and labelling?
Documents from the meeting
Joint letters to George Eustice, Secretary of State for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and Robert Jenrick, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities & Local Government, from the officers of the APPG
Documents from the meeting
Is food security an issue for vegetarians and vegans?
Veganism in the workplace
Documents from the meeting
Inquiry: Respect for religious and philosophical beliefs while eating in care
Documents from the meeting
Veggie Vurger, anyone? EU proposal to restrict plant-based descriptions
Documents from the meeting
Eating away at climate change with negative emissions: Repurposing UK agricultural land to meet climate goals
A celebration of the growth of veganism and the vegan market
Joint letter to Minister for Women and Equalities, Penny Mordaunt, from the officers of the APPG
Documents from the meeting
Public procurement: do public authorities have a duty to supply vegan food?
Documents from the meeting
Joint letter to Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Michael Gove, from the officers of the APPG
Documents from the meeting
A celebration of the growth of veganism and the vegan market
Annual General Meeting Jul 2017
Institutional catering provisions for vegetarians and vegans
Documents from the meeting
Joint letter to Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, from the officers of the APPG
Documents from the meeting
Annual General Meeting Jan 2017
What does Brexit mean for vegetarians and vegans?
Documents from the meeting
- Stephen Pugh: the future of guidance for vegetarian and vegan labelling (PowerPoint)
- Stephen Pugh: the future of guidance for vegetarian and vegan labelling (notes)
- Dr Kinesh Patel: labelling of medicines with 'lifestyle choices'
- Jeanette Rowley: veganism as a protected belief (PowerPoint)
- Jeanette Rowley: veganism as a protected belief (notes)