Vegan Australia

There is currently a growing movement to create a strong, active national vegan organisation in Australia. This page discusses some of these issues. We welcome all comments, suggestions and offers of help. Please email info@vegansocietynsw.com.

Currently Australia does not have an active national vegan organisation. The committee of the Vegan Society NSW has recognised the need for a national body to better represent vegans and to promote veganism in Australia. Its main goal would be to bring the vegan message to the broader Australian public.
Some suggestions for discussion regarding a national vegan organisation:

act as a national voice for vegans in Australia
bring the vegan message to the general public
be a strong voice for veganism
name to be Vegan Australia
a legal identity as an incorporated non-profit
a democratic organisation with decisions made by members
liaise with media via press releases and statements on current issues
access experts in various fields to speak to the media as issues arise
build a media rapid-response capacity, both in identifying relevant issues and in responding to them in detail
raise awareness within the media of vegan issues
become known by the media as a reliable source
counter the propaganda of the meat and dairy industries and environment agencies ignoring the impact on the environment
lobby political parties to adopt vegan policies
make representations to government bodies, such as agriculture, health and environment departments
target members of parliament and department heads with vegan material
carry out vegan publicity campaigns on the Internet, billboards, radio, TV, newspapers to normalise the public view of veganism
create expert advisory boards with both local and international members, covering such areas as rights, nutrition, food, health, legal, environment, fitness, youth, etc
maintain a quality website which promotes veganism to the general public (in terms of animals, health, environment, social equality)
website to also provide useful support for new and existing vegans and vegan groups around Australia
make good use of social and other media (as does GetUp)
hold vegan festivals, conferences and film festivals throughout Australia
encourage formation of regional branches and special interest groups
service regional vegan groups in organising and promoting events
support other vegan groups with resources such as website and event handling
publish vegan material (pamphlets, videos, etc) for distribution though stalls and other groups
publish a quality quarterly vegan magazine
promote only vegan products and services
resell vegan, animal rights, etc books
youth outreach
educational courses for new vegans
campaign suggestions: quality vegan food to be available at all government functions, healthy vegan school lunches, student vegan essay competition, anti discrimination against vegans in health institutions and prisons, TAFE courses in catering to cover catering for vegans, a legal definition of the word vegan, mandatory vegan information on nutrition information labels, a dietary preference question in the census
funds to come from vegan activists, existing organisations and membership fees
rename Vegan Society NSW to Vegan Australia
anything else??

We are very excited about the possibility of having a focussed, media-savvy organisation dedicated to getting the vegan message out there, for the sake of the animals, the planet and ourselves.

The Vegan Society NSW committee