May 26th 2021, the Parliamentary League for the Promotion of Vegetarianism and Veganism, commonly known as the Veg League, convened.
The Veg League was started in November 2019 to improve Japan’s capacity for providing for vegans and vegetarians. Check out this article to learn more about the start.
The main topic for this meeting was the project for government-issued vegan and vegetarian marks, overseen by the Ministry of Agriculture. This labelling project was started at the urgings of the Japanese Vegetarian Society.
Although at first glance this may seem like a good opportunity for the government to get involved with veganism, in actuality, the proposed policy will greatly restrict the vegan market. Some examples of how the proposed standards will be too stringent for companies and restaurants to meet include having to store any ingredients in different fridges, separate from non-vegan ingredients, and having to do a chemical wash on all facilities used in making the products rather than the standard washing procedure. Furthermore, even if a company or restaurant does not want the government vegan mark, they must fulfill these standards in order to even label their product as “vegan” or “vegetarian.” This will discourage such groups from coming out with vegan and vegetarian products.
Veganism means to avoid the use of animals as far as practicable and possible, and is not always a black and white situation. That is why countries, including Japan, have each come to the local definition veganism through the work of individuals, companies, and non-profits.
In this context, it doesn’t make sense, and is deeply troubling to the future of veganism in Japan, for the country to legally enforce a standard that is far more strict than what the average vegan or vegetarian does in practice, and without input from the vegan community at large.
Veganism in Japan has only just started growing. Here at VegeProject we are contacted almost daily regarding our vegan certification mark, which is growing as the most commonly used certification mark domestically. We expect the positive trend here to continue as more consumers have awareness regarding the environment, animals, and their health, and as more companies hope to shift to sustainable ventures.
While there is no issue with the government coming out with their own, strict vegan certification, it becomes a problem when they require everyone else to fulfill that strict standard, and even go so far as to require how vegan analogue products can market themselves.
At the May 26th meeting, various opinions regarding the government vegan mark were exchanged, and VegeProject, along with Tokyo Vegan Meetup, The Japan Vegan Society, and Plant-based Japan Inc., expressed the concerns described above.
Regarding this current policy issue, several parliamentary members worked hard to create a policy that will allow veganism to flourish in Japan, and we are thankful for their tireless efforts. We have shared those advocates in this article so that the citizenry can be informed as to which politicians will work to protect animals.
Vegetarian and vegan initiatives should promote the protection of the environment, animals, and human beings. We hope in the future that we can see such initiatives from the government that will effectively promote those values.