Vegan Society The logo of the Vegan Society The Vegan Society is a registered charity in the United Kingdom , promoting veganism . Founded in Britain on November 1 , 1944 , by Donald Watson , it was the first ever vegan society , in the process coining the word vegan for `` non-dairy vegetarians `` . The word has since passed into common usage and is used now in a variety of ways . See Veganism for more information . The date of the society 's founding , November 1st , is now celebrated annually as World Vegan Day . Activities Information - e.g. the website , leaflets , books , videos Support - network of local contacts Licenses its trademarked Sunflower symbol to companies - for the labelling of vegan products Publishes The Vegan - a quarterly magazine sent free to members of the society Publishes the Animal-Free Shopper - a list of vegan items available in the UK ( updated every two years or so ) Movement for Compassionate Living A 'breakaway ' group from the Vegan Society , The Movement for Compassionate Living was founded in 1984 by former VS secretary Kathleen Jannaway . External links The Vegan Society First issue of the Vegan Society newsletter Categories : Vegetarianism | Veganism In other languages : Deutsch | Русский 