Vegetarian And Vegan Symbols, And Their Meanings🌱

This article covers some of the vegetarian and vegan symbols and what they mean.

There are many different vegetarian and vegan symbols out there. The most popular is probably the V, with a leaf, which you see on menus, products and even logos. Although, there are also many others, with different meanings.

Here’s a quick overview of the different symbols and what they are used for.

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V-Label with a leaf

One of the most popular symbols for veganism is a “V”, with a leaf. It can be made in varies ways, and there are some examples above. The V can be made of leaves or simply have a leaf, but the combination of leaves and the letter V, is generally considered a vegan symbol.

You can find many examples of this online. Many blogs, businesses, websites, including this, use logos with this symbolism. Of cause, this symbol is popular because it’s a combination of V, which is the first letter of vegan, and a leaf, which represents the lifestyle. Specifically the green lifestyle that vegans adhere to.

Vegetarians can also use this symbolism, although not quite as popular. Vegetarianism is a diet rather than a lifestyle, so the leaf in that case represents the diet. -As there is generally quite a lot of fruits and vegetables in a vegetarian diet.

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Enclosed V Symbol

Many vegans use an enclosed V symbol to represent their lifestyle. You often find this in bios, posts, and forums, with vegans. Some vegan blogs and websites may also use this for their logo, although some non-vegan corporations do as well.

So this symbol does necessarily represent veganism. After all, it’s just a V in a circle, and someone unfamiliar with the vegan lifestyle, can freely use it. That’s also why this vegan symbol is not used on food packaging or as an indication for plant-based.

Symbols like the V with a leaf is often used to describe that a product or restaurant is vegan, but this symbol is rarely. Likely because it’s a highly generic symbol, so it’s hard to make it only represent veganism or vegetarianism.

Enclosed V Symbol Unicode

There is a really good reason that this particular symbol has gained so much popularity. That’s because it’s also something called a Unicode. Meaning a specific code that most computers and software recognize as a symbol, in this case.

Here's an example of the Unicode:  Ⓥ 

The Unicode for this vegan symbol is (U+24CB ) and pasting this should yield the desired symbol. You can use it on many different social media as well.

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Animal Liberation Front

There are many different vegan symbols out there. Some are very subtle, while others represent the fight for animal liberation. One such vegan symbol is from the Animal Liberation Front.

The initials of the Animal Liberation Front can be found in the symbol. You may notice the big A with a smaller L and F inside it. This goes to show that vegan symbols can be anything, as long as represents the lifestyle.

Logos like these are made to represent the fight for freedom, and you may notice that it looks very similar to the anarchy symbol. You can see the Anarchy Symbol below.

The Anarchy symbol represents class struggle and the Animal Liberation Front is actually quite similar in that regard. They seek to free animals from their chains, like anarchists do for the workers.

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Vegan Symbol On Food And Products

There are many different symbols in use for labeling vegan foods. Some companies even make their own vegan logos. These are almost always safe for vegans, as companies can’t lie about the contents of their products. That being said, it’s not exactly certified by external corporations. For that, you need vegan certified products.

One example of a vegan certified symbol is the one from vegan.org. This specific vegan symbol ensures that the product is free from animal products, byproducts, and animal testing. -Everything ensured by an external organization, making the label even more trustworthy.

The vegan symbol, from vegan.org, is very common on food. One great way of finding new vegan products is to look for this logo. Take a look at this Amazon search.

That’s probably the most well-known vegan certified symbol, used by over a 1000 companies. Although, there are more, many of which are very reliable.

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Symbol For Vegetarian And Vegan On Menu

There is not a specific vegan symbol for vegetarian and vegan manu items. Many menus have a small leaf besides all their vegan products. Other menus have vegan and vegetarian sections, while some don’t even disclose it.

It’s always best to ask your waiter which menu items are vegan. This decreases the risk of misunderstandings and may yield some great recommendations! There is no shame in asking waiters about vegan items, even though some vegans think it’s embarrassing.

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Seedling Emoji – As A Vegan Symbol

We love Emojis. They are everywhere and chances are that you use them every day, texting friends, writing posts, or to express your feelings in some way. Emojis are great for just that, expressing meanings and feelings, which we all know.

For example, the eggplant emoji has gained… a different meaning then was intended. You probably know what I’m talking about, if not, ask someone who uses social media a lot. The same is true for the Seedling Emoji, although for a whole other reason.

Here is an example of the Seedling Emoji: ????

The Seedling Emoji is one of the most popular symbols to represent vegan or vegetarianism. There are no rules specifically as to whether it’s vegan or vegetarian to use it. Although, it does represent living a green and humane lifestyle.

You may not have noticed this before, but now that you know, you’ll probably notice it a lot. Many vegans and vegetarians use this symbol often when discussing the lifestyle. Just know that none of these diet groups own this symbol, it’s merely something that occurred. Exactly like the eggplant Emoji.

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Conclusion

These are just some of the most common vegetarian and vegan symbols. However, many of the others are based around the same theme. Especially the V with a leaf, or simply a green V, is quite common -and has many versions.

That being said, these are not always an indication of something being vegan. So it’s a good idea to ask about a certain symbol if you are not sure. Especially when buying products or food at a restaurant.