ProVeg SA
ProVeg South Africa, formerly Vegilicious
July 1, 2018
ProVeg South Africa is the first African chapter of ProVeg International, merging with the Cape Town-based organisation Vegilicious to widen its footprint.
With its small beginnings as a student project at the University of Cape Town’s Green Campus Initiative in 2011, Vegilicious grew in its capacity and scope as a vegan advocacy organisation. Its director, Donovan Will, and founder, Muriel Argent have now joined ProVeg International to rebrand Vegilicious and open the first Africa chapter of the organisation, at the southernmost tip of the continent.
The decision to join ProVeg International was made easy by the fact that the philosophy of Vegilicious’s advocacy work was very much in alignment with the mission and vision of ProVeg: Vegilicious made a point of using delicious vegan food as a conversation-opener, and positive language that speaks to the “pros” of a plant-based diet (instead of “shaming” language that speaks of the harm caused by animal-based diets).
ProVeg (which was born out of VEBU – the German “veg” society) has almost 150 years of experience in the vegan food awareness and advocacy space, and is expanding globally with chapters in Germany, the UK, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, South Africa, and more to expansions underway.
The ProVeg vision is a world where everyone chooses delicious and healthy food that is good for all humans, animals, and our planet. Their mission is to reduce the global consumption of animals by 50% by the year 2040. Many of the world’s most urgent problems share a common cause: our food choices. ProVeg International is the first internationally recognised organisation that is dedicated to raising awareness of how we can tackle these problems through diet: so that our food choices can become a multi-problem solution.
By joining ProVeg International, our team aims to significantly increase the scope of our advocacy, and introduce larger national and international campaigns to the South African vegan movement. With the backing of an international organisation with a proven track record, we’ll have a stronger voice when we engage with the food industry and government. Collaboration between countries will also give us more opportunities for knowledge-sharing, and we’ll be able to expand successful campaigns across a larger area.
Written by Muriel Argent for ProVeg South Africa