North American Vegetarian Society

The North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS) is a charity and activist organization with the stated objectives of supporting vegetarians and informing the public about the benefits of vegetarianism.[3]

North American Vegetarian Society
EIN 23-7399322 [1]
Legal status501(c) organization[1]
HeadquartersDolgeville, New York[1]
President, Treasurer
Sharon Graff[2]
Websitenavs-online.org

It was initially founded in 1974 to organize the International Vegetarian Union's 1975 World Vegetarian Congress in Orono, Maine, which has been called the most significant event of the vegetarian movement in the United States in the 20th century.[4]

In 1977, the organization started an annual event, World Vegetarian Day.[5] The following year the International Vegetarian Union joined in holding the event.[6][7] The event is celebrated October 1 of each year and kicks off a month-long event, Vegetarian Awareness Month, which ends November 1 with World Vegan Day.[7][8]

Vegan Hall of Fame

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NAVS initiated the Vegetarian Hall of Fame (now the Vegan Hall of Fame) in 1990, which has enshrined 33 activists.[9]

Vegan Hall of Fame members[9]
Name Known for Year of award
Freya Dinshah American Vegan Society 1990
H. Jay Dinshah American Vegan Society 1990
Helen Nearing Simple living advocate and vegetarian 1991
Scott Nearing Simple living advocate and vegetarian 1991
Michael Klaper Vegan family doctor and author 1992
Paul Obis Founder and editor of Vegetarian Times 1994
Mahatma Gandhi Indian independence advocate and vegetarian 1995
Alex Hershaft Co-founder and president of Farm Animal Rights Movement 1998
Howard Lyman Livestock farmer turned vegan, a vegan and animal rights activist 2002
Richard H. Schwartz Professor of mathematics, president of Jewish Veg 2005
T. Colin Campbell Professor of nutritional biochemistry and advocate of a plant-based diet 2006
Brenda Davis Registered dietitian and author 2007
Joanne Stepaniak Author of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks 2008
Caldwell Esselstyn Cardiologist, Olympic gold medalist, vegan 2010
Neal D. Barnard Founding president of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine 2011
Hans Diehl Physician and plant-based nutrition author 2015
Miyoko Schinner Founder of vegan cheese producer Miyoko's Creamery 2016
Michael Greger Physician and plant-based nutrition author 2019
Kim A. Williams Sr., MD Dr. Williams is a vegan cardiologist who promotes plant-based eating for better heart health. 2023
Victoria Moran Victoria Moran is a bestselling author, speaker, spiritual adventurer, animal advocate, aspiring yogi and founder of Main Street Vegan Academy.[10] 2024
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Since 1974, the NAVS has run an annual vegetarian summer conference[11] - originally for 9–10 days encompassing two full weekends, on a college or university campus (often in Pennsylvania). In 199x the summer conference's name was changed to NAVS Vegetarian Summerfest (with all vegan meals). In 2019, the name was changed to NAVS Vegan Summerfest. During this now 5-day event, the inductee for the Vegan Hall of Fame is announced and celebrated.[citation needed] The most frequent Summerfest site is the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown (UPJ) in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. In 1996, the World Vegetarian Congress was held simultaneously with the NAVS Vegetarian Summerfest, in Johnstown.[citation needed] Three international vegetarian conferences have been held simultaneously with the NAVS Vegan Summerfests.[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "IRS file". Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  2. ^ "Board of Trustees & Officers | NAVS". North American Vegetarian Society. Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  3. ^ "NAVS Programs | Vegetarian Summerfest | World Vegetarian Day". North American Vegetarian Society. Archived from the original on 2021-10-09. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  4. ^ Kamila, Avery Yale (2020-08-16). "Vegan Kitchen: Exactly 45 years ago, Maine hosted a historic 2-week conference for vegetarians". Press Herald. Archived from the original on 2020-08-16. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  5. ^ "Happy World Vegetarian Day!". International Business Times. September 30, 2015. Archived from the original on September 26, 2023. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  6. ^ Edwards, Phil (2015-10-01). "The nudists, doctors, and true believers who built vegetarianism". Vox Media. Archived from the original on 2024-01-28. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  7. ^ a b Banerjee, Niharika (1 October 2018). "World Vegetarian Day: Celebrating A Plant-Based Diet On October 1". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  8. ^ "Celebrate World Vegetarian Day At One Of Sacramento's Top Establishments For Veggie Delights". 2018-09-28. Archived from the original on 2021-08-13. Retrieved 2021-08-13.
  9. ^ a b "Vegetarian Hall of Fame". North American Vegetarian Society. Archived from the original on 2019-04-13. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  10. ^ Victoria Moran: 2024 Vegan Hall of Fame Award. Compassion Consortium. Retrieved 11/06/2024.
  11. ^ a b "NAVS Purposes & Programs". Archived from the original on 2021-09-23. Retrieved 2021-09-21.