Vegetarian Resource Group
{{short description|American nonprofit organization}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Vegetarian Resource Group
| formation = {{start date and age|1982|df=no}}
| logo = Vegetarian Resource Group.png
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| abbreviation = VRG
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| founding_location = Baltimore, Maryland
| type = Nonprofit
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| status = 501(c)(3) organization
| purpose = Promotion of veganism
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| region = {{US}}
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| language = English
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- Charles Stahler{{Cite web|author=Ladd, Jenn|date=2016|title=How I make becoming a vegetarian easier|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/print-edition/2016/05/06/how-i-make-becoming-a-vegetarian-easier.html|website=The Business Journals|language=en-GB|archive-date=February 12, 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250212212750/https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/print-edition/2016/05/06/how-i-make-becoming-a-vegetarian-easier.html|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}}
- Debra Wasserman{{Cite web|author=Hopper, Dale|date=1998|title=Please Pass the Vegetables|url=https://greensboro.com/please-pass-the-vegetables/article_155bf4ab-c8e1-5298-8fa1-6df98a93a5b8.html|website=Greensboro News and Record|language=en-GB|archive-date=February 12, 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250212213811/https://greensboro.com/please-pass-the-vegetables/article_155bf4ab-c8e1-5298-8fa1-6df98a93a5b8.html|url-status=live}}
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| main_organ = Vegan Journal
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| website = {{URL|vrg.org}}
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The Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG) is an American 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public on veganism and its relation to health, nutrition, ecology and ethics. The Vegetarian Resource Group is based in Baltimore, Maryland and publishes the Vegan Journal.{{Cite web|date=2024|title=Vegetarian Resource Group Records 1982-2024|url=https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/findingaids/mc00465|website=NC State University Libraries|language=en-GB|archive-date=February 12, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250212200557/https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/findingaids/mc00465|url-status=live}}
History
The Vegetarian Resource Group was founded in September 1982 by Charles Stahler and Debra Wasserman with the assistance of Audrey Fluke, Norris Fluke and Ernie Kopstein.{{cite book |last=Shurtleff |first=William |date=2022 |title=History of Tofu and Tofu Products (1985-1994)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9gl0EAAAQBAJ |publisher=Soyinfo Center |page=918 |isbn=978-1948436779}} Stahler became vegan in 1977 and Wasserman in 1980.{{Cite web|date=2012|title=The VRG Celebrates 30 Years of Activism|url=https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2012issue3/2012_issue3_notes_from_coordinators.php|website=Vegetarian Resource Group|language=en-GB|archive-date=February 13, 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250213153621/https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2012issue3/2012_issue3_notes_from_coordinators.php|url-status=live}} The organization was originally named Baltimore Vegetarians. In 1989 it was renamed the Vegetarian Resource Group as its publications gained national interest.
Between 1982 and 1984 the VRG sponsored Sandy Weinstein's tofu cooking class.{{cite book |last=Shurtleff |first=William |date=2022 |title=History of Vegetarianism and Veganism Worldwide (1970-2022)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jKFjEAAAQBAJ |publisher=Soyinfo Center |pages=1153–1154 |isbn=978-1948436748}} In 1983 their first book was published, Vegetarianism for the Working Person. They published I Love Animal and Broccoli Activity Book in 1995. Over 130,000 copies were given to pupils and teachers.{{Cite web|date=2017|title=35 Years of Vegan Activism by the Vegetarian Resource Group|url=https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2017issue3/2017_issue3_vegan_activism.php|website=Vegetarian Resource Group|language=en-GB|archive-date=February 12, 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250212214528/https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2017issue3/2017_issue3_vegan_activism.php|url-status=live}} Debra Wasserman volunteered on the Giant Supermarket Consumer Board by giving her input on non-dairy sources of calcium which were put in their nutrition brochures. In 1997, the VRG collaborated with the National Meals on Wheels Foundation and the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs to form the Vegetarian Initiative, a program to introduce meatless meal options into senior feeding programs.{{cite journal|author=Havala, Suzanne; Conway, Catherine|year=2000|title=The National Meals on Wheels Foundation/Vegetarian Resource Group Vegetarian Initiative|journal=Journal of Nutrition for the Elderly|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J052v19n04_03|volume=19|issue=4|pages=31–40|doi=10.1300/J052v19n04_03|url-access=subscription}} Their website was launched in 1997.
The Vegetarian Resource Group reported in 2003 that 50 restaurant owners at that year's National Restaurant Association Show mentioned the vegan veto vote affecting their businesses.{{Cite web |title=Notes From the Coordinators {{!}} Vegetarian Journal {{!}} Vegetarian Resource Group |url=https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2003issue4/2003_issue4_coord.php |access-date=2025-03-21 |website=www.vrg.org}} A 2014 survey conducted by Harris Interactive for the VRG found that 4% of those aged from 8 to 18 identified as vegetarian.{{Cite web|author=Paul, Pamela|date=2014|title=Chicken Fingers Are Off the Menu|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/dining/when-theres-a-vegetarian-child-in-the-family.html|website=The New York Times|language=en-GB|archive-date=February 13, 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250213154044/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/dining/when-theres-a-vegetarian-child-in-the-family.html|url-access=subscription|url-status=live}} In December 2024, the VRG announced a $50,000 college scholarship award to graduating students who have promoted veganism in their schools or communities.{{Cite web|date=2024|title=Vegan high school seniors can earn college scholarships|url=https://www.send2press.com/wire/vegan-high-school-seniors-can-earn-college-scholarships/|website=Send2Press|language=en-GB|archive-date=February 12, 2025|archive-url=https://archive.today/20250212231853/https://www.send2press.com/wire/vegan-high-school-seniors-can-earn-college-scholarships/|url-status=live}}
''Vegan Journal''
The VRG published the Vegetarian Journal from 1982 to 2022. It offered practical advice to those on a vegetarian diet.{{cite book |last1=Bloyd-Peshkin |first1=Sharon |last2=Charles |first2=Whitaker |date=2021 |title=Curating Culture: How Twentieth-Century Magazines Influenced America |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6iw1EAAAQBAJ |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers |page=127 |isbn=978-1538138120}} It described itself as a "practical magazine for those interested in health, ecology and ethics". The journal was unlike Vegetarian Times as it did not support dairy or egg consumption and eschewed advertisements for supplements. Charles Stahler commented that many in the vegetarian movement were being charged a lot of money for supplements that were unnecessary. In January 2022, the Vegetarian Journal was renamed Vegan Journal.{{Cite web|date=2022|title=History of Vegetarianism and Veganism Worldwide (1970-2022)|url=https://www.soyinfocenter.com/books/282|website=Soyinfo Center|language=en-GB|archive-date=September 27, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927202929/https://www.soyinfocenter.com/books/282|url-status=live}}
Selected publications
- {{cite book|date=1998 |title=Vegetarian Journal's Guide to Natural Foods Restaurants in the U.S. and Canada |publisher=Avery Publishing Group |isbn=978-0895298379 }}
- {{cite book|author=Wasserman, Debra|date=2010 |title=Vegan Handbook: Over 200 Delicious Recipes, Meal Plans, and Vegetarian Resources for All Ages |publisher= Vegetarian Resource Group |isbn=978-0931411175 }}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.vrg.org/ Vegetarian Resource Group]
- [https://www.vrg.org/journal/index.php Vegan Journal]
{{Vegetarianism}}
Category:1982 establishments in the United States
Category:501(c)(3) organizations
Category:Clubs and societies in the United States
Category:Organizations established in 1982
Category:Non-profit organizations based in Maryland