Every movement needs a flag
Veganism is nothing new, veganism was a thing before we even had the word vegan, people have eating this way for thousands of years. But, veganism as a choice, there are animal based products everywhere, but we choose to not buy/use/eat them, is more recent and with people feeling so passionate about ending animal exploitation that it has become a movement.
The Concept
For a long time the only widely recognised symbol of veganism has been The Sunflower of the Vegan Society. But, this was only to be used when authorised by The Vegan Society, it was not a universal symbol of veganism. This was a problem that was recognised by Gad Hakimi, an Israeli designer.
Gad Hakimi, an Israeli designer and graduate of Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. He realised that vegans needed a symbol to unite under and, inspired by the rainbow flag from the LGBT community, he created a network group, bringing together activists and designers from around the world. Together they created a uniform and international flag that was first adopted by activists on 9 June 2017.
"Have Courage ~ Be Kind ~ Go Vegan"
The Symbolism
The Vegan flag is a civil flag and consists of three blue and green triangles that form the letter V, the first letter in the word vegan.
Origins and design
The flag was created to unite the groups and organizations for animal rights under one flag. When designing the flag Gad Hakimi looked for colours that symbolise veganism, but after researching and asking animal rights organisations, Hakimi found that there was no uniformity in colours that symbolise veganism. In the working group some members suggested that animals should be featured on the flag, with red colours featuring prominently in memorial and symbolism of the slaughtered. However, the group eventually agreed that a vegan flag is not only about animals, it is about animals and humans being equal. The colours that they chose were white, green and blue, representing the living spaces of the animals. The letter V is an inverted pyramid that symbolizes the ability to do the impossible.
Interpretation of colours
The colours of the flag symbolise the connection of humanity to animals, represented by their natural habitats:
Sea – blue
Air – blue
Land – green
White – unity
This is flag is something that we can use, something that can be seen and something that we can all stand behind.
You can download the Vegan flag for free at the vegan flag website
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