The Vegan of the Year Awards: Winners Announced
Welcome to the Vegan of the Year Awards 2015 winners announcement.
A huge congratulations to everyone on the list below.
This year was a really tough one because of the high calibre and large number of nominees. A huge, sincere thank you to everyone who sent in nominations and please know if your nominee was not successful this year, that it was a highly-contested year. The increasing interest in the Awards across all categories is a great sign that veganism is on the rise and spreading to all corners of the globe.
It’s the year for the grassroots activist, as the top award (category one) goes to two people who work non-stop to be a voice for animals and both independently doing so via their own projects and initiative. They have both made a big impact through their dedication to vegan advocacy.
The Vegan of the Year Awards has evolved into being specifically for recognising ethical vegan individuals, businesses and organisations, which is why you might not see your favourite celebrity or YouTubers on the list. As veganism is fast tracking into the mainstream, we want to make a clear distinction between plant-based eating and ethical veganism, awarding the latter for their full commitment to the vegan lifestyle.
All winners are welcome to use the winner’s badge above in whichever way they choose. Many use it in their shop windows, on their websites and on social media pages and in their media pitches. Indeed, your award win is a great reason to contact your local media to increase your profile and that of veganism in general. Certificates will be sent out to all winners in the coming week.
Where there is more than one winner in a category, winners are listed in alphabetical order using their surname.
So, here they are, the Vegan of the Year Award winners for 2015:
1. Vegan of the Year 2015
2. Young Vegan of the Year 2015
3. Outstanding Vegan Website
4. Outstanding Animal Rescue/Animal Rights Organisation (must have a vegan and no-kill philosophy)
Animals In Need, Little Irchester, U.K.
5. Outstanding Vegan Business
6. Outstanding Vegan Restaurant
Africa
Leafy Greens Cafe (Johannesburg, South Africa)
Asia
Mianto (Taiwan)
Bio AtPeace Cafe (Taiwan)
Europe
Oops! Via Bergamo 56, Roma (at Corsa Del Italia), Rome, 00198, Italy
Oceania (Australia/New Zealand and Islands)
Smith and Deli (Melbourne, Australia)
Earth to Table (Sydney, Australia)
North and South America
Vedge Philadelphia (USA)
7. Outstanding Vegan Athlete
Plant Built Team 2015 at the Naturally Fit Super Show
8. Outstanding Vegan Innovator
Cruelty Free Shop (for the Vegan Day Out initiative)
Goose Wohlt (for aquafaba vegan egg replacer)
9. Outstanding Vegan Volunteer
Angela Banovic
Michelle Bliss
Chelsea Davis
Andy Faulkner
Jess Ferry and Living Green Festival team
Alex Green
Vanessa Hudson
Michael McNally
Matt Rota
Carol Slater
Vanessa Stanley
Corey Thompson
10. Outstanding Vegan Creative
Ellie Bedford and Sabrina Bedford for How To Eat A Rainbow
Nick Cooney for How To Be Great At Doing Good
Holly Feral for Driftwood magazine and Vegan Faces
Katrina Fox for Vegan Ventures
Jack Francis – photography
Jo Frederiks – artist
Malin Frick – artist
Delikate Rayne – ethical fashion
Gypsy Wulff and Fran Chambers for Turning Points in Compassion
11. Outstanding Vegan Media Outlet
Vegan Life magazine (UK)
Veg News magazine (USA)
Main Street Vegan with Victoria Moran on Unity Radio
Vegan Mash Up (TV)
12. Outstanding Vegan Food Blogger
13. Outstanding Vegan Social Media Outreach
14. Outstanding Vegan Professional
15. Outstanding Intersectional Approach to Veganism
Institute for Critical Animal Studies (ICAS)
Vegans of Sydney (Facebook group)
Welcome to the
Vegan of the Year Awards 2015!
The Vegan of the Year Awards recognise the achievements of talented and dedicated vegans worldwide. A quick online search reveals countless vegans worldwide doing amazing things to help save the lives of innocent animals. We want to recognise these great people for the work they are doing in their area to promote the vegan lifestyle. Vegans deserve worldwide applause, so these awards are our way of saying “you are vegan awesome!”
Who can enter?
Entry is open to all vegans worldwide and is free of charge. Nominees must have strictly followed the vegan lifestyle for at least one year with the intention of being vegan for life.
The vegan lifestyle encompasses a life completely free of the use of animals and their by-products. Essentially, this means: 1. Adherence to a 100% plant-based diet (no animal meat, fish, eggs, dairy or honey etc.); 2. All clothing and personal products worn and used must be vegan; and 3. Not using animals in any way for entertainment or any other purpose. This is not an exhaustive definition but just examples of the ways by which vegans live their lifestyle. Vegans do not use or consume any animal products or by-products. (the repetition here is deliberate).
From 2013 onwards, nominees for the Outstanding Vegan Business Award must be businesses owned by ethical vegans. i.e. business owners that are vegan because they love and respect animals as a priority and for this reason, will always keep their business 100 percent vegan, for life.
From 2015 onwards, the Vegan of the Year Awards will strive for intersectionality across all categories, with a special award dedicated to individuals who are specifically working towards an intersectional world.
“What is Intersectional Veganism?
– It is the understanding that all oppression, human and animal, is intimately linked.
– It is a serious attempt to undermine and deconstruct this oppression for all species.”
(definition quoted from Intersectional Vegans Australia FB group)
What’s new this year?
One new category: Outstanding Intersectional Approach to Veganism.
What are the categories for 2015?
1. Vegan of the Year
2. Young Vegan of the Year (under 21 years old)
3. Outstanding Vegan Website
4. Outstanding Animal Rescue/Animal Rights Organisation (must have a vegan and no-kill philosophy)
5. Outstanding Vegan Business
6. Outstanding Vegan Restaurant
7. Outstanding Vegan Athlete
8. Outstanding Vegan Innovator
9. Outstanding Vegan Volunteer
10. Outstanding Vegan Creative (e.g. photographer, musician, designer, author etc..)
11. Outstanding Vegan Media Outlet (e.g. vegan magazine, vegan TV, vegan radio etc..)
12. Outstanding Vegan Food Blogger
13. Outstanding Vegan Social Media Outreach
14. Outstanding Vegan Professional (e.g. naturopath, medical doctor, journalist, dietician, lawyer, academic etc..)
15. Outstanding Intersectional Approach to Veganism ( nominees can be vegans who are also eligible for any of the above categories)
We want your nominations!
You can nominate by writing the name of the person, business or organisation in a comment under this blog post or by emailing vegansarecool@gmail.com. The more information you include about the nominee, the better, but if you only have limited information about them, that’s fine too. Including the nominee’s website/social media links is very helpful. You can nominate the same person, organisation or business for multiple award categories.
If you know of someone who you feel deserves an Award but doesn’t fit into the above categories, please nominate them anyway and let us know why they deserve an Award. If they are that vegan awesome, we may invent a category just for them!
Key Dates:
Nominations close: 14 September, 2015
Winners announced: 28 September, 2015
What do the winners receive?
All winners receive a certificate and a web badge/logo, that they are free to use in any way they choose. Many past winners use the certificate and winner’s badge on their websites, in their shop windows and on social media. Many past winners also use their Award status to get media articles written about them. It is a great opportunity to raise your profile among the vegan and non-vegan community.
Any questions?
Email: vegansarecool@gmail.com
Please share the content of this post with the worldwide vegan community on your blogs, podcasts, Facebook pages, Twitter, Instagram and any other way you can think of! Cheers and good luck to all nominees!
This year saw a record number of nominations across all categories including the main category of overall winner of Vegan of the Year 2014. It is a brilliant indication that veganism is becoming more widespread and particularly, as seen in the huge increase in nominations for the Outstanding Vegan Business category, there are clear signs that veganism is fast hitting the mainstream as more and more people demand a greater range of vegan products and services. This year also saw a large number of nominations for Outstanding Vegan Creative – an indication that many more talented people are using their creative skills to advocate for veganism. For these two categories, it was particularly difficult to differentiate between nominees so you will notice that there are multiple winners in each of these categories. Other categories have quite a few finalists, due to the large volume of worthy nominees received.
In order to highlight the achievements of the many great vegans around the planet and the diversity of the vegan movement, each year a different man and woman are chosen to be Vegan of the Year. If your favourite vegans were not chosen as winners this year, rest assured the awards will continue for years and all great vegans will be honoured in time. And in a similar vein, when people are awarded Vegan of the Year in one particular year, it doesn’t mean that they are forgotten in subsequent years; it is just a way of recognizing and celebrating different people every year.
This year, our Vegan of the Year award winners are philanthropists – two extraordinary, noble souls who share their intelligence, wisdom and financial resources with unconditional generosity, willingness and compassion. But they are both so much more than generous people; they are the change-makers, the leaders at the very pinnacle of the vegan movement, blazing a path of greater awareness through their powerful advocacy and far-reaching humanitarian initiatives around the globe.
Of course, people of this enduring stature should be Vegan of the Year every year, and in reality they are. They have dedicated their lives to spreading the vegan message. These are the leaders who inspire and galvanize other leaders, who in turn inspire and motivate yet others still. Amongst other great leaders in the vegan movement, they will forever be known, and their names will forever be remembered, for ushering in the new era of compassionate, sustainable living that we are now clearly beginning to see emerge.
One of the main aims of the awards is to inspire and encourage those who read the stories of the winners, to go forth and create their own way to spread the vegan message. If you feel affinity with one or more of this year’s winners, I hope you will check out their websites to discover more about these worthy individuals, organisations and businesses. Allow their achievements, creativity, talents and drive to inspire you to find your own vegan greatness. And in turn, I hope you will be nominated and awarded Vegan of the Year in the years to come!
So here we go, without further delay:
Introducing the winners of the Vegan of the Year Award, 2014:
The Supreme Master Ching Hai and Philip Wollen OAM
The Supreme Master Ching Hai is an artist, spiritual teacher, philanthropist, author, environmentalist, film director and humanitarian. She advocates the organic vegan diet as the fastest, most effective way to solve the world’s climate, water, deforestation and other crises. Supreme Master Ching Hai created Supreme Master Television, an online and satellite television station that broadcasted constructive news, including interviews with prominent vegans from all corners of the globe, and many other programs that showcase the vegan lifestyle. She is also the founder of the Loving Hut chain of vegan restaurants. The Supreme Master Ching Hai is also well known for her charitable work for people and animals in need worldwide, and for her global disaster relief efforts, her teams often being the first to the front-line with practical and financial help in times of emergency and natural disasters.
For more information about The Supreme Master Ching Hai and her work, see: http://www.godsdirectcontact.org/eng/article/chinghai.html.
Our second winner of the Vegan of the Year Award 2014 is Philip Wollen OAM.
Philip Wollen is a venture capitalist for good causes. His powerful speeches have touched the hearts and minds of countless people worldwide and as a result he has profoundly affected the way people regard animals. He has lent the considerable might of his personal and business reputation to the animal rights cause. His brilliant and emotive speeches, given generously and freely around the globe, have enormous impact often inspiring immediate and dramatic positive change. Recently, in India, he presented talks to the CEOs of companies with hundreds of thousands of employees (with one company having over one million employees), after which many of the CEOs were so touched that they vowed to serve vegetarian meals to all of their employees. In Australia, he supports a multitude of NGOs by providing office space and facilities at Kindness House in Melbourne. Worldwide, he finances and supports a range of humanitarian projects. Together with his wife Trix, they are a formidable force for good in the world, hastening the arrival of a vegan world for all.
For more information about Philip Wollen and his work, see: http://www.kindnesstrust.com
Young Vegan of the Year (under 21 years old)
Allisyn Ashley Arm
A vegan since the age of twelve, Allisyn is the star of Disney productions ‘Sonny with a Chance’ and ‘So Random!’. Allisyn takes every opportunity to spread awareness about the vegan lifestyle. Read more about her here:
http://www.teenvgn.com/allisyn-ashley-arm
Twitter: @allisyn_a_arm
Deirdre Mousseau
Deirdre is a 7-year-old organic vegan who diligently and creatively, by whichever means she can, raises awareness of the plight of animals that suffer. For example, she forgoes Christmas and birthday gifts so she can donate the money instead to animal charities. She is always finding opportunities to raise money for animals. Deirdre is the daughter of the founder of www.vorganix.com, an online vegan organic bakery.
Outstanding Vegan Website
Winners: http://onegreenplanet.org/
http://thevegantruth.blogspot.com.au
Outstanding Animal Rescue/Animal Rights Organisation
Winner: Paramatma by Juliana Castaneda (Columbia) http://paramatmafarm.com
Finalists: SAFE (NZ) www.safe.org.nz
Farm Animal Rescue (Australia) http://www.farmanimalrescue.org.au
A Poultry Place (Australia) https://www.facebook.com/apoultryplace
To read an interview with Juliana Castaneda, conducted by our friends at The Thinking Vegan, see:
http://thethinkingvegan.com/interviews/juliana-castaneda-paramatma-animal-sanctuary/
Outstanding Vegan Business
Winners: Beyond Meat http://beyondmeat.com (USA)
Veganz http://veganz.de (Germany)
Hippocrates Health Institute http://hippocratesinst.org (USA)
Finalists: The Dutch Weed Burger www.DutchWeedBurger.com (Netherlands)
Bed and Broccoli http://www.bedandbroccoli.com.au (Australia)
Loolys www.loolys.net (Morocco)
White Cub Dairy-Free Ice-Cream www.whitecub.in (India)
Vegan Wares www.veganwares.com (Australia)
Outstanding Vegan Restaurant
Winners: Loving Hut Hoa Dang (Saigon, Vietnam)
Suzy Spoon’s Vegetarian Butcher (Sydney, Australia)
Smith & Daughters (Melbourne, Australia)
Vegan Buffet (Hamilton, New Zealand)
Boon Burger (Manitoba, Canada)
Modern Love (Omaha, NE, USA)
Loving Hut (Menton, France)
Outstanding Vegan Athlete
Winners: Fiona Oakes http://www.fionaoakes.com
Brendan Brazier http://www.brendanbrazier.com
Finalists: Richard Campbell http://www.livityfitness.com/
Stephanie Bellia http://movenimprove.com.au
Outstanding Vegan Innovator
Winners: Tal Gilboa for innovative animal rights activism on national TV in Israel (winning Big Brother).
Sybil Severin for writing the world’s first vegan fairytale.
James Aspey for his one year vow of silence and journey around Australia to raise awareness about the vegan lifestyle.
Freelee the Banana Girl for Rawtill4.
Animal Politics Foundation for supporting animal political parties worldwide.
Outstanding Vegan Volunteer
Winners: Ron Prasad
Susan Michelle Smith
Outstanding Vegan Creative
Winners: Jo Fredericks – artist
Chris Delforce – film maker
Richard Watts – illustrator
Jo-Anne McArthur – photographer
Joanne Rose – actor/producer/director
Leigh Drew – cook book author
Carol Slater – photographer
Zara Pamboukhtchian – graphic designer
Outstanding Vegan Media Outlet
Winners: Vegan Life magazine (UK) http://veganlifemag.co.uk
Laika magazine (USA) http://www.laikamagazine.com
Finalists: The Lush Scoop (Australia) http://www.thelushscoop.com
Wildfire magazine (Australia) http://wildfirebykohiilove.wordpress.com
Outstanding Vegan Food Blogger
Winners: Mel Baker for http://thekindcook.com
Amy Krell for http://thecomfortingvegan.blogspot.com/
Nicole English for http://rawkiwi.com
Angela Liddon for http://ohsheglows.com
Outstanding Vegan Social Media Outreach
Winners: Freelee the Banana Girl https://www.facebook.com/TheBananaGirl
Teen VGN https://www.facebook.com/TeenVgn
The Sydney Vegan Club https://www.facebook.com/groups/SydneyVegans/
Vegan Buddy https://www.facebook.com/veganbuddyfindanswershere
I’m a Little Vegan https://www.facebook.com/imalittlevegan
Outstanding Vegan Professional
Winners : Robyn Chuter – naturopath/counsellor
Clare Mann – psychologist
Dr Michael Greger – medical doctor
Dr Neal Barnard – medical doctor
Dr Gabriel Cousens – medical doctor, homeopath, herbalist
Dr Sean Kirsten – dietician, nutritionist
A big vegan thanks to everyone who sent in nominations and spread the word about the Awards. Winners and finalists will receive their certificates and web badges via email soon. Congratulations to all the winners and see you again here next year!
A special thanks to Julie Dixon for her work on the Vegan of the Year Awards, including editing this post, and for her overall guidance, support and advice.The Vegan of the Year Awards 2014 are proudly sponsored by Planet Vegan, an ethical, organic vegan clothing and accessories range launching soon!
And, lastly, Happy World Vegan Day! A big thanks to everyone who is working towards a vegan world where all beings live in peace and freedom. Together we will do it!
The Vegan of the Year Awards recognise the achievements of talented and dedicated vegans worldwide. A quick online search reveals countless vegans worldwide doing amazing things to help save the lives of innocent animals. We want to recognise these great people for the work they are doing in their area to promote the vegan lifestyle. Vegans deserve worldwide applause, so these awards are our way of saying “you are vegan awesome!” :)
Who can enter?
Entry is open to all vegans worldwide and is free of charge. Nominees must have strictly followed the vegan lifestyle for at least one year with the intention of being vegan for life.
The vegan lifestyle encompasses a life completely free of the use of animals and their by-products. Essentially, this means the adherence to a plant-based diet (no animal meat, eggs, dairy or honey etc.), all clothing and personal products worn and used must be vegan and not using animals in any way for entertainment or any other purpose.
From 2013 onwards, nominees for the Outstanding Vegan Business Award must be businesses owned by ethical vegans. i.e. business owners that are vegan because they love and respect animals as a priority and will always keep their business 100 percent vegan, for life.
What’s new this year?
- New categories: Outstanding Vegan Innovator, Outstanding Vegan Volunteer, Outstanding Vegan Social Media Outreach, Outstanding Vegan Food Blogger, Outstanding Vegan Creative and Outstanding Vegan Professional.
- The age for Young Vegan of the Year has changed from under 18 to under 21 years old, giving more young people the chance to be nominated for an Award.
What are the categories for 2014?
1. Vegan of the Year
2. Young Vegan of the Year (under 21 years old)
3. Outstanding Vegan Website
4. Outstanding Animal Rescue/Animal Rights Organisation (must have a vegan and no-kill philosophy)
5. Outstanding Vegan Business
6. Outstanding Vegan Restaurant
7. Outstanding Vegan Athlete
8. Outstanding Vegan Innovator
9. Outstanding Vegan Volunteer
10. Outstanding Vegan Creative (e.g. photographer, musician, designer, author etc..)
11. Outstanding Vegan Media Outlet (e.g. vegan magazine, vegan TV, vegan radio etc..)
12. Outstanding Vegan Food Blogger
13. Outstanding Vegan Social Media Outreach
14. Outstanding Vegan Professional (e.g. naturopath, medical doctor, journalist, dietician, lawyer etc..)
We want your nominations!
To maximise nominations this year, we are making the process less formal and a lot easier. You can nominate by writing the name of the person, business or organisation in a comment under the blog post or by emailing kathy@kathydivine.com. The more information you include about the nominee, the better, but if you only have limited information about them, that’s fine too.
If you know of someone who you feel deserves an Award but doesn’t fit into the above categories, please nominate them anyway and let us know why they deserve an Award. If they are that vegan awesome, we may invent a category just for them!
Key Dates:
Nominations close: October 22, 2014
Winners announced: November 1, 2014
What do the winners receive?
All winners receive a certificate and a web badge/logo, that they are free to use in anyway they choose. Many past winners use the certificate and winner’s badge on their websites, in their shop windows and on social media. Many past winners use their Award status to get media articles written about them. It is a great opportunity to raise your profile among the vegan and non-vegan community.
The winner of the Outstanding Animal Rescue/Animal Rights Organisation Award will receive 100% of the proceeds of all fundraising we do over the next 12 months.
Any questions?
Email: kathy@kathydivine.com
Please share this post with the worldwide vegan community on your blogs, podcasts, Facebook pages, Twitter and any other way you can think of! Cheers and good luck to all nominees!
The Vegan of the Year Awards 2014 is proudly sponsored by Planet Vegan: an ethical, organic vegan clothing and accessories range, launching soon!
The Vegan of the Year Awards 2013
Winners Announced!
The Vegan of the Year Awards belong to the quiet achievers this year. Several people were nominated without their knowledge as they are too humble to ever consider nominating themselves. Luckily, they have friends, fans and admirers who want to share their work with a wider audience. We have included a brief introduction about the Vegan of the Year winners and their websites so you can discover more about these vegan champions.
It is also the year of very young recipients of the Young Vegan of the Year Award: the youngest being four years old and the oldest a mere twelve years old.
The purpose of the Vegan of the Year Awards is to give due recognition to vegans who are doing extraordinary work to promote veganism in the wider community – whether through activities such as activism, running a vegan restaurant or through the media and arts. We also hope the work of the Award winners will inspire others to follow in their brilliant footsteps.
Introducing the Vegan of the Year 2013 winners:
Vegan of the Year 2013
Amanda Benham and Ari Nessel
Amanda Benham is Australia’s leading vegan accredited dietician. With over 20 years experience, she has helped countless numbers of people adopt a vegan diet. In addition, she has tirelessly lobbied the Australian government and its agencies to officially recognise the vegan diet as a healthy diet. Her ongoing efforts and submissions met success in 2013 with the release of the Australian government’s Australian Dietary Guidelines. The guidelines have, for the first time, included vegan and vegetarian diets as being healthy. She is also a founding board member of Vegan Australia. In addition, Amanda also owns and manages The Banana Lounge – a vegan cafe in Brisbane, Australia.
Her website is: www.humanherbivore.com
Ari Nessel is the Founder and President of The Pollination Project. This innovative project gives $1000 grants every day of the year to individual change makers whose work is focused on animal protection, social justice, environmental sustainability and related areas. The Pollination Project is funded entirely by Ari. So far he has given away approximately $275,000. Ari has been vegan since 1997 and since then he has been devoted to helping many animal rights organisations. Wanting to do more, Ari started The Pollination Project to help new projects grow and flourish to create a kinder, more compassionate world.
To find out more about Ari and The Pollination Project please see www.thepollinationproject.org
Young Vegan of the Year 2013
Genesis Butler, Isabelle Ellul, Kevin Storm and Thomas Ponce
Genesis Butler is a six-year-old vegan activist who considers herself an ethical vegan. She documents her vegan journey on her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/aveganchildsjourney
Isabelle Ellul is four years old and already speaking up for animals wherever she goes. She also helps out at Freedom Hill Sanctuary – an animal rescue run by her grandmother and mother.
Kevin Storm is twelve years old and hosts and produces his own radio program called The Kevin Storm Show. His radio program is focused on animal rights and is a youth-focused program.
Connect with Kevin: https://www.facebook.com/AbolitionInMedia
Thomas Ponce is also twelve years old. He went vegetarian at four years old and vegan when he was nine. His first activism project was completed when he was in kindergarten. After years of activism,Thomas has started his own organisation called Lobby For Animals. His website is: http://www.lobbyforanimals.org/
Outstanding Vegan Website:VivaLaVegan.net
Outstanding Animal Activist:Catherine Smith (Australia) and Mesfin Hailemariam (Ethiopia)
Outstanding Animal Rescue/Animal Rights Organisation: NSW Hen Rescue
NSW Hen Rescue will receive a cheque for $350 as part of their award.
Outstanding Vegan Business:
Outstanding Vegan Restaurant:
Millennium, San Francisco, U.S.A
Karma Waters, Hoi Ann, Vietnam
Carrots, The Healthy Kitchen, Bangalore, India
Loving Hut, Brisbane, Australia
Loving Hut, Menton, France
Outstanding Vegan Athlete:
Outstanding Vegan Author:
Rip Esselstyn for My Beef With Meat
Billie Dean for Secret Animal Business
Outstanding Vegan Musician/Entertainer:Vegan Smythe
Outstanding Vegan Media Outlet:
Vegan Health and Fitness magazine
Outstanding Vegan Non-Profit Organisation:SHARAN
Our sincere thanks to everyone who sent in nominations and congratulations to the winners.
We look forward to presenting interviews with some of our winners soon here on www.vegansarecool.com.
Have a vegantastic day!
The Vegans Are Cool Team
So what is it all about?
The Vegan of the Year awards strive to recognise the achievements of talented and dedicated vegans worldwide. A quick online search reveals countless vegans worldwide doing amazing things to help save the lives of innocent animals. We want to recognise these great people for the work they are doing in their area to promote the vegan lifestyle. Vegans deserve worldwide applause, so these awards are our way of saying “you are so vegan awesome”! :)
Who can enter?
Entry is open to all vegans worldwide and is free. You must have strictly followed the vegan lifestyle for at least 1 year with the intention of being vegan for life.
The vegan lifestyle encompasses the following of a plant-based diet, all clothing and all personal products being vegan and not using any other animal products and not using animals in any way for entertainment or any other purpose.
From 2013 onwards, nominees for the Outstanding Vegan Business Award must be businesses owned by ethical vegans. i.e., business owners that are vegan because they love and respect animals as a priority and will always keep their business 100 percent vegan, for life.
What are the categories for 2013?
1. Vegan of the Year – male and female
2. Young Vegan of the Year (under 18 years old) – male and female
3. Outstanding Vegan Website
4. Outstanding Animal Activist (must be vegan)
5. Outstanding Animal Rescue/Animal Rights Organisation (must have vegan and have a no-kill philosophy)
6. Outstanding Vegan Business
7. Outstanding Vegan Restaurant
8. Outstanding Vegan Athlete – male and female
9. Outstanding Vegan Author
10. Outstanding Vegan Musician/Entertainer
11. Outstanding Vegan Media Outlet – ie. vegan magazine, vegan TV, vegan radio etc..
12. Outstanding Vegan Non-Profit Organisation. ie. Vegan societies, Vegan advocacy organisations etc..
How do I enter?
All entries must be sent to vegansarecool@gmail.com with the subject header: Vegan of the Year awards. Please include the following in your entry:
1. In body of email – name, postal address and email address of the nominee. Please include here the categories you want to be considered for. You can nominate for more than one category. All entrants are automatically considered for category 1. Vegan of the Year.
2. In a word document, please explain why your nominee should win. Entries should be between 100 – 2000 words max. Please include any websites and/or social media pages that represent the work of the nominee.
3. Please include 1 – 3 photos of the nominee, if possible.
What do the winners receive?
Vegan of the Year winners receive a certificate and the worldwide admiration of the vegan community (arguably the best prize ever!) The Outstanding Vegan Animal Rescue/Animal Rights Organisation for 2013 receive the above prize plus a cash prize; the amount to be announced after the fundraising dinner, to be held on October 5th 2013 in Brisbane. Please email vegansarecool@gmail.com if you would like an invitation to the dinner.
What is the deadline for entry and when will the winners by announced?
All entries should be emailed to us by September 30th 2013 (GMT time). Winners will be announced on VegansAreCool.com on October 15th 2013.
Please share this post with the worldwide vegan community on your blogs, podcasts, Facebook pages, Twitter and any other way you can think of! Cheers!
Any questions?
Email vegansarecool@gmail.com
Good luck!
After many months of receiving nominations and for the last six weeks judging the hundreds of nominees, we are now at the exciting stage of announcing the winners of the Vegan of the Year Awards.
But, before we get to that, I would like to thank everyone who worked so hard to make the awards vegantastic. Firstly, a big thanks to the sponsors of this announcement: Empower Total Health, Vegan Online, Cruelty Free Super and Pure & Green Organics. VegansAreCool.com is chuffed to be supported by such ethical, pioneering businesses. Thank you so much!
A huge heartfelt thanks also to Shuang Wu for designing the winners’ certificates and virtual badges, the vegan judges – Mariana Tosca and Sundara De Silva – who judged a selection of categories and the advisory team – Tara Lomax, Sy Woon and Nami Gohil.
It goes without saying that choosing the winners was an extremely difficult process. There are so many vegans worldwide doing amazing things to promote the vegan lifestyle. Without a doubt, the winners below are among the best of the best. Luckily, we will be holding the awards annually, so there will be plenty of opportunities for more amazing vegan individuals, organisations and businesses to be recognised every year.
Our sincere thanks to everyone who submitted nominations. The purpose of the awards is to recognise vegans who are making outstanding contributions in their area of expertise and to inspire others to follow in their footsteps.
Continents and countries to which no awards were given indicates that we did not receive any nominations for that region. We hope to receive nominations from these in future.
And the winners are:
1. Vegan of the Year: Victoria Moran and Dr. Michael Greger.
These two outstanding individuals have been working for many years to increase awareness about the many benefits of the vegan lifestyle. Amazingly cool vegans!
2. Young Vegan of the Year: Jack Styles and Tamsin Dean Einspruch
Highly Commended: Nami Gohil, Jordan Turner, Mitch Dawes, Imogen Dawes and Genevieve Doyle
3. Outstanding Vegan Website: Our Hen House and GirlyGirl Army
Highly Commended: Vegan Yum Yum, Vegansaurus and Vegan Easy
4. Outstanding Animal Activist:
North America: Paul Watson
Highly Commended: Laurelee Blanchard, Nathan Runkle and Dr Randall Cannon
Oceania: Patty Mark, Pam Ahern and Philip Wollen
Highly Commended: Emmy James
U.K/Europe: Fiona Oakes and Dr. Andrew Knight
Asia: Maneka Gandhi
5. Outstanding Animal Rescue/Animal Rights Organisation: Tower Hill Stables and A Place of Peace (previously announced)
6. Outstanding Vegan Business:
Africa: Fry’s Vegetarian
Asia: Loving Hut
Oceania: Vegan Perfection
Highly Commended: Bounty Burgers, Funky Pies and The Cruelty Free Shop
U.K/Europe: Vegusto
U.S.A: Cynthia King Ballet Slippers and Evolotus PR
Highly Commended: Pangea
7. Outstanding Vegan Restaurant:
Asia: Veganburg – Singapore
Oceania: From Earth and Water (Gold Coast, QLD) and Sadhana Kitchen (Newtown, NSW)
Highly Commended: IKU (Sydney, NSW), 20,000 Cows (Lismore, NSW) and Bliss Organic Cafe (Adelaide, SA)
U.K/Europe: Loving Hut – Menton, France
USA: Follow Your Heart (Canoga Park, LA)
Highly Commended: Cafe Gratitude (LA), Spiral Diner (Dallas) and Vegetarian House (San Jose).
8. Outstanding Vegan Chef: Sophie Lapaire
Highly Commended: Chloe Coscarelli and Leigh Drew
9. Outstanding Vegan Athlete: Fiona Oakes and Patrik Baboumian
Highly Commended: Gemma Dryburgh
10. Outstanding Vegan Journalist: Jane Velez-Mitchell
Highly Commended: Katrina Fox
Outstanding Vegan Academic: Mariann Sullivan, Dr. Andrew Knight and Professor Patrick Brown
Highly Commended: Lara Drew and Jane Daly
Outstanding Vegan Author: Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Dr. Will Tuttle
11. Outstanding Vegan Media Outlet:
Outstanding Vegan Television: Supreme Master Television
Outstanding Vegan Radio: Go Vegan Radio with Bob Linden
Outstanding Media Innovator: DawnWatch and Animal Rights Zone
Outstanding Vegan Filmmaker: Shaun Monson (Earthlings) and Aaron Scheibner (A Delicate Balance – The Truth)
Outstanding Vegan Magazine: Living Vegan
12. Outstanding Vegan Non-Profit Organisation:
Oceania: The Christchurch Vegetarian Centre and the Vegetarian/Vegan Society of QLD
U.K/Europe: Vegan Society (U.K)
U.S.A: T. Colin Campbell Foundation and The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (P.C.R.M)
Our sincere congratulations to all winners!
In the coming months, we will be publishing posts with more details about the Vegan of the Year winners, including pics and links so you can discover for yourself how cool these vegan individuals, organisations and businesses really are. Interviews with the winners are here: http://vegansarecool.com/category/vegan-of-the-year/
To ensure you don’t miss the nomination dates for the 2013 Awards, subscribe to our ‘cool vegan notifications’ and never miss a post!
Thank you again to our kind sponsors and until next time have a vegantastic day!
Kathy Divine
Vegans Are Cool HQ is buzzing – and it’s all about the Vegan of the Year awards!
So what is it all about?
The Vegan of the Year awards strive to recognise the achievements of talented and dedicated vegans worldwide. A quick online search reveals countless vegans worldwide doing amazing things to help save the lives of innocent animals. We want to recognise these great people for the work they are doing in their area to promote the vegan lifestyle. Vegans deserve worldwide applause, so these awards are our way of saying ‘you are so vegan awesome’! :)
Who can enter?
Entry is open to all vegans worldwide and is free. You must have strictly followed the vegan lifestyle for at least 1 year with the intention of being vegan for life. For a definition of veganism, please see chapter one of Vegans Are Cool. The book can be downloaded for free.
What are the categories?
1. Vegan of the Year – male and female
2. Young Vegan of the Year (under 18 years old) – male and female
3. Outstanding Vegan Website
4. Outstanding Animal Activist (must be vegan)
5. Outstanding Animal Rescue/Animal Rights Organisation (must have vegan and no-kill philosophy)
6. Outstanding Vegan Business
7. Outstanding Vegan Restaurant
8. Outstanding Vegan Chef
9. Outstanding Vegan Athlete – male and female
10. Outstanding Vegan Journalist/Academic/Author
11. Outstanding Vegan Media Outlet – ie. vegan magazine, vegan TV, vegan radio etc..
12. Outstanding Vegan Non-Profit Organisation. ie. Vegan societies, Vegan advocate organisations etc..
How do I enter?
All entries must be sent to vegansarecool@gmail.com with the subject header: Vegan of the Year awards. Please include the following in your entry:
1. In body of email – name, postal address and email address of the nominee (ie. the person who you think should win the award). Please include here the categories you want to be considered for. You can nominate for more than one category. All entrants are automatically considered for category 1. Vegan of the Year.
2. In a word document, please explain why your nominee should win. Entries should be between 100 – 2000 words max.
3. Please include 1 – 3 photos of the nominee.
What do the winners receive?
Vegan of the Year winners receive a certificate, a Vegans Are Cool bag and the worldwide admiration of the vegan community (arguably the best prize ever!) Outstanding Vegan Animal Rescue/Animal Rights Organisation receive the above prize plus a cash prize (the amount will be announced soon). In addition, all winners will be interviewed in a blog post on http://www.vegansarecool.com.
Who decides the winners?
Judging will be done by a panel of prominent vegans from around the world. The judges decisions are final.
What is the deadline for entry and when will the winners by announced?
All entries should be emailed to us by July 15th 2012 (GMT time). Winners will be announced on vegansarecool.com on August 31st 2012.
Please share this post with the worldwide vegan community on your blogs, podcasts, Facebook pages, Twitter and any other way you can think of! Cheers!
Any questions? Email vegansarecool@gmail.com.
Good luck!
Update: The first winners announced!
http://vegansarecool.com/2012/07/23/outstanding-animal-rescueanimal-rights-organisation-winners/
I would love to nominate Billie Dean – her whole life is devoted to the love and service and rescue of animals – also her influence around the world as a vegan, and a passion for easing and eliminating the suffering of animals in our world, is examplary. She has changed my life simply by following her on Facebook and seeing daily examples of her tireless and selfless work for the animals – supported by her loving family who obviously have similar ideals for their lives and goals for their lives!
I believe that Loving Hut Canley Heights should win because it’s an exceptional cruelty-free restaurant that provides delicious foods, beautiful environment and presentations and most of all, friendly staffs and excellent chefs.
Woohoo! Congratulations VeganBurg!
Pingback: Vegan Publishers
Pingback: Vegan Surfing Star Tia Blanco talks food, arm wrestling and more! | Vegans Are Cool
Pingback: 100+ Vegan-Owned~Vegan Businesses Worldwide | SumanSutra
Pingback: Jill Milan and NSW Hen Rescue: when fashion and animal rescue meet | Vegans Are Cool
I nominate Richard Campbell
I Nominate Richard Campbell
Pingback: We won VEGAN OF THE YEAR award
Pingback: 每年最傑出純素食人士大獎 Vegan of the Year Awards - Loving Hut Wanchai
very happy!
Pingback: Vegan Tuck Box interview and our review of their latest box | Vegans Are Cool
Pingback: The Vegan of the Year Awards 2015 Nominations Are Now Open! | Vegans Are Cool
Anya Cass provides us with recipes that are innovative and are within the realm of the everyday cook. Her cook book is awesome and very well written. This is the reason why I nominate her.
I would like to nominate Humane Wildlife Solutions for consideration in category 5 Outstanding Vegan Business. http://humanewildlifesolutions.co.uk/
Humane Wildlife Solutions for the Outstanding Vegan Business award
Number 5 Outstanding Vegan Business Award : Humane Wildlife Solutions
I nominate Humane Wildlife Solutions for Outstanding Vegan Business
Dollys sister vegan bar and cafe
Geelong
Simple vegan cuisine food bus
Queenscliff
http://dollyssister.com.au
15. Outstanding Intersectional Approach to Veganism ( nominees can be vegans who are also eligible for any of the above categories)
I nominate Jennifer Baptista Smith for creating an all inclusive regular vegan run group for individuals of all backgrounds and beliefs.