Membership terms and conditions

Here’s all the small print in one handy page.

1. The Vegetarian Society 

The Vegetarian Society is a registered charity (No. 259358). Our head office address is the Vegetarian Society, 15 Jersey Street, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 6EZ. It will be referred to as “The Vegetarian Society” or “we” in these terms and conditions.

Members of the Vegetarian Society will be referred to as “you” in these terms and conditions.

2. About Us 

The Vegetarian Society aims for a kinder, healthier, and more sustainable future for every life on Earth. By being the UK’s leading voice for the vegetarian and vegan movement, we aim to inspire and support everyone to move towards a vegetarian and vegan lifestyle by: 

• Bringing about system changes in policy and the law;  
• Offering support and guidance for vegetarians, vegans, and anyone wanting to eat less meat  
• Offering membership to become part of the Vegetarian Society community 
• Offering educational classes with the public and community groups for how to cook plant-based food, through COOK! with the Vegetarian Society. 
• Supply businesses with vegan or vegetarian accreditation for their products, making it easier and safer for consumers to shop for veggie-friendly products. 

The Vegetarian Society is the UK’s original and leading voice for the vegetarian and vegan movement. Our aim is to inspire and support everyone to move towards a vegetarian and vegan lifestyle. Through our education and engagement programmes, to campaigning, policy and product accreditation, we strive for a world without animal cruelty. We do this by using our knowledge and expertise to work across our membership, communities, business, government, and likeminded organisations to help change behaviour, drive innovation, and expand choice across the food industry. In doing so, we continue to build on our over 175-year legacy to grow a community driven by a collective desire to secure a kinder, healthier, and more sustainable future for every life on Earth. 

3. Membership Benefits  

3.1 The membership benefits can be found on the membership page. 

3.2 The Vegetarian Society does not guarantee the provision of member discounts however we will endeavour to keep the online discount list up to date and will follow up on any member complaints and the withdrawal or changes to the discounts provided.   

3.3 Membership is for one individual only, and membership benefits cannot be transferred or assigned to anyone else.  

3.4 [JS3] Membership benefits are only applicable while you are a member of the Vegetarian Society. If you stop being a member, you can no longer use any membership benefits.

3.5 We offer a dietitian service to our members: 

• Vegetarian Society members can put one enquiry to the dietitian, once per year. 
• The enquiry can relate to the enquirer or someone else. 
• Responses are by email-only. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide a phone service. 

3.6 Although we always aim to increase the number of benefits available to you, we reserve the right to vary, amend or withdraw any membership benefits at our discretion. 

4. Membership Payments  

4.1 You can pay for your membership using a credit or debit card, cash or cheque. If you live in the UK, you can set up a Direct Debit:  

4.1.1 Direct Debit: This is our most popular payment method, and it helps the  Vegetarian Society keep administration costs down. Through the Direct Debit Guarantee, you are protected and have the right to cancel payments whenever you wish. You can choose to pay monthly or annually.  

4.1.2 Credit or debit card: We use Stripe to take card payments. 

4.3 Overseas Members requesting a print magazine will pay the following increased annual rate to cover postage costs: 

• Europe £75 
• Rest of the World £90 

4.4 If you move outside of the UK while a paper-based member, we will give you the option to pay the additional postage charge or move to a digital membership where you will receive copies of any publications, communications and other materials by email only.  

5. Cancelling your Membership 

You can cancel your membership at any time. We would appreciate it if you could share the reason with us. 

5.1 If you change your mind about your membership, you must let us know no later than 14 days after your membership is purchased by contacting our membership team on 01619252000 (Mon-Fri 9am to 5pm), emailing membership@vegsoc.org, or by post to: the Vegetarian Society, 15 Jersey Street, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 6EZ.  All membership fees are non-refundable once payment has been received.  

5.2 If you are paying by Direct Debit you can cancel at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society.  

5.3 If you are paying annually you can cancel by contacting the membership team on 01619252000 (Mon-Fri 9am to 5pm), email membership@vegsoc.org or by post at the Vegetarian Society, 15 Jersey Street, Ancoats, Manchester, M4 6EZ. We will stop any payments being taken when your membership is due to renew.   

6. Membership Termination  

6.1 The Vegetarian Society reserves the right to reject an application or terminate a membership that fails to meet any of the terms and conditions outlined, or that is deemed inappropriate by the Vegetarian Society.  

7. Your personal details  

7.1 Any personal information you provide will be processed in line with our privacy policy which is compliant to the data protection laws in the UK. 

7.2 You can let us know at any point throughout your membership if your circumstances change and you want to change your membership type or change personal details. 

7.3 The minimum age to become a member of the Vegetarian Society is 18.