China Vegan Society
Evaluated Charity
The China Vegan Society (CVS) works to develop the vegan community in China to reduce animal product consumption, thereby reducing the immense suffering endured by the billions of animals who are exploited for food production. We think this type of work could be particularly impactful given the current relative neglectedness of pro-animal initiatives and the extremely large number of farmed animals raised and killed for food in China. Despite some of their strengths, CVS has a relatively limited track record of their work and a lack of data on the success of their programs compared to the charities we recommended this year. (We acknowledge that this is partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has restricted many of the activities conducted by CVS). We positively note that CVS’s programs are backed by sound reasoning and are sensitively tailored to the complexities of working in China.
| Review Published: | 2024 |
MOVE VEGANISM IN CHINA
What does the China Vegan Society do?
The China Vegan Society is dedicated to promoting the vegan lifestyle across China and bringing it into the mainstream. Since their establishment in 2021, the organization has introduced the country’s first vegan food and beauty care certifications, organized an annual vegan summit, facilitated vegan city fairs, and established a vegan action fellowship.
2023 revenue: $330,000
Staff size: 6 (3 full-time, 3 part-time)
Year founded: 2021
How is CVS’s organizational health?
Our assessment indicates CVS has positive staff engagement (average staff engagement survey score = 4.4/5) and is operating in ways that support their effectiveness and stability. Staff positively noted that they enjoy a good atmosphere, flexibility, and strong relationships at work. Staff also noted the organization’s forward-looking perspective and inclusiveness. We positively note that all policies are shared with staff.
How does CVS create change for animals?
There are over 56 billion farmed animals alive at any one point in time in China, of which 49 billion are farmed fishes. Additionally, 190 billion fishes are caught in the wild per year in China. Evidence indicates most of these animals are likely to suffer immensely. CVS aims to reduce the suffering of these animals by strategically building the vegan community in China, thereby reducing animal product consumption. ACE prioritizes work in China because it is the largest global farmed animal producer, and very few organizations are trying to help the large number of animals that suffer there while also acknowledging the political and practical constraints of working in the country. While CVS has strong local knowledge and well-reasoned programs, we think they would benefit from relying more on empirical evidence and formalizing their methods for tracking impact.
See more details on CVS’s theory of change.
See our How We Evaluate Charities web page for information about our charity selection, evaluation methods, and decision-making process.
CVS’s Recent Achievements
- CVS has established itself as a leading force for veganism in China, diversifying and revitalizing China’s vegan communities and their approaches.
- They published the country’s first-ever vegan food certification system and the first app for vegan events.
- They run an annual vegan summit and monthly city fairs across the country to help expand their audiences.
