Introduction
This article, originally published in German in BioPress Magazin 01/2026 (January 2026), explores a timely development at the intersection of veganism and sustainable agriculture. In a food landscape increasingly defined by plant-based preferences, a structural gap has persisted between vegan product labelling and ecological farming practice. Axel Anders (Berlin) presents how the V-Label has introduced a new certification category—V-Label Vegan Agriculture—to extend vegan criteria from product ingredients into the realm of primary agricultural production.
Below you will find the English translation of this insightful piece, which outlines how this new label category, developed in cooperation with Biocyclic Vegan International, could help bridge the divide between vegan ethics and regenerative organic farming.
English Version:
Vegan Meets Organic Farming:
The V-Label Introduces a New Label Category
Future food systems will be far more plant-based—on that, scientists, policymakers, and health institutions largely agree. Concepts such as the Planetary Health Diet make it clear that a significant shift toward plant-based foods is essential to protect the climate, biodiversity, and natural resources. This shift is also reflected in the German Nutrition Society’s (DGE) updated food pyramid, which places plant-based foods firmly at its core. At the same time, there is a broad consensus that livestock numbers must be substantially reduced to meet environmental, climate, and public health goals.
Consumer behaviour shows that this transition is already underway. Vegan products are steadily gaining market share in supermarkets and drugstores, while demand for organic food continues to grow. More and more consumers recognise that sustainable agriculture cannot rely on synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, monocultures, or soil-degrading practices. Regenerative and nature-based farming methods are increasingly moving into focus.
Yet despite these parallel trends, a structural gap remains. Organic farming—long regarded as the gold standard of sustainable agriculture—has traditionally been closely linked to animal husbandry and animal-based inputs. Vegan labelling, on the other hand, applies only to the final product. It confirms the absence of animal ingredients and processing aids but does not address how the plant-based raw materials were grown or whether they may originate from farming systems that rely heavily on livestock, manure, or other animal by-products (slaughterhouse waste).
As a result, two sustainability-driven systems exist side by side, but rarely intersect:
- Organic farming focuses on ecological production, often combined with animal husbandry.
- Vegan labelling guarantees animal-free products but does not address agricultural practices.
Biocyclic vegan agriculture has long demonstrated that these two approaches can—and should—be combined. It represents an organic farming model based entirely on plant-based nutrient cycles, with a strong emphasis on soil health, climate protection, biodiversity, and resource efficiency. In doing so, it provides a blueprint for aligning organic principles with a fully vegan approach to agriculture.
This is precisely where the V-Label is now stepping in.
The V-Label extends its scope to organic and vegan agricultural production
With the launch of the new “V-Label Vegan Agriculture” in November 2025, Swissveg—through V-Label GmbH—is taking a decisive step forward. For the first time, vegan certification will extend beyond product ingredients to include primary agricultural production itself. Vegan labelling is no longer limited to what ends up on the plate, but now covers how food is grown, addressing the entire value chain from field to shelf.
Biocyclic Vegan International Provides the Required Expertise
To develop this new label category, V-Label GmbH is partnering with Biocyclic Vegan International and its certification body, BVL Biocyclic Vegan Label Ltd., which oversees the Biocyclic Vegan Quality Seal.
At the heart of this collaboration is the Biocyclic Vegan Standard, part of the internationally recognised IFOAM Family of Standards. These guidelines define an organic farming system that:
- operates without livestock and without animal-derived inputs,
- relies exclusively on plant-based nutrient cycles,
- actively builds soil fertility and humus, and
- promotes biodiversity and resilient ecosystems.
This standard provides the technical and scientific foundation for the new V-Label category. Farms already certified under the biocyclic vegan system can obtain the
V-Label Vegan Agriculture without undergoing an additional inspection process, ensuring both credibility and efficiency.
A Market Signal: Enabling New Value Chains
With around 70,000 certified products worldwide, the V-Label is one of the most recognised vegan labels globally. Its expansion into agriculture has the potential to significantly strengthen sustainability standards within the plant-based sector.
The new label category can stimulate demand for plant-based raw materials that are not only vegan, but also produced organically and without animal use—across the entire supply chain.
Manufacturers and retailers gain new opportunities to:
- source ingredients according to bioyclic vegan criteria,
- clearly differentiate their products,
- build fully vegan and sustainable supply chains, and
- offer consumers greater transparency and orientation.
For farmers, this creates an opportunity to position themselves early in a growing market segment. For brands and retailers, it offers a credible way to elevate plant-based assortments beyond ingredients alone and anchor them in regenerative agricultural practices.
Bringing VEGAN and ORGANIC Together
By combining the V-Label Vegan Agriculture with the Biocyclic Vegan Quality Seal, two worlds that have long been separated at the agricultural level—VEGAN and ORGANIC—are finally being brought together. Together, the labels create a clear framework for companies that want to develop plant-based products that are not only free from animal ingredients, but also rooted in ecological, regenerative farming.
In doing so, the V-Label and the Biocyclic Vegan Quality Seal send a strong signal for the future of food systems—one that addresses climate protection, environmental responsibility, and public health, while also responding to growing societal expectations for agriculture without animal exploitation. While debates around plant-based diets often focus on reducing animal products at the consumer level, the question of how this transition is implemented on farms is frequently overlooked. Biocyclic vegan agriculture offers a proven, certified answer. By extending the V-Label to include agricultural production, this approach now gains the visibility it needs to scale—across markets, supply chains, and ultimately, food systems worldwide.