# North American Vegetarian Society

The North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS) is a charity and activist organization with the stated objectives of supporting vegetarians and informing the public about the benefits of vegetarianism.
It was initially founded in 1974 to organize the International Vegetarian Union's 1975 World Vegetarian Congress in Orono, Maine, which has been called the most significant event of the vegetarian movement in the United States in the 20th century.
In 1977, the organization started an annual event, World Vegetarian Day. The following year the International Vegetarian Union joined in holding the event. The event is celebrated October 1 of each year and kicks off a month-long event, Vegetarian Awareness Month, which ends November 1 with World Vegan Day.

## Vegan Hall of Fame

NAVS initiated the Vegetarian Hall of Fame (now the Vegan Hall of Fame) in 1990, which has enshrined 33 activists.
Vegan Hall of Fame members :
| Name | Known for | Year of award |
| Freya Dinshah | American Vegan Society | 1990 |
| H. Jay Dinshah | American Vegan Society | 1990 |
| Helen Nearing | Simple living advocate and vegetarian | 1991 |
| Scott Nearing | Simple living advocate and vegetarian | 1991 |
| Michael Klaper | Physician and author | 1992 |
| George Eisman | Registered dietitian and author | 1993 |
| Paul Obis | Founder and editor of Vegetarian Times | 1994 |
| Mahatma Gandhi | Indian independence advocate and vegetarian | 1995 |
| Alex Hershaft | Co-founder and president of Farm Animal Rights Movement | 1998 |
| Howard Lyman | Livestock farmer turned vegan, a vegan and animal rights activist | 2002 |
| Richard H. Schwartz | Professor of mathematics, president of Jewish Veg | 2005 |
| T. Colin Campbell | Professor of nutritional biochemistry and advocate of a plant-based diet | 2006 |
| Brenda Davis | Registered dietitian and author | 2007 |
| Joanne Stepaniak | Author of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks | 2008 |
| Caldwell Esselstyn | Cardiologist, Olympic gold medalist, vegan | 2010 |
| Neal D. Barnard | Founding president of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine | 2011 |
| Hans Diehl | Physician and plant-based nutrition author | 2015 |
| Miyoko Schinner | Founder of vegan cheese producer Miyoko's Creamery | 2016 |
| Michael Greger | Physician and plant-based nutrition author | 2019 |
| Kim A. Williams Sr., MD | Dr. Williams is a vegan cardiologist who promotes plant-based eating for better heart health. | 2023 |
| Victoria Moran | Victoria Moran is a bestselling author, speaker, spiritual adventurer, animal advocate, aspiring yogi and founder of Main Street Vegan Academy. | 2024 |

## NAVS Vegan Summerfest

Since 1974, the NAVS has run an annual vegetarian summer conference - originally for 9–10 days encompassing two full weekends, on a college or university campus (often in Pennsylvania). In 199x the summer conference's name was changed to NAVS Vegetarian Summerfest (with all vegan meals). In 2019, the name was changed to NAVS Vegan Summerfest. During this now 5-day event, the inductee for the Vegan Hall of Fame is announced and celebrated. The most frequent Summerfest site is the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown (UPJ) in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. In 1996, the World Vegetarian Congress was held simultaneously with the NAVS Vegetarian Summerfest, in Johnstown. Three international vegetarian conferences have been held simultaneously with the NAVS Vegan Summerfests.