Originally Posted by Bliss | Jun 28, 2022 | Amplify Goodness, Animal Welfare, Beauty Without Cruelty, Business, Causes, Earth, environment, Featured, Goodness Messages, Health, Inspiration, Interviews, Make A Difference, News, Peace, People, Positivity, Solutions, Sustainability, Vegan & Vegetarian, What I Learned, World
Hi Carissa, can you tell us about your business or organization?
BeVeg is the world’s first and only ISO accredited vegan standard, making it the most reliable benchmark for Vegan claims globally and the only real certification program that conducts third-party on-site audits. BeVeg is represented and internationally recognized worldwide. The BeVeg Vegan trademark means the Vegan product / service claim is reliable and was certified and verified according to consistent standards uniformly applied. The OU (Orthodox Union, world’s largest kosher certifier) and NSF (world’s leading food safety certifier) are the official global auditing partners for BeVeg, carrying out audits in about 200 countries.
How did your organization come to be?
It started with glass of wine and a Vegan tofu burrito, only for someone to kill my buzz by telling me that my Vegan wine was not Vegan. I was shocked to learn from google that wines were often filtered through animal parts and were not just grapes. That lead to a period of discovery on global labeling laws and the deficiencies of such laws for Vegan label claims. As a lawyer, I was shocked and dismayed at how little transparency there was despite the intent of consumer protection laws. In an effort to affect change and inspire laws, my law firm — the Law Offices of Carissa Kranz — began drafting the Vegan standard in 2017. The official BeVeg Vegan standard later became ISO accredited and recognized as the only meaningfully robust and accredited Vegan standard globally.
What would you like to see your organization accomplish?
Global label transparency for Vegan claims. BeVeg has accomplished a global Vegan standard and definition to certify against that is internationally recognized, accepted and accredited. No other Vegan trademark has set out accredited Vegan standards like BeVeg to audit against. I’d like for all qualified companies to certify against our uniform standards so Vegan label claims can be trusted, uniform, verified and certified globally. BeVeg investigates supply chain accountability and conducts on-site audits to ensure processes and products maintain Vegan integrity. Vegan is a clean claim which means free from animal material and cruelty-free. Such a claim can only be truthfully made from the facility level. The mission of BeVeg is to provide label transparency that the plant-based consumer and retailer expects for Vegan labeled products.
Why are you passionate about planetary wellness?
I’m a Vegan from birth, a lawyer, and an advocate for the laws that matter. I’m passionate about justice and creating laws. Vegan law and Vegan label law is an unexplored, undefined area that begs for clear definitions. There is a consumer confidence crisis, and I’m passionate about pioneering clear standards and laws that protect the Vegan-interested plant-based consumer. I am driven by passion and purpose, and how lucky am I that this is also my profession!?!
What is the one thing you would most like to change about the world?
I wish for compassion, kindness, love and peace for all. I wish to make enlightened decisions and hope to inspire others to do the same –I aspire to lead with good intentions and by example.
What impact do you want to leave on the world?
I wish to make a tremendous difference and inspire others to do the same. BeVeg is an official mark I will leave behind in the world, and one that I am proud of. BeVeg stands for truth, transparency, kindness, compassion, purity, and is the symbol of a plant-based world. BeVeg is a mark that is popular and mainstream; the mark itself raises awareness, and when we raise awareness through a mark, we become more conscious of the attributes associated with that mark and self-aware. It’s amazing I’ve been able to trademark the mark I wish to leave behind in the world.
What makes you smile?
Inner peace. Inner joy. Inner purpose. All feelings found and discovered when searching within oneself.
What inspires you?
Helping others. Witnessing random acts of kindness. Ballet. Animals. Meditation. A good spa day!
If you could talk to anyone from the past, now or the future who would it be and what would you ask them?
My future self! I’d ask for the crystal ball of answers. My future self would then tell me that’s not for me to know, and that I must simply trust myself, be patient with time, and enjoy the process. The Universe works in mysterious ways and those ways are privileged!
If a doctor gave you only two years left to live, what would you do differently?
I’d try to delegate better so all that I have worked for and built will survive me. I’d deliberately try to have a lot more fun in building. Strike the stress! In fact, I should take this approach now …. we all have a limited time on this planet, so thank you for making me reflect on this question and answer!
Where would you most like to visit on an adventure and why?
I want to go to Antarctica. I love being in remote places, absorbed in nature. To visit an entire continent of ice and wildlife seems divine. I’ve been to every continent except Antarctica, so that’s my next wishful adventure.
If you could go back in time and share words with your younger self…what would you say?
Relax. Everything always works out ok in the end. If it doesn’t feel ok, then it’s not the end. Enjoy the journey. Remember a winner never quits and a quitter never wins. Nothing is impossible as that word alone implies “I’m possible.” Play more… dance more… love more… laugh more… you won’t regret it. Give your all to everything you do, but don’t take yourself too seriously. Be attached to the energy you give but detach from outcomes you can’t control. Be confident. Be bold. Be Veg!
What small act of kindness were you once shown that you will never forget?
My Mom would never squish an insect in the home. Instead, she went on rescue missions. Ever since I was a little girl, I followed suit. I always rescue the little critters who accidentally get stuck inside my space and set them free.
When do you feel most like yourself?
Relaxing in a hot bubble bath!
What is the meaning of ‘LIFE’ to you?
A miracle. Life is an energy force that has feeling, self-awareness, intelligence, and is a word that is part of the cycle of death. Life is an opportunity to do great things; to live in service of a higher calling that is eternal.
When your time here on this planet is over… what would you like people to remember about you?
I hope they will feel inspired and remember me as being “real.” I believe it is the essence of what we give and do, not necessarily the acts, but the essence that was received from the act, and the spirit within which the act was carried out, that matters most. I want people to remember how I dedicate my life to practicing and penning the Laws that Matter, which contributes to causes much greater and more profound than myself.
If you only had a few minutes to share the wisdom you’ve learned on this journey called life… What would you say?
Breathe. Find meaning. Allow your passion and purpose to become your profession. All things are possible. Why not you? You can do and manifest anything. Alignment, plus action equals attraction. This is law.