The Vegetarian Society seedling symbol was first registered as an official trademark in 1969. By the early 1980s, with the considerable growth in vegetarianism, the seedling symbol was becoming more actively sought out. Food manufacturing companies were also beginning to realise the potential of using the symbol on their range of products.

Many manufacturers wanted to use The Vegetarian Society seedling symbol, believing their products to be vegetarian. Closer inspection would often reveal that such products contained non-vegetarian ingredients, animal fats or additives. This resulted in the creation of the first set of official Vegetarian Society guidelines concerning the usage of the symbol.