About Us

Who We Are

Established in 1993, the Veg Society of El Paso (VSEP) has become one of the largest vegetarian associations in the US as well as one of the most active. We are an all-volunteer, non-profit educational organization whose mission is to promote the benefits of a plant-based diet by incorporating education with entertaining social events.

What We Do

In order to promote a vegetarian diet, we sponsor a plethora of activities including: Quarterly Dinners with nationally known speakers, The Restaurant Hoppers, educational presentations, potluck dinners, cooking classes, bake sales, and various informational events.

In our Restaurant Hopper series, several of the local chefs have expanded their repertoire by creating a vegan menu for the night. An additional benefit of these opportunities is the ability to let local businesses know that there is a great demand for vegan entrees in the El Paso area.  This desire for more choices has led to the publication of the El Paso Dining Guide. In order to be included in the guide, each restaurant has to offer at least one vegetarian dish.

Our Quarterly Dinners have featured guest speakers who are leaders in the vegan movement and have included Howard Lyman, author of Mad Cowboy; Robert Cohen, author of Milk: The Deadly Poison; Brenda Davis, Registered Dietician and author of the book Becoming Vegan; Captain Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society; Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States; Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals; and many others.

Vegans and non-vegans alike delight in sharing their culinary prowess at our potluck dinners. The dinners are fun, social events where we take recipe sharing to a whole new level. It gives all diners the ability to try different dishes and to share secrets of the trade.

We participate in local and regional health fairs and national events such as The Great American Meatout, World Vegetarian Day, Vegetarian Awareness Month, World Farm Animals Day, and the annual Animal Rights Conference. In addition, El Paso hosted the Statewide Annual Lone Star Vegetarian Chili Cook-Off in 1996 and we continue to compete in this event.

Join the Team as a member or volunteer!!

Become part of one of the best vegetarian societies in the country and help us make it THE BEST.

Please check our ➔ Leadership page for current vacant positions.

If you have the skills and the energy to volunteer, please call Greg Lawson at (915) 996-3072.