A little clarification on the subject of Vegan France

We repeat our request to Vegan France to stop intimidating all those who would like to adopt our organic Betwelve food supplement. We would also like to emphasise that the current presidency of Vegan France does not wish to enter into discussion with us.

As far as we know, and in view of the exchanges at VeggieWorld with various people who we will not list here, this is not the first time that the presidency of Vegan France has acted in this way. Whenever a new product comes out it is always the same process. We have decided to describe it to you below, based on our own experience.

Furthermore, we have copied the comments of the facebook group “Vive la B12!” exactly as they are written.

1. Directly putting down the product without research and without contacting the people involved (i.e. us !).

Vegan France:

As a first impression it would not be viable! Apparently their B12 comes from fermentation of mushrooms, we know that this B12 is not bioavailable to humans. We’ll investigate further, but if this is true, it’s a disgrace.

There we were shocked. The conclusions are already hasty and unfounded. The aim is clearly to get rid of the product as quickly as possible. We are still waiting for the result of their investigations. We tried to make contact at the last Veggieworld show with the president who formally rejected our request.

Vegan France: Well, you add to that the “natural” (which means nothing) and “organic” (which does not apply to vitamins…) coating and that’s the cherry on the cake.

Clearly, the presidency of Vegan France has not understood the project, which is to offer an organic, eco-friendly and effective food supplement.

2. Scare and intimidate

Vegan France: I don’t think we’ll ever get an answer from the company. Maybe we’ll have to wait for people to experiment on themselves. But I think that people who buy the product don’t realise that they are experimenting, so there is a risk that they will go to the point of deficiency and get symptoms of neurological and blood degradation.

We think that this kind of talk is not appropriate. Playing on fear is not new and it is dangerous, as we have seen in other, much more serious contexts.

Vegan France: There is also the risk that children will be in danger, as there is no proof that the product works.

Again, they are playing on fear. Are we all dying from B12 deficiency in our country? Deficiency is certainly a public health issue, but we must be careful not to give in to psychosis. It is very dodgy that a Facebook group is scaring a whole community in order to systematically push their own product…

Vegan France: For the moment, I know of one shop in Charleroi, but he changed his mind after we spoke.

Contacting our partners to intimidate them, belittle us and dissuade them from working with us… erm… do you have the right to do that?

3. Pestering for supporting documents

Vegan France: … Publish your analysis and your method of designing your products now as well as the reference documentation on which you based your work…

We’re not hiding but we are a small company. Do you know of any other company in our sector that passes on to the competition all their sources: analyses, processes, studies, etc.?

By the way, does Vegan France distribute these batch analyses of cyanocobalamin purchased in China or give the place and manufacture diagram of VEG1?

We have written an article which you can read here which explains that the MHA forms are also bioavailable according to the scientific literature provided on this subject.

Our product is declared, certified and tested.

The labelling clearly states that it contains the natural forms of Methyl-cobalamin, Hydroxy-cobalamin, and adenosyl-cobalamin.

Do you think that we would risk writing nonsense in the eyes of the regulatory authorities of the food supplement market?

4. Let’s not give in to provocation

Today, we have serious questions about this federation, what is its real purpose? Is it really as independent as it likes to say it is? Why do all their articles encourage people to buy Veg1?

Why doesn’t it sell other products on its website: shop.federationvegane.fr? For us, a federation should offer all available products to vegans and vegetarians or none at all.

We prefer the approach of the Vegetarian Association of France, which actively raises awareness without distributing and selling products.

5. To supplement, yes, but to the best of one’s knowledge and belief

The president of Vegan France stated during his conference at Veggie World Paris 2019 that:

1. general practitioners do not know the correct test for vitamin B12 and that in any case…

2. …medical laboratories do not know how to do the said “test”, they will subcontract to laboratories.

In short, his final conclusion: “don’t bother with all that, just take the only product that we think has been proven to work”… a bit too easy for our liking…

We would like to remind you that doctors have a doctorate and know what they are talking about, and that isolated cases should not be made into a general rule…laboratories can subcontract certain analyses to partners…

We believe that supplementation is a personal matter, and that each person is free to choose what suits him or her best. If product X works for you, continue; if you’re not happy with product Y, change; if product Z doesn’t work, change.

You can vary your supplementation and sources of B12. Take cyano or the natural MHA forms, opt for daily or an occasional weekly supplement.

Above all, don’t hesitate to consult your GP who will be able to guide you better than anyone else.

6. In conclusion

We are happy to shake up the market by offering a natural vitamin B12 (MHA) based food supplement.

Our Betwelve contains Methyl Hydroxy-, and Adenosyl-cobalamin forms, all of which are active according to the latest scientific literature and research.

Our container is plastic-free with a cork lid that makes it reusable. Our product is organically produced in a more environmentally friendly way than conventional production.

It contains ONLY vitamin B12 because for us, multivitamins don’t always make sense, what’s the point of supplementing with vitamin D all year round even in summer?

Each batch is tested internally, according to a control plan and random batches are sent to external laboratories.

Our Betwelve has been developed according to the values that drive us every day:

• Jérémie, a vegan like all his family, dissatisfied with what was on offer
  
• Maurice, a specialist and ardent fan of food supplements
  
• Alexis always with his head in his research
  

Our wish? A change in the presidency of Vegan France, for the sake of everyone, so that the market can be stimulated and new products are not stifled.

Our food supplements are authorised, certified and analysed by the independent bodies authorised to do so. We only report to them, whether the president of Vegan France likes it or not.

We hope that this will make members of Vegan France aware of what is going on behind the scenes to protect VEG1.

Photo by Sam Carter on Unsplash