Experimenting with the vegan diet from 1st to 31st January: this is the lucky intuition of Veganuary, an international campaign enjoying increasing success among people, restaurants, and companies. In 2020 it also arrived in Italy, thanks to the non-profit organization Being Animals. And January 2023 is enjoying transversal success.
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The Veganuary Challenge: A Vegan January
The start of the new year traditionally brings with it a boost of enthusiasm and willpower. It offers us a symbolic chance to close the accounts with what hasn’t worked in the previous months, opening our minds to change. Why not also take the opportunity to reflect on our diet and, more generally, on our lifestyle?
Starting from this intuition, Veganuary was born in 2014, a British non-profit organization that launched a challenge that is as simple as it is effective: try your hand at a vegan diet from the 1st to the 31st of January.
Thirty-one days dedicated to discovering plant-based nutrition, overcoming the stereotypes that still surround it, and experiencing its effects on health and mood firsthand. At the end of the month, some go back to their usual omnivorous diet, and those who, on the other hand, decide to commit themselves to a more lasting change. Regardless of personal choices, everyone stocks up on new stimuli.
Starting from the United Kingdom, the campaign has gone beyond borders year after year, achieving ever more tremendous success. If in 2014 it was still a niche phenomenon with 3,300 members, in 2020, it even reached 400 thousand.
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January Arrives In India
In 2020, India also joined the extensive list of countries participating in Veganuary. Thanks to Being Animals, an animal welfare non-profit organization focusing on the food industry. The activists of Being Animals undertake precious investigative work, going to verify firsthand the (sometimes dramatic) conditions in which intensive farms and slaughterhouses find themselves.
Assuming all the risks and responsibilities of the case, they bring these images to the attention of the mass media, public opinion, and institutions and encourage companies to improve their methods. All this with the great objective of “promoting a food system that puts an end to the exploitation of animals and is more sustainable for the planet. ”
With such a mission, the organization is particularly in line with the spirit of Veganuary, so much so that it has promoted it in our country. Interested parties can find all the information on the Veguary site of Being Animals The first edition of Veganuary Italia was much more successful than the initiatives, with over 15,000 registrations (in Europe, only the United Kingdom and Germany did better) and the exploit of Milan, in sixth place in the global ranking of cities with the most participants.
The 2023 Edition Of Veganuary
Globally, the 2022 edition of Veganuary has already been crowned as the most successful ever, with 620,000 subscribers in 220 countries, clearly detaching the 580,000 in 2021. Only at the end of Veganuary 2023 will it be possible to take stock, but it seems clear how the initiative has gained transversal popularity. For example, 71% of adults have heard of it in the UK, and 9% have attended it at least once.
Many elements have contributed to this success. On the one hand, testimonials of the caliber of Jane Goodall, Venus Williams, and Eric Adams, the first vegan mayor of New York. Then, the companies that participated in the Veganuary Workplace Challenge invited employees to experiment with a vegan diet through gamification mechanisms and symbolic prizes.
More than anything else, the initiative’s environmental benefits are convincing. Since 2014, around two million people in 192 countries have tried a plant-based diet in January. This means that the emission into the atmosphere of over 207,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent was avoided, such as 2.4 million flights from London to Paris. In addition, 12.4 million liters of water were saved. And this is a partial count because many others have yet to register on the right site.
Where To Find Vegan Recipes And Practical Advice
Especially for those who have always been accustomed to an omnivorous diet, this experiment can intrigue but also frighten. How to compose a varied and balanced menu? What to put in the shopping cart? Which places to go to for a veg lunch break? How to treat yourself to some whim to ensure that vegan January is also a satisfaction for the palate?
The promoters of the initiative answer all these questions. All you have to do is register for free on the campaign website to receive a newsletter packed with practical information, nutritional advice, and Veganuary recipes every day, from 1st to 31st January. The Cure-natural Food channel also offers a vibrant range of vegan recipes and theoretical articles that explore the impact of this diet on health.
Companies And Restaurants Promote Plant-Based Nutrition
Veganuary is a path that involves people and families, but not only. Companies have an equally decisive role because, by expanding and promoting their offer of plant-based products, they can allow anyone to enjoy the Veganuary experience better, transforming it into a moment of discovery.
In January 2020, over 650 vegan products were launched globally, and over 550 vegan dishes were added to restaurant menus. The campaign was joined by restaurant heavyweights such as Pizza Hut, which eventually made Pepperoni pizza a fixed menu item; Pret a Manger, which launched its first vegan croissant; KFC, which sold one million vegan burgers in just one month, the equivalent of one every three seconds; Deliveroo, which in January 2020 reported a +78% of orders for vegan dishes.
For the Veganuary, Lidl in India has included dozens of vegan dishes of its brand in its flyer, with a maximum price of 3 euros each. Conversely, Cameo has enriched its website with an ad hoc section dedicated to vegetable recipes. Among the partners of the Italian edition over the years are Lush, a brand of cruelty-free body care products, the Capatoast and America Graffiti restaurant chains, and vegetable product brands such as Alpro, Very, Mozzarella, Food Evolution, Vitariz, Primavera, and Pangea Foods.
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