Veganism - it’s not just for January

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people sign up for the Veganuary campaign. According to the Guardian, in 2021 a record 500,000 people worldwide took the Veganuary pledge to embrace plant-based diets for the month of January. This figure was up by 100,000 on 2020 and double the number of people who signed up for Veganuary in 2019. There is no doubt that veganism is on the rise. Recent research from TNS Kantar consumer panels shows that vegan meals now account for 1 in 8 meals we prepare at home, which equates to an additional 350 million plates of food that are now vegan-friendly. It’s not just with home cooking where veganism is starting to take hold. By the end of 2020 every one of the UK’s top supermarkets officially had their own vegan range. Tesco revealed a 300% rise in vegan meat sales, and committed to introducing more plant-based sausages, burgers and products designed to emulate meat.

Why are we switching to plant-based cuisine? Here are some of the main reasons we’ve found: for some, it’s about maintaining a longer and healthier life. For others, it’s about preserving the global food supply chain. Health

Vegan diets focus primarily on fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains that include fibre, antioxidants and essential nutrients, the health benefits are obvious. The absence of animal-based products also means a decrease in saturated and trans-fat, resulting in a reduced risk of health-related problems.

Environmental Sustainability

Meat-based diets use more resources, including land, water, and energy, to produce food while vegan diets require less cropland. According to one UK study, the production of animal-based foods creates twice as much greenhouse gas emissions than the production of plant-based foods. Research conducted by Oxford University in 2020 found that cutting meat and dairy products from our diet could reduce an individual’s carbon footprint by up to 73%. Global Food Demand

There’s concern that the global demand on the resources required to produce meat products will cause a worldwide food shortage. In February 2021, Chatham House published research confirming that the current global food system is the leading cause of biodiversity loss worldwide, and a shift towards plant-based diets will be crucial in limiting the damage. They stated that a global shift towards a plantbased diet would create a more sustainable food system, as well as benefitting our health, helping to reduce the risk of pandemics. Whether a wholly or partial vegan (or “flexitarian”) lifestyle is for you or not, it’s clear that by opting to choose more plantbased products, we can reduce overall carbon emissions, produce more food to feed those in third world countries, and give more land back to our planet through reduced animal agriculture.