The 2018 offering of Veganuary has attracted record numbers of participants.
More than 115,000 people had registered for the initiative even before it started, with organisers expecting the overall figure to exceed 150,000, while Veganuary’s new book, How to Go Vegan, is in the Top 20 best sellers on Amazon.
Veganuary is now in its fifth year and has both driven and capitalised on the interest in veganism. In January 2014, 3,300 people took part, and that figure has grown year on year.
Celebrities are also helping to drive awareness of the benefits of plant-based diets, with Robbie Williams and Lewis Hamilton being two well-known names that declared themselves vegan during 2017. Veganuary has also attracted a raft of celebrity and sporting ambassadors, including food writer Jack Monroe, comedian Sara Pascoe, television presenter, Sarah-Jane Crawford, and Leeds Rhinos rugby player, Anthony Mullally.
Veganuary co-founder, Jane Land, commented: “Looking at the world around us, we can all feel despondent at times but veganism is empowering hundreds of thousands of people to have a real and positive impact.
Animal-free foods are kinder to the environment, contribute less to climate change, can feed more people and require fewer resources to produce. Also, of course, they don’t rely on the factory farming and slaughter of animals.
“Every plant-based meal is a statement of kindness and compassion, and a contribution to a better world. While the reasons for veganism have long been compelling, supermarkets and restaurants are now catching up and offering a huge variety of wonderful foods; 2018 is going to see a significant leap in the number of vegans – this is the year that veganism will go mainstream.”
