The Veganuary campaign set
a new record this year with a quarter-million sign-ups. This is more people
than have signed up for the campaign in its past four years combined!
Having started in the U.K., Veganuary now has a global
presence. Countries in which it is active include India, Russia,
Australia, and Japan. But in the U.K., Veganuary is truly an event. In fact,
this year restaurants and supermarkets in the U.K. stepped up and vigorously
participated in the campaign. Restaurant chain Pizza Hut introduced
a vegan pie featuring jackfruit; Papa John’s offered
vegan cheese on its menu for the first time; and supermarket giant
Sainsbury’s announced they were moving
26 plant-based meat and fish alternatives into their meat section. Even McDonald’s
offered a vegan Happy Meal!
In 2018, Veganuary saw more than 150,000 people participate
in its plant-based challenge, and what’s even more exciting is that more than
60 percent of those participants said they would stay vegan on a
post-campaign survey. Many claimed that during the month of cutting out animal
products they had learned a lot about the cruelty involved in animal
agriculture as well as its detrimental effects on the environment. Many
expressed that eating vegan was easier than they expected as well.
Vegan challenges are a powerful way to introduce people to
plant-based eating. And more plant-based meals being consumed means less animal
suffering. From painful mutilations to cruel confinement and brutal slaughter,
animals exploited for food suffer lives of misery and deprivation.
See for yourself.