Veganuary Explained

Veganuary
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Formation:2014
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Purpose:Advocacy
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Veganuary is an annual challenge run by a UK nonprofit organisation that promotes and educates about veganism by encouraging people to follow a vegan lifestyle for the month of January. Since the event began in 2014, participation has increased each year. 400,000 people signed up to the 2020 campaign. The campaign estimated this represented the carbon dioxide equivalent of 450,000 flights and the lives of more than a million animals. Veganuary can also refer to the event itself.[1] [2]

History

Founded by Jane Land and Matthew Glover,[3] the first event was during January 2014.[4] In 2015 the project registered 12,800 sign-ups. From there the sign-ups grew to over 500,00 in 2021.[5]

The name "Veganuary" is a portmanteau of "vegan" + "January". The first part of the compound is pronounced either or, whereas the -uary part is subject to the same kind of variation as in the case of the word "January" itself, thus,, etc.

In 2023 , a documentary about the event, featured vegans Kellie Bright, Jane Fallon, Jasmine Harman, Evanna Lynch, Chris Packham and Benjamin Zephaniah and vegan chefs Henry Firth and Ian Threasby.[6] [7] [8] It debuted at the November 2023 Plant Based World Expo.

Programme

Veganuary is a crowdfunded campaign to issue a challenge each January promoting eating vegan for the month.[9]

Participants sign up online and receive a downloadable "starter kit" and daily support emails.[10] They're offered an online "vegan starter kit" with restaurant guides, product directories, and a recipe database. Participants are encouraged to share images and recipes to social media, which according to academic Alexa Weik von Mossner creates a sense of community and communicates the message that veganism is easy and fun.

Reception

Gentleman's Quarterly noted "it's a clever way to introduce a new way of nutritional thinking at a time of year where our mind is hardwired to explore ways to better ourselves".[11]

A January 2019 slump in UK pub receipts was blamed on Veganuary.[12]

Von Mossner notes that criticism can be raised over the fact that Veganuary uses "images with happy-looking, baby-faced animals while at the same time downplaying (though not completely omitting) the horrific truth about the lives and deaths of the actual animals that are nevertheless slaughtered everyday for human consumption". Another point of criticism may be "the campaign's strict emphasis on food rather than on other aspects of the vegan lifestyle and worldview".

Tobias Leenaert postulated the popularity of the campaign may be partially due to the organizers' decision to promote "trying" veganism for a specific period vs. "going vegan", which allows participants to decide not to continue with an all-vegan diet without feeling as if they've failed. Von Mossner agrees and points to the "light-hearted" and generally positive tone of the promotional materials, which feature attractive and "frequently named animals" with captions like, "Save little Eric—Try Vegan this January" rather than images of animal abuse.

Impact

Food businesses and restaurants in the UK have been introducing new vegan products in January to coincide with Veganuary.[13] [14] The supermarkets in the UK, including Tesco, have been seen to run advertisements advertising Veganuary.[5]

People in the United States are now participants in the challenge. In 2019, The Washington Post reported that "46 percent of people signed up for health reasons, with 34 percent citing animal cruelty and only 12 percent climate issues."[15] In 2020, the Houston Chronicle reported that "Texas was the state with the second-highest sign-ups in the U.S."[16] In 2021, The Maine Sunday Telegram reported that "Annual participation continues to be biggest in Britain, but it’s slowly spreading to the U.S., along with many other countries including Mexico, Argentina, Germany and Sweden."[17]

In 2022, Veganuary published a deck of 40 inspirational cards called The Vegan Kit.[18]

As of 2024, Veganuary ambassadors include Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and Joaquin Phoenix.[19]

2024 was the first year Veganuary launched their campaign in Spain.[20] This year Veganuary in that country had the support of the Spanish celebrities Dani Rovira, Clara Lago, Elisabeth Larena, Núria Gago, Nathalie Poza and David Pareja.[21] [22]

Participants

Participation in Veganuary has become increasingly popular, with the number of people signing up rising each year:

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Here's How Veganuary Took Over The First Part Of The Year. 2020-08-11. Dictionary.com. en-US.
  2. Web site: Veganuary definition and meaning . 2020-08-11 . . en.
  3. News: Why I started the Veganuary movement . 3 January 2020 . BBC News . 3 January 2020.
  4. Web site: Maynard . Micheline . Happy Veganuary: Vegans And Vegetarians Are In The 2019 Dining Spotlight . Forbes . 19 February 2019.
  5. News: Carrington . Damian . Record 500,000 people pledge to eat only vegan food in January . 20 May 2019 . . 5 January 2021 . 0261-3077.
  6. Web site: Clark . Daniel . 2023-11-08 . ‘It'll Never Catch On’: New Film Tells Story Of Veganuary’s First Decade . 2023-12-10 . . en-GB.
  7. Web site: Chiorando . Maria . 2023-11-09 . New documentary marks 10 years of success for Veganuary . 2023-12-10 . . en-GB.
  8. Web site: Pointing . Charlotte . The Veganuary Campaign Celebrates 10 Years With a Documentary . 2023-12-10 . . en-US.
  9. Book: Alexa Weik von Mossner. "How We Feel about (Not) Eating Animals" in Through a Vegan Studies Lens: Textual Ethics and Lived Activism. 2019. University of Nevada Press. 978-1-948908-11-5.
  10. Web site: Kettle . Emilia . What is Veganuary? Everything you need to know and advice . . 21 February 2024.
  11. Web site: Knight . Nick . Veganuary is here: what you need to know . 4 January 2019 . Gentleman's Quarterly . 19 February 2019.
  12. News: Gill . Oliver . 'Veganuary' blamed for January pub hangover . . 18 February 2019 . 19 February 2019 . limited . https://archive.today/20240220152728/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/02/18/veganuary-blamed-january-pub-hangover/ . 2024-02-20 . live.
  13. News: Howard . Tom . 2021-01-05 . Meatless burgers hit the high street for Veganuary . . en . 2021-01-06 . 0140-0460 . limited . https://archive.today/20211120165056/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/meatless-burgers-hit-the-high-street-for-veganuary-rsppq2ndc . 2021-11-20 . live.
  14. Web site: Maynard. Maddie. 2020-12-18. Seven plant-based meat alternatives launching for Veganuary 2021. 2021-01-06. The Grocer. en.
  15. News: Heil . Emily . 2019-12-11 . 'Veganuary' wants to be your new food resolution for 2020 — and beyond . en-US . . 2021-01-06 . 0190-8286 . subscription . https://web.archive.org/web/20191211185345/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2019/12/11/veganuary-wants-to-be-your-new-food-resolution-for-2020-and-beyond/ . 2019-12-11 . live.
  16. Web site: Balter. Emma. 2021-01-05. Goodbye 2020, hello Veganuary: the global movement to eat plant-based for a month. 2021-01-06. Houston Chronicle. en-US.
  17. Web site: Kamila . Avery Yale . 2021-01-03 . Vegan Kitchen: More people are resolving to start the year without animal products . 2021-01-05 . . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210103120320/https://www.pressherald.com/2021/01/03/vegan-kitchen-more-people-are-resolving-to-start-the-year-without-animal-products/ . 2021-01-03.
  18. Web site: Kamila . Avery Yale . 2022-12-11 . The best vegan cookbooks of 2022 . 2023-03-18 . Press Herald . https://web.archive.org/web/20221211130718/https://www.pressherald.com/2022/12/11/the-best-vegan-cookbooks-of-2022/ . 2022-12-11 . live.
  19. Web site: Veganuary turns 10: How plant-based foods took over Europe . 2024-01-06. 2024-01-09. Euronews.
  20. Web site: Arana . Lucía . Veganuary acompañó a 1,8 millones de personas a probar el veganismo durante el mes de enero . Veganuary helped 1.8 million people try veganism during the month of January . . es . 2024-02-05 . 2024-03-13.
  21. Web site: Arana . Lucía . Personalidades del cine y la cultura se vuelcan con Veganuary 2024 . Cinema and cultural personalities turn to Veganuary 2024 . . es . 2023-12-29 . 2024-03-13 .
  22. Web site: 'Veganuary': comer vegano en enero . 'Veganuary': eating vegan in January . Navarra Capital . es . 2024-01-05 . 2024-03-13.
  23. Web site: Lowbridge . Caroline . Veganism: How a maligned movement went mainstream . . 20 February 2024.
  24. News: Veganuary: Is following a vegan diet for a month worth it? . BBC News . 8 December 2020 . 4 January 2017.
  25. Web site: McCoole . Veena . Going Vegan This January? A London Food Entrepreneur Shares Her Tips For Veganuary . Forbes . 8 December 2020 . en.
  26. News: Topping . Alexandra . Year of the vegan? Record numbers sign up for Veganuary . The Guardian . 8 December 2020 . en . 31 December 2018.
  27. News: Smithers . Rebecca . Veganuary signed up record 400,000 people, campaign reveals . The Guardian . 8 December 2020 . 3 February 2020.
  28. Web site: Veganuary's rise is unstoppable as 2021 becomes biggest year yet . Veganuary . 1 February 2021 . 2 February 2021.
  29. Web site: Veganuary takes world by storm with participants in nearly every country . Veganuary . 1 February 2022 . 8 March 2022.
  30. Web site: Chelsea . 2023-02-02 . Veganuary 2023 breaks all records in campaign's 10th year . 2023-02-10 . Veganuary . en-GB.
  31. https://vegconomist.com/society/charity-campaigns/veganuary-2024-record-participation/ Veganuary 2024 Supports Over 1.8 Million Participants Worldwide to Try Veganism

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