Veganuary is one of the most popular paths to veganism and this year marks a decade of people going plant-based in the new year!
Visit VEGANUARY.
Jane Land and Matthew Glover, Veganuary founders
Queens, New York, January 4th, 2024 — Millions have signed the
Veganuary pledge since the concept launched in 2014. During the 2023
campaign alone, 155 million people were reached via social media and
more than 700,000 people officially signed up, with millions more
reportedly following along without signing up. If past is prologue,
the ongoing 2024 campaign is likely to surpass even those impressive
numbers as this phenomenon just keeps on growing.
Veganuary is the brainchild of Matthew Glover, a UK businessman, and
his wife Jane Land. These two committed vegans came up with the idea
while sitting around a kitchen table in York, England. Over the last
decade Veganuary has blossomed into a global event with campaigns in
14 countries across Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa
and beyond. Two of the world’s biggest celebrities, Joaquin Phoenix
and Billie Eilish, are official Veganuary ambassadors. When you sign
up for Veganuary, you get access to a Celebrity Cookbook, and
various meal plans to get you started on the right foot.
Celebrity Recipes To Kick Off The New Year
Recipes in the cookbook include actress Alicia Silverstone’s
Radicchio Pizza with Truffle Oil, tennis star Venus William’s Trio
of Smoothies, and Dr. Jane Goodall’s Strawberry Cheesecake which
uses tofu and coconut cream for the base. It’s almost dinnertime
here in New York and you can bet I’ll be pulling out the truffle oil
tonight.
Purple Sweet Potato: Vegetable Of The Year
Google search results on how to cook purple sweet potatoes are up
160% in the past 90 days, Veganuary reports. This rising popularity
likely has something to do with its being featured on the Secrets of
the Blue Zones documentary on Netflix which shows the purple sweet
potato’s role in the diets of those living in Okinawa, Japan, people
with some of the world’s longest lifespans.
Purple sweet potato is rich in vitamins A and B as well as fiber and
antioxidants. They also look beautiful on a plate. I found this easy
recipe for purple sweet potato fries with an herby tahini dipping
sauce and I am excited to bring this vegetable to the table this
year.
The Benefits of Veganuary Are Huge
The Vegan Society calculates that 3.4 million animals are spared a
lifetime of suffering from every 1 million people who sign the
Veganuary pledge. The environmental benefits are also massive, with
the amount of CO2 saved equalling 1.2 million flights from London to
Paris. Additionally 1.6 million gallons of water are saved for every
million people eating plant based in January.
If you, your friends and family are interested in going vegan,
there’s no better time to start than the present and the resources
and recipes on the Veganuary site are an easy place to start. I
highly suggest following the #veganuary tag across social media to
get recipe ideas that will hit the spot. There are 1.9 million
#veganuary posts on instagram and 1.1 billion views on TikTok– you
are bound to find something mouthwatering to whip up.
To mark its decade milestone, Veganuary commissioned a YouGov survey
to assess its impact on Britain over the years. The results showed
an estimated 6 million British adults have participated at least
once in Veganuary since its inception. That equals 9% of the
population. 85% of the non-vegan participants cut back on their meat
and dairy consumption. Almost a quarter of those who tried Veganuary
went full-on vegan. Those incredibly impressive results give us hope
that we can transition to a global, plant-based culture in time to
save our planet.
So, what is Veganuary’s biggest goal? Simply put, a vegan world,
says its website. “A world without animal farms and slaughterhouses.
A world where food production does not decimate forests, pollute
rivers and oceans, exacerbate climate change, and drive wild animal
populations to extinction.” Now that sounds like a great New Year’s
resolution.