Vegan Latest: Do Vegans Hate Veganuary? Some, Yes

From privateinternetaccess.com

Born in 2014, the Veganuary challenge — aka vegan January — attracts people who want to try a different diet, lower their carbon footprint, or simply start the new year with a fun challenge. The movement has gained millions of followers, with almost 707,000 people participating in 2023 alone, including celebrities like Ellie Goulding and Joaquin Phoenix.

However, if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find not everyone in the vegan community approves of the challenge. Many believe Veganuary dismisses the uncomfortable truths about animal suffering in its campaign. Others despise the opposition movements created to boost animal farming and dairy consumption like Februdairy or Regenuary.

If you’re not sure what to think of it, read on to see if Veganuary makes a change, why vegans hate it, and what you can do to lower your carbon footprint. Hint: you don’t necessarily have to give up your meaty preferences!

What’s Veganuary?

Veganuary is a yearly challenge introduced by a UK non-profit charity in 2014. It’s aimed at raising awareness on the impact an animal diet has on the environment and human health. The challenge simply encourages people to take up a vegan diet for the first 31 days of the year. This means excluding animal-related products, like meat, dairy, eggs, and honey.

What started as a small project grew into a huge worldwide movement, with almost one person signing up every 2.4 seconds in 2023. This year also saw participants from almost every country in the world — the only exceptions were Vatican City and North Korea. Because of this, many companies, like Pizza Hut, Burger King, McDonald’s, and Domino’s, created vegan alternatives to retain and even expand their customer base.

Veganuary isn’t just for us common folks, either. Many celebrities signed up over the years and changed their lifestyles for a planet-friendly approach. Just a quick scroll through Veganuary’s website reveals an impressive list of celebrity ambassadors, such as Evanna Lynch, Paul McCartney, and Joaquin Phoenix.

What Did Veganuary 2023 Bring to the Table?

Looking at the increasing interest in veganism all over the world, it’s not surprising Veganuary hit record signup numbers in its 10th year. The rising interest reflects a much bigger focus on providing a variety of vegan products — and even creating local plant-based policies.

The 2023 campaign brought a lot of exciting changes across the world, including:

Edinburgh joined the pledge to promote a plant-based diet among its residents. It’s the first European capital to commit to the movement.

Popular food shops heavily increased vegan-friendly produce on their shelves, with Asda leading the movement with 112 new items. Aldi, Tesco, and M&S didn’t fall far behind with new delicious offers either.

Many restaurants launched a brand new vegan menu or added new additions to their existing range. This includes popular fast food chains, like Burger King with their “Bakon” burgers, McDonald’s, 7-11, Subway, and Chipotle. Even Beefeater participated in the challenge!

Krispy Kreme added 2 new vegan donuts, while Insomnia Cookies offered Vegan Chocolate Chunk, Vegan Double Chocolate Chunk, and Vegan Birthday Cake.

Many companies offered vegan-friendly giveaways on Twitter to support the cause, including Lloyds Pharmacy and Flying Goose Siracha.

Sky News covered a segment busting vegan myths on nationwide TV, becoming one of the few positive news stories on Veganuary.

Plant-based NFTs boomed in popularity, like Switch4Good’s #NFTsForGood or the Mysterious Vegan collection.

Do Vegans Hate Veganuary?

*Who would’ve thought that Veganuary would anger vegans (?!), of all people.*

Veganuary seems to have positive intentions — yet some vegans aren’t on board with it.

The main reason for criticism is the view that veganism shouldn’t have a try-before-you-buy label. Veganuary presents you with an opportunity to a 31-day pledge, with the hope you’ll stick around after. But if you don’t, you can go back to having a nice steak as soon as February hits without losing face or being embarrassed.

Absolutist vegans also believe Veganuary downplays the horrific truths of agriculture and the horrors many animals endure. The non-profit doesn’t use negative material, like images or videos, in its campaign. Instead, it replaces it with cute photos of farm animals with slogans like “Please don’t eat me this month.”

Veganuary isn’t the most sustainable option either. In many parts of the world, January is one of the few months when a choice of fresh produce is incredibly scarce. Yet, the high demand for Veganuary forces retailers to import more food from across the world to satisfy everyone’s hunger cues. This adds to already polluted transportation and the higher use of pesticides needed to keep the produce as fresh as possible for longer.

Finally, many argue Veganuary became more of a marketing trend rather than a radical change. This applies especially to restaurant chains, which see it as an opportunity to attract a wider customer base by offering new, vegan-friendly options. In theory, it’s great and definitely needed — but it should go hand-in-hand with a pledge for more sustainable production and internal practices.

Don’t Let Angry Vegans Get to You

Absolutist vegans hate Veganuary because it’s not vegan enough. What these criticisms fail to address is the overarching message in the movement, which is reducing animal exploitation and the impact of industrial agriculture on the environment. Even if it’s just for a short period of time.

Extreme vegans sometimes forget everyone has to start somewhere. The 31-day challenge brings on a great feeling of accomplishment. This positive momentum can be leveraged for a more lasting or permanent change, but the fact it’s an option, rather than a commitment, makes the challenge more palatable.

Despite criticism, Veganuary still touches on important topics like animal slaughterhouses, deforestation, water pollution, and exacerbating climate change. The only difference is it does so more subtly. All information is readily available on its website, complete with realistic images and stories, when and if you decide to take a deep dive into it.

Numbers show the positive approach to veganism is working. Since the start of the movement, Veganuary has been increasing in popularity. What started as a small campaign with 3,000 signups in 2014, quickly grew to 168,000 participants in 2018, 250,000 in 2019, and over 400,000 in 2020. It doesn’t seem like the movement will slow down anytime soon.

Research shows about 40% of people who do try Veganuary stick to it for longer than just 31 days, too. This is a huge success as the try-and-test-it method shows people swapping meat for plant-based products isn’t as difficult as you may think.

What Are the Benefits of Swapping to a Vegan Lifestyle?

*Veganism isn’t just good for the soul, it’s good for the heart, too.*

Veganism comes with multiple advantages to your own health, including:

A higher intake of vitamin-rich fruit and vegetables
Improved digestion, including less bloating and better bowel movement
A lower risk of developing cancer, type II diabetes, cardiovascular issues, or dementia
Better mental health, even if you already suffer from depression or anxiety
Possible weight loss if paired with appropriate exercise and nutrient intake
Extended life expectancy

How Technology Enables and Supports Veganism

*Technology continues to make plant-based cooking and the vegan lifestyle more accessible to everyone.*

Connecting You With Like-Minded Vegans Worldwide

If you don’t have many vegan friends, the new lifestyle can feel quite lonely. Luckily, the internet makes it easy to find and connect with people who share and understand your lifestyle. A quick scroll through Google reveals Facebook groups, social media platforms, Discord channels, and vegan forums scattered across the online world. And available at just one click of a button!

Even if your new friends live across the globe, you can send instant messages, call, or participate in video chats. It really can cultivate a great sense of belonging no matter where you live.

Creating and Improving Products on the Vegan Market

Being vegan no longer forces you to give up on the familiar tastes and textures of animal products. The increased demand and technological advances enabled new and existing companies to develop vegan meat substitutes, like meatless burgers, plant-based milk, and egg-less eggs.

These products are taking the market by the storm. In 2021, sales of dairy alternatives in the US reached $7.4 billion. That same year saw $5.41 billion in meat substitutes sales — which is expected to hit $12.3 billion by 2029.

Technology also enabled scientists to create FDA-approved lab-grown meat. Its production uses animal cells only and doesn’t require any farm sacrifices. So, even though it’s still technically meat, it’s completely cruelty-free. Researchers predict that lab-grown meat will reach $1.99 billion in market value by 203521, becoming one of the fastest growing regional markets in the US.

Providing Easy Access to Websites With Vegan Recipes and Tips

If you ever feel overwhelmed or stuck on what to eat, the internet is bursting with vegan cooking blogs, vlogs, and websites — including Veganuary’s site itself. From yummy breakfast ideas to Christmas and Thanksgiving feasts, you’ll find something for everyone. Including meals for specific cuisines like Mexican, Italian, or Turkish!

Many blogs also offer tips on how to stick to your new lifestyle, where to shop for the best products, and information on how veganism impacts the world.

In no particular order, here are some of our favourite vegan blogs:

The Minimalist Baker, BOSH!, Vegan Richa, Nora Cooks, and The Curious Chickpea

Keeping You Stylish With Cruelty-Free Materials

Technology allowed vegan start-ups to research, create, and test cruelty-free alternatives to leather, fur, silk, and wool. Inventive solutions include (but aren’t limited to) the use of various fruit, mushrooms, and cork. Currently, the US vegan fashion industry is valued at $396 billion, with predicted annual growth of 13.6% up until 2027.

Making Shopping Easier With Designated Vegan Apps

Skimming ingredients on every product without the V-label to check if it’s vegan can be tiring — unless you use scanning apps, like VeganScan or BevVeg. These analyze the barcodes of any product you scan and identify whether it’s vegan-safe or not. This saves you a ton of time as you don’t have to read through the long ingredient list yourself.