What is Veganuary?

Over the course of the New Year, you may have been seeing the word Veganuary floating around a lot on social media. Maybe you’ve caught snippets of what it’s all about here and there and are keen to fill in those blanks, or maybe you know zero to very little about it, and want to learn all there is to know about it?

This article is all about Veganuary – what it is, why it happens, who does it, the benefits of being vegan and more.

The word Veganuary itself is word play of a combination of “Vegan” and “January”. Set up by a charity of the same name, the intention is to encourage people around the world to try out being Vegan for the 31 days of January.

Last year, this campaign inspired and supported more than half a million people from over 200 Countries and territories. They work with local shops and businesses to ensure veganism is more visible and accessible, and their website contains lots of helpful articles and recipes to support you through the month.

There are lots of reasons why people may choose to go vegan, ranging from animal welfare and lifestyle choices to helping protect the environment.

What can I eat as a Vegan?

Being Vegan means not consuming any products that are derived from animals, such as meat, fish, eggs or dairy. Whilst this may sound restrictive, advances have been made in recent years that mean multiple products are now available to provide substitutions for nearly all of these.

Of course, substitutions aren’t the only options. Vegetables and fruits are, of course, naturally vegan, and you can get protein from other natural sources such as legumes, beans and pulses. Check out this previous video for more ideas of what to eat:

What are the benefits of being Vegan?

There are three main reasons people give for wanting to try vegan, and all are equally valid: to better protect animals, to reduce the impact on our planet (climate breakdown, deforestation, pollution, and wildlife decimation), and to improve their own health.

Going vegan is a great opportunity to learn more about nutrition and cooking, and improve your diet. Getting your nutrients from plant foods allows more room in your diet for health-promoting options like whole grains, fruit, nuts, seeds and vegetables, which are packed full of beneficial fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Hopefully this article has helped you understand more about Veganuary and Veganism, and you may even want to give it a go. Even though Veganuary is a big event, it doesn’t mean this is when you have to start. Even just a couple of Vegan days a week can have a massive impact, so if you’re not quite ready to go the full way just yet, there are options out there.