Veganuary: What is veganuary and how you can take part

Veganuary is a non-profit organisation that launched in January 2014, during the 2022 campaign more than 620,000 people took the pledge to try a vegan diet.

A vegan diet is based on plants (such as vegetables, grains, nuts and fruits) and foods made from plants. Vegans do not eat foods that come from animals, including dairy products, honey and eggs, they also don’t wear or use products from animals such as leather.

Toni Vernelli, 51, from Brighton has been vegan for 32 years. The daughter of a butcher growing up she ate a lot of meat. However, aged eight her passion for animals led to her telling her mum she didn’t want to eat meat any more, but she says as it was 70s her mother thought she needed to eat meat to survive.

It wasn’t until she was 15 that a school assignment on nutrition showed that she could be healthy without eating meat so she decided to go vegetarian. At the age of 19 she went vegan and started to campaign against cruelty to animals.

Karin Reynolds, 52, has been vegan for 22 years.

She initially decided to go vegan after researching what products were tested on animals, this led her to think if she cared about animals in labs then she should also be caring about animals on farms. First she went vegetarian but then became vegan.

Karin, who lives in St Leonards on Sea, said: “Going vegan is the best thing you can do for your health, animals and the environment. Our planet cannot sustain the amount of animals being bred for food so going vegan reduces suffering of animals and humans.”

Both Toni and Karin say that it is a lot easier to find suitable products now compared to when they first became vegan.

Toni said: “It’s like night and day! Back in the early 90s the vegan choices were limited to lentils, chick peas and other legumes; tofu; soya milk; frozen bean burgers; powdered sausage mix that you combined with water and shaped into sausages; textured vegetable protein (aka dehydrated soya protein) that came as a dry mince and you soaked it in hot water with lots of seasoning for dishes like spag bol and shepherd’s pie; and of course the accidentally vegan staples like peanut butter, baked beans, hummus, marmite, bread, pasta, chips and dark chocolate.

“There weren’t any ‘meaty’ style burgers let alone meat-free chicken nuggets, rashers, kievs, steaks, sandwich slices, or kebabs like we have now. The only vegan cheese available back then came in a jar in brine! Needless to say it was foul. And vegan ice cream was limited to vanilla and chocolate, strawberry was a luxury! Now we have half a dozen flavours of vegan Ben & Jerrys in the UK alongside three different types of vegan Magnums and all of the other brands also doing plant-based ice creams now.

“Eating out has changed even more dramatically! Unless you were eating at a vegetarian restaurant (vegan ones were almost non-existent in 1990) you were usually limited to chips and salad or a jacket potato with baked beans. Now virtually every high-street restaurant in Britain has a selection of vegan starters, mains and desserts. Even fast food restaurants now all serve ‘meaty’ vegan burgers and some, like Burger King, have even opened fully vegan branches and have a commitment to making 50 per cent of their menu vegan in the coming years. That’s definitely something I never thought I’d see in my lifetime.”

Karin admits that she had to carry her own soya milk around with her.

When it comes to becoming vegan both offer the same advice of not being concerned about being the ‘perfect vegan’.

Karin said: “Don’t beat yourself up if you accidentally eat something that isn’t vegan. You are bound to slip up. Just remember it for next time. There are a lot of resources that can help you on your vegan journey. Animal Aid has free leaflets, booklets and recipes to help you, too.”

Toni agrees: “Don’t let perfection be the enemy of the good! Many people are concerned about being the ‘perfect vegan’ and every mistake can feel like a massive setback. In fact, the pressure of being a level ten vegan can put many people off trying in the first place.

“Everyone makes mistakes. Whether you ate something non-vegan accidentally or simply gave in to temptation, it’s OK. It doesn’t mean you are no longer vegan; it just means you are human! Chalk it up to experience and move forward.

“Veganism is about doing the best you can in an imperfect world and mistakes are part of the journey.”

Many people take part for a number of reasons including ending animal suffering, to help reduce their impact on the planet, to improve their diet or try different recipes and new foods.

Veganuary is free to join, and people can sign-up at veganuary.com to receive a Celebrity eCookbook featuring recipes from Alicia Silverstone, Venus Williams, Joanne Lumley, John Bishop, Evanna Lynch and many more. The Official Veganuary Starter Kit, a dozen meal plans and 31 daily emails packed with nutritional info, delicious recipes and helpful advice. Throughout the year, Veganuary supports people and businesses alike to move to a plant-based diet.

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