The history of Veganuary. — S Thorogood & Sons (2024)

FAQs

The history of Veganuary. — S Thorogood & Sons? ›

Veganuary originated in the United Kingdom in 2014 when Jane Land and Matthew Glover founded the campaign inspired by the growing interest in plant-based diets.

Founded by Jane Land and Matthew Glover, the first event was during January 2014. In 2015 the project registered 12,800 sign-ups. From there the sign-ups grew to over 500,00 in 2021. The name "Veganuary" is a portmanteau of "vegan" + "January".

Veganuary started as a way to encourage people to try the vegan lifestyle by making it a month-long challenge. Going vegan means you're changing out of compassion for animals, the environment, and your health.

Participation in detail

By the fifth of January 2021, 513,663 people had signed up for Veganuary and by the end of January, the number had increased to 582,538. The following year, sign-ups increased again by over 46,000. And 2023 saw numbers rise again by and close to 78,000.

New research shows that around 25 million people worldwide participated in Veganuary this year, with nearly three-quarters of the UK population acknowledging awareness of the event, regardless of their participation.

One of the earliest followers of what we now consider a vegan diet was Arab philosopher and poet Al-Maʿarri who abstained from animal products for his health and beliefs on the transmigration of souls and animal welfare.

In November 1944, a British woodworker named Donald Watson announced that because vegetarians ate dairy and eggs, he was going to create a new term called “vegan,” to describe people who did not.

The main driver for going vegan or vegetarian, according to the study, is the environment, with 32% of the surveyed herbivores saying that protecting the environment was their biggest motive, and these were the people who had the highest happiness scores.

Today, the UN says meat and dairy (farmed livestock) accounts for 11.2% of manmade greenhouse gas emissions. But, if we all went vegan, scientists believe the world's food-related emissions might drop by 68% within 15 years, limiting global warming.

Matthew Glover

After 17 years of working in the window and door industry, his priorities and focus changed when he became vegan in 2011. With a drive to reduce animal suffering, Matthew used his business and marketing skills to launch the Veganuary campaign in 2014 with his Co-Founder Jane.

Who is the CEO of Veganuary? ›

Ria Rehberg is the CEO of Veganuary, a UK based charity that encourages people worldwide to try going vegan in January and beyond. Since 2014, Veganuary has inspired and supported more than one million people in 192 countries to try a vegan diet.

Yes, absolutely! Rice is a common grain in all cooking and has a significant place in the plant-based world too. Some rice dishes may not be suitable for vegans though, so if you're eating out or following a recipe make sure there are no meat, fish or other animal products being used before you tuck in!

According to Kantar data, in 2023 supermarkets saw a 21% uplift in sales across their own-brand plant-based ranges during Veganuary. "Due to increased consumer demand, Aldi launched its biggest-ever vegan range and its frozen Plant Menu range saw a massive 200% increase in sales on Veganuary 2022.

Those who choose to try Veganuary for ethical reasons are primarily motivated by animal welfare. The movement enables them to show their commitment to ending the unnecessary suffering of animals and decreasing animal cruelty or exploitation.

Veganuary originated in the United Kingdom in 2014 when Jane Land and Matthew Glover founded the campaign inspired by the growing interest in plant-based diets.

Our goal is for every person to be able to try vegan without barriers. But Veganuary is also a charity and all the free resources we provide would not be possible without donations from generous supporters like you. ❤️🌱 Right now, you can make TRIPLE the impact.

In 1994, the vegan animal rights activist Louise Wallis was the President of The Vegan Society. In order to observe fifty years of celebrations of The Vegan Society, she suggested November 1 as World Vegan Day.

Early vegans

Evidence of people choosing to avoid animal products can be traced back over 2,000 years. As early as 500 BCE, Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras promoted benevolence among all species and followed what could be described as a vegetarian diet.

Nearly one-third (30%) of those who were not already vegan before Veganuary plan to stay vegan at the end of their pledge. Around three-quarters (74%) of those not staying vegan plan to at least halve their intake of animal products going forward and 73% are very or extremely likely to try vegan again in the future.

This year, over 700,000 people took part! Even beyond their January campaign period, the team behind Veganuary works year-round to educate and create opportunities for both individuals and businesses to better connect with and protect the animals, promote global health, and fight climate change through veganism.