Veganuary sign-ups hit record high

Veganuary, the global campaign that encourages participants to eat entirely plant-based foods for 31 days, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, receiving a record-breaking sign-up rate of one person every 2.4 seconds.

The 10th annual initiative kicks off as new research from YouGov shows that 9% of Brits have taken the pledge at least once since its inception. Some famous participants amongst them include rock legend Brian May, TV presenter Jasmine Harman, wildlife presenter Chris Packham, actor Peter Egan, ‘dragon’ Deborah Meaden and Eastender Kellie Bright. 

The YouGov poll shows that almost three-quarters (71%) of adults in Great Britain have heard of Veganuary, 9% of whom have actually participated in the event. The study also confirms that 53% of past participants have taken part in the campaign more than once, with 21% doing it four times or more. ​

Not only this, but 52% of past participants were still consuming fish and/or meat when they first took part, while 31% were vegetarian and 12% were already vegan. In total, 85% of non-vegan past participants have reduced their consumption of animal products since participating in Veganuary, with 23% becoming vegan full-time, 43% committing to reducing their animal product consumption by at least half, and a further 20% reducing by between a quarter and a half. ​

The majority of past participants (62%) cite animal welfare as their key motivating factor for taking part, followed by environmental reasons (54%), personal health (46%) and global health – e.g. pandemics/antibiotic resistance (30%). There has even been a marked increase in plant-based consumption amongst people who have not yet taken part in the campaign, with 37% claiming they eat more vegan food now than 10 years ago.

The launch of the vegan sausage roll from Gregg's for Veganuary 2019 sent TV presenter Piers Morgan into meltdown, while in 2020, KFC and Burger King joined in with the first fast-food Veganuary launches. McDonald’s soon followed suit, adding its McPlant burger nationwide in time for Veganuary last year. Thousands of vegan products and menu options have been introduced around the world in line with Veganuary.

Dr Toni Vernelli, head of communications for Veganuary, comments: “Having been vegan myself for more than 30 years, it’s amazing how the conversation around veganism has changed in recent years and I know Veganuary’s friendly, non-judgemental, just-give-it-a-go-for-a-month-and-see-what-you-think approach has played an instrumental role in this shift.

"To everyone who took their first step towards a vegan diet with us in January 2014 – Happy 10th Veganniversary! To everyone taking their first step with us today – welcome to a growing global movement taking positive action for a better world."

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