Sustained meat reduction: Will Veganuary 2020 propel plant-based diets even further?

03 Jan 2020 --- As Veganuary 2020 gets underway, many fast food outlets and supermarkets in the UK are extending their offerings to consumers taking part in the popular plant-based movement. As part of Veganuary, participants pledge to go vegan for the month, meaning that they will not consume any animal-derived products or dairy. Veganuary organizers say people who cut out animal products for January 2019 maintained reduced consumption levels until at least July 2019, proving that the movement isn’t just appealing at the start of the new year. Meanwhile, in a bold and thought-provoking social experiment, Veganuary released its first-ever TV ad, which has been aired on Sky News in the UK as well as major networks in Germany, the US, Chile and South Africa.

Veganuary 2020 is already the biggest yet with more than 300,000 people signed up and the number is still rising at a rate of one person every three seconds, notes the nonprofit organization.

“We’ve already had a record number of people take our Veganuary pledge and every major food outlet in the UK has launched vegan products making it easier than ever to eat vegan food in the UK,” Toni Vernelli, Veganuary’s Head of Communications, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. “The vast number of people who have signed up for Veganuary from all around the world is an incredible achievement as we know each of them will have a huge impact on the friends and family around them. And the launch of products that are vegan versions of best-selling meat items rather than niche items aimed specifically at vegans.”

Vernelli notes that there is a greater awareness of becoming vegan in the new year, which is due to a combination of people wanting to make a positive change in their life and veganism helps in so many ways – for animals, the planet and health. “Also, there are so many new products being launched in January to coincide with Veganaury,” adds Vernelli. 

“This year, we expect to see a lot more vegan fish offerings from high street restaurants and major retailers, including vegan steaks and tuna,” she notes. 

The “Veganuary Effect”
“We knew that the ‘Veganuary Effect’ was real. Many more people tried going vegan in January than officially signed-up with us, but seeing the long-term impact that a one-month vegan pledge has on consumption habits is very exciting,” explains Vernelli. 

A recent study commissioned by non-profit organization Veganuary shows that the impact is much more significant than the number of people who officially sign-up online and lasts much longer than just 31 days.

The demand for vegan products is certainly snowballing. In 2018, record numbers of vegan items were launched and in 2019, 250,000 people signed up for the Veganuary challenge.

According to the organization, 1.3 million people in the UK ditched animal products during January 2019 and ten times more than officially signed-up to Veganuary in 2019 from the UK. Meanwhile, 832,000 of these people gave up animal products for the first time in January 2019 and 366,000 said they did it as part of Veganuary. 

Those who gave up animal products for the first time consumed a reduced volume of animal products until at least July 2019, when compared to the same period in 2018, according to the statistics from Veganuary. 

“We aim to get people to try vegan for one month and see how they feel. Our surveys show about 50 percent choose to stay vegan as it was much easier and enjoyable than they expected. Still, we always hoped the other half discovered some products and recipes they loved so much they permanently swapped these for the non-vegan equivalent. Now we know that’s exactly what’s happening, and it’s great news for animals and the planet,” Vernelli adds. 

Meanwhile, KFC is also launching its first vegan burger and McDonald’s is offering its first intentionally vegan item. All of the major supermarkets have brought out new vegan ranges and there is a lot more still to come, Vernelli states.

The Vegan Society is also supporting the plant-based movement this month. Dominika Piasecka, a spokeswoman for The Vegan Society, tells FoodIngredientsFirst: “Vegan products have really made their way from health food stores to mainstream supermarkets in the last few years. It’s wonderful to see people increasingly embracing this way of living, but also the one in three Brits who consciously reduce their meat, dairy and egg consumption, at the same time driving demand for vegan food.”

“We are delighted to be an official partner of Veganuary for 2020, which has shown extraordinary growth in participants since it was established in 2014,” she adds. 

“We are very excited to see what 2020 holds for veganism – we already see the likes of KFC, McDonald’s, Greggs and Wagamama also launching vegan options this month.”

“One thing we’re quietly hoping for this year is the development of clean meat, which is real meat but produced without the use of animals; while not a vegan product, it has an enormous potential to reduce animal suffering drastically,” Piasecka further explains. 

Gut feeling? Pro-vegan TV ad airs 
Veganuary has also released its first-ever TV ad which reveals people’s unexpected gut reactions to their own food choices and urges them to “Trust Your Instinct – Try Vegan This January.”

According to the organization, the ad is “fun, light-hearted and non-judgemental yet demonstrates in a very visceral way the internal conflict most people face over meat.” The charity raised money for the TV spots through a Big Give crowdfunding campaign that clocked up more than £25,000 (US$32,700) in the first 24 hours as people embraced the prospect of playing a part in this milestone – the first TV ad by a vegan campaign group to air in the UK.

“We asked a simple question: meat or veg? When faced with the raw reality of their food choices, people recoiled in disgust from the meat while others caught the veg with a beaming smile. This gut reaction reveals what most of us feel deep down – an emotional discomfort about eating meat,” Vernelli notes. 

Ramping up vegan produce
As well as new launches in many retailers and fast-food chains, Tesco brand Oumph! is also launching its new plant-based Sticky Smokehouse Oumph! into select stores in the UK and Ireland this week to kick off Veganuary. Sticky Smokehouse Oumph! are rib style fillets, covered in sticky, smoky barbecue sauce.

Like the other popular, award-winning Oumph! products at Tesco, such as Pulled Oumph!, Oumph! The Chunk and Oumph! Kebab Spiced, the Sticky Smokehouse Oumph! is sold in the frozen section. 

“Following the success of the Oumph! Sticky Smokehouse in Sweden, we are delighted to be launching in the UK and partnering with Tesco. We know this will be a great hit with all customers and Veganuary is a perfect time to try it,” explains Laura Weadock, Account Manager at Oumph! 

Yesterday, FoodIngredientsFirst reported on the booming plant-based sector. You can read more here. 

By Elizabeth Green