Why I don’t do Veganuary
Veganuary is here, and it seems to get bigger and bigger each year!
What started as a UK based campaign in 2014, has now become a worldwide event, with sign ups in 2021 from the US, Germany and Latin America, and over 500,000 people pledging to take part.
Image Source: Veganuary
For those of you who haven’t heard of this before, in summary it is a campaign that encourages and supports people to go vegan for the month of January (and beyond), and the Veganuary website explains the reasons for taking part are “as a way of protecting the environment, preventing animal suffering, and improving the health of millions of people”.
One of my favourite go-to vegan pasta dishes from @playswellwithbutter
Whilst I eat a lot of vegan food, Veganuary is not something I would take part in. I eat a flexitarian diet all the time, eating at least 2 vegetarian or vegan meals each week.
For me it is more important to eat seasonally and locally as much as possible rather than switching to a full vegan diet.
Eating seasonally and locally is great for so many reasons; eating out of season means that a lot of food has to travel a long way to reach your kitchen, so it's better for the environment. It is also a great way to support your local farmers and local businesses, shopping at your local greengrocer and butchers. And because it's fresher, it tastes better!
I saw at the start of this month on Farmison’s instagram their ‘Save Our Seasons’ campaign for January. This highlights the benefit of eating seasonally and locally as a more sustainable choice than relying on tropical imports. And if you’re considering giving up meat for Veganuary, another option is to eat meat in moderation that has been reared in a regenerative way, read more about their campaign here.
I’m not saying that my diet is perfect, I still eat avocados occasionally which I know travel a long way, and have a negative impact on the environment where they are produced. But I think it is important to be aware of where your food has come from, how far it has travelled, and to make informed decisions when choosing food to eat.
Of course it's important to do what’s right for you and your beliefs, but I think if you’re considering a more sustainable diet, going vegan isn’t the only option.
One thing I do like about Veganuary is the influx of new plant-based product launches, as these are products that are here to stay after January and can offer more variation for people eating a flexitarian diet. Look out for my January product picks post that will be coming soon and will feature some of my favourite new launches this month.