Veganuary will today speak in the Houses of Parliament at an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) meeting on Veganism and Vegetarianism in Britain.
After a phenomenal first week of campaigning in January, where the campaign passed 225,000 sign-ups for its vegan pledge, Veganuary will use the opportunity to call on politicians to support a Plant-Based Parliament for January 2020.
Veganuary is also calling on politicians to go plant-based for this January, and while Prime Minister Theresa May hasn’t yet signed up – despite Veganuary’s best efforts – several politicians have shown their support to the campaign.
Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns and Baroness Jones of Moulescoomb (Green) are both following the Veganuary pledge through January, while other have sent messages of support for our campaign and vegan living.
“I’ve been a vegan since 2015, and I can recommend veganism’s benefits in terms of both nutrition and relative lack of environmental guilt. Veganuary is a great way to get started, especially as the record numbers of people signing up means that you’ll have loads of people in the same boat as you. Plus, it’s an opportunity to annoy Piers Morgan.”
Darren Jones (Labour) MP
David Drew (Labour) MP said, “Due to my strong affiliation with Forest Green Rovers I will be eating plenty of lovely vegan food throughout January!”
And vegan MPs Kerry McCarthy (Labour), Christina Rees (Labour) and Chris Williamson (Labour) all supported Veganuary’s December 2018 call on the UK Government to ‘get its House in order’ at an action outside Parliament. The action was complemented by a series of guerrilla light projections asking if the Prime Minister, Theresa May MP would be trying vegan for January.
“Veganuary provides a great opportunity for people to cut out meat and dairy for a month in January. It’s an inspiring and engaging campaign, and one that will help you reduce animal suffering, protect the environment and improve your own personal health.”
Caroline Lucas (Green) MP
Rich Hardy, Head of Campaigns at Veganuary said, “The Government has so far done little to heed the advice of the scientific community, which states that reducing meat and dairy consumption is vital if we are to avert catastrophic climate change. While the public appetite for everything vegan continues to skyrocket, this has not been matched by policy or political leadership. Claire Perry MP, the minister whose job it is to tackle climate change, recently refused to recommend that people reduce their consumption of meals like steak and chips. Trying vegan for January by switching to tasty plant-based alternatives in the cafeterias of Parliament would be a simple step to take for our elected representatives to lead by example, to show they’re serious about tackling climate change and protecting public health.”
Feeling inspired? Sign up to try vegan this month with Veganuary, and make a positive start to the year!