This new year – more than any other – is the time for positive change
1st January, 2021 – As Veganuary 2021 gets underway, this year’s cohort is already the biggest since the pledge began in 2014. More than 440,000 people have already signed-up for the 31-day vegan challenge – surpassing 2020’s total of 400,000 – and sign-ups are continuing at a rate of 1 person every three seconds!
2021 is the year for positive change and Veganuary is urging everyone to embrace this unique opportunity to reshape the future and sign-up to try vegan this month. Their message is echoed by Jane Goodall, Ricky Gervais, Paul McCartney, John Bishop, Sara Pascoe, Chris Packham, Chrissie Hynde and over 100 additional international superstars, politicians, NGOs and businesses who signed a joint letter published last week calling on everyone to help fight climate chaos and prevent future pandemics by changing their diet.
Follow the link for the full text of the letter and the list of signatories.
Toni Vernelli, Veganuary’s International Head of Communications, says: “2020 brought much hardship and heartbreak, but it has also given us an opportunity to change and build a better future.” She added “Veganuary offers people a way to take positive action to protect our health and our planet, as well as help prevent future pandemics. The huge response we’ve had this year shows it’s exactly what many people need right now.”
More than one million people have already completed Veganuary’s one-month pledge since it began in 2014 and statistics* compiled by Dr Helen Harwatt from Harvard University’s Animal Law and Policy program show that their collective impact has been huge:
- 103,840 tonnes of CO2eq saved, equivalent to driving around the world almost 15,000 times
- 405 tonnes of PO43-eq (eutrophication) saved, the same as 1,645 tonnes of sewage
- 6.2 million litres of water saved, the same as flushing the toilet almost half a million times
- Additionally, more than 3.4 million animals were saved according to the Vegan Society’s Veganalyser calculations
An infographic based on this data is available here.
More than 400,000 people from 192 countries took part in last year, including rock legends Brian May and Meat Loaf. This year the charity expanded its efforts by launching programmes in two new countries, Brazil and Argentina, and its first French language pledge – building on the campaigns already established in the UK, US, Germany and Chile. The goal this year is a global total of 500,000 sign-ups through the Veganuary website alone.
Media contact
Toni Vernelli, International Head of Communications, Veganuary
T: 07505 866 548
Notes
*Figures are based on Veganuary participant data and take into account participants’ geographical location (country) and their pre-Veganuary diet. All of the numbers include imports and exports and also include the full food supply chain.
The calculations are extrapolated from the data in Poore & Nemecek (2018) Science. For further details see http://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987/ and a lecture about the paper https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8miQs3mPGu8.
