07
Jan
By Leoni Moninska
Veganuary has seen a record-breaking number of sign-ups this year totalling over 500,000 and as well as the increasing numbers, the reasons behind it also just keep mounting. Health, animal cruelty and carbon footprint reduction are amongst the top reasons for people to go vegan and it doesn’t just stop there. 12% of people are vegan because their partner is.
Veganuary sign ups
Veganism has and always will be predominantly animal-friendly focussed, with large brands now offering vegan options and the large number of plant-based eating documentaries out there. In addition to this, 2020 has shown that people are becoming increasingly aware of how it can benefit the planet as well, not just our bodies, minds and protecting our animals.
Recent data from Uswitch has shown that if a regular meat eater swapped to a solely plant-based diet, they could cut their CO2 production by almost half. This significant difference could mean making simple environmentally led swaps every day – such as driving less, using less appliances, conserving water etc. – as well as sticking to a vegan diet could help stop – if not reverse – the climate change issues the world is facing.
CO2 production based on diet
The data went into further detail which showed that if every meat eater in the UK swapped to a vegan diet for 365 days alone, they could save 57,100 tonnes of CO2, comparable to the average energy consumption of 5,977 UK homes for an entire year. With more and more people swapping to a partially or fully vegan diet, differences are starting to be seen, but it’s evident that change needs to continue.
Further day-to-day lifestyle CO2 production can be made by inputting household details into a Carbon Offsetting calculator. The tool calculates how many days an individual would need to go vegan based on their lifestyle habits and dietary habits.
