Study reveals whether Veganuary puts people off eating meat forever
Humans have long agonised over whether killing and eating animals is the right thing to do. Some say it is cruel, unnecessary, and outdated, whereas other argue it is simply the circle of life - and we shouldn't feel guilty about it.
According to Finder, 5.4 per cent of the population in Scotland are vegan. The number of vegans in the UK has been growing, too, with an estimated 1.1million more people adopting a vegan diet between 2023 and 2024.
This brings the total number of vegans in the UK to 2.5million, or 4.7 per cent of the adult population. The Veganuary campaign - encouraging people to eat a plant-based diet throughout the first month of the year - launched in 2014.
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Around 25million people joined in last year, including around four per cent of Brits. But how effective has Veganuary been in weaning people off meat completely?
Research by Veganuary, and reported by The Conversation, suggests that over 80 per cent of participants maintain large reductions in meat consumption, slashing their intake to half or even more, after six months.
What's more, the University of Exeter carried out three online studies of Veganuary participants and discovered that when people reduce or avoid meat, they also start to see meat and themselves differently.
On average, people report liking meat less, with some even going on to describe it as revolting. Incredibly, another of the university's studies suggest those who come to this conclusion (mainly vegetarians) respond to the idea of eating meat in a similar way to how meat eaters react to the idea of eating faeces, or human or dog flesh.
This visceral reaction is accompanied by another stark finding; participating in Veganuary appears to shift people's identity from seeing themselves as a meat eater to more of a "meat reducer" or "meat excluder".
Some other factors that suggest Veganuary participants may be more inclined to step away from the chicken and turn towards the lentils include increased feelings of personal control and more knowledge around a meat-free diet.
For those looking to jump on the trend, there are a huge selection of vegan recipes out there including this easy and tasty lasagne that is perfect for those trying Veganuary in 2025.
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