Veganuary at 10: it completely changed my life – but has the vegan bubble now burst?

‘I couldn’t live any other way now,” says Matthew Glover. “I can’t unknow what I know.” Glover decided to turn vegan nearly 13 years ago after stumbling across a video documenting cruelty in the egg and dairy industries. That video changed his life – and led to the phenomenon that is Veganuary.

Veganuary, which encourages people to eat a plant-based diet for the month of January, kicked off its 10th campaign on Monday. It was co-founded by Glover and his wife, Jane Land, who were inspired by the success of the annual men’s health campaign Movember. The idea was to promote veganism in a “nonjudgmental and fun” way; that first year, 3,300 people signed up. Last year, more than 700,000 made the pledge. Many more have taken part informally – YouGov surveys in 2023 found that 4% of UK respondents had participated in Veganuary for at least part of the month, rising to 7% in the US and 9% in Germany.

What began around the kitchen table in the couple’s home near York is now a global movement. (The pair stepped back a few years ago; Land is still chair of the board and Glover is an ambassador.) Official Veganuary campaigns take place in the UK, US, Germany, India, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and, new for 2024, Spain. Partner organisations lead campaigns in Australia, Singapore, France, South Africa, Switzerland and Italy. Participants have signed up from every country in the world except Vatican City and North Korea. (Glover did challenge the pope to go vegan for Lent in 2019, but he didn’t bite.)

Billie Eilish backed the campaign in 2023, when the hashtag #Veganuary was viewed more than 894m times on TikTok. Veganuary has been great news for retailers and restaurants, for whom January was traditionally a quiet period. Not any more: 820 vegan products were launched last January, with 790 vegan menus added to chain restaurants. In the UK, there was a lot of hype about Burger King’s new “bakon” burgers, with similar excitement about vegan additions at Subway in Argentina and Dunkin’ in Chile. This explosion of new products and dishes each January initially took Glover and Land by surprise. “When we created Veganuary, we thought about individuals,” Glover says. “We didn’t think about businesses, retailers, manufacturers and restaurants.”

Veganuary is not just about the month-long pledge; the aim is to inspire people to go vegan in January “and beyond”. Nina Tuemmers, 41, from Kempen in Germany, did Veganuary in 2020 and stayed vegan. During the Covid lockdown soon afterwards, she realised how unhappy she was in her job as a manager in the energy sector. “I knew that I wasn’t in the right place,” she says. “So the process began: what is the right place? What is my passion? One day it was clear: my passion is everything that has to do with vegan food.” She quit her job, retrained as a plant-based food coach, and opened a vegan cafe, Greens Cafe/Deli, in June 2022. “Since then, I have been living my dream,” she says.

While Tuemmers’ story is extreme, a 2023 survey found 85% of participants had reduced their consumption of animal products since doing Veganuary, “with 23% becoming vegan, 43% reducing consumption by at least half and a further 20% by at least a quarter”. I am one of them: I did Veganuary for three years, and after my third stint last year, I decided to keep going. I haven’t been perfect – being vegan is easy in London, but more difficult on trips to Italy, Spain and especially France – but I’m trying. When I confess this to Glover, he sympathises. He recalls going to a restaurant in France: when everyone else was served cheesecake for dessert, he was presented with a plate of lettuce.

“I support all and any attempts to cut back,” he says. “Meat-free Mondays? Fantastic!” Of course, lots of people largely revert to their former diets when Veganuary is over, but Glover has made peace with that. “It’s not just for vegans; it’s for the vegan-curious,” he says. “We’ve helped create a flexitarian movement – an increasing number of people who are open-minded about eating plant-based food. Lots of people have tried, say, oat milk in their coffee and are sticking to that.”

Although Veganuary signups keep rising, they are no longer doubling year on year as they did in the early days. “The pace of growth has levelled off; progress has slowed,” Glover admits. Indeed, some analysts think the UK reached “peak vegan” in 2019. That was the year that almost a quarter of food launches were plant-based, including the one that caused the biggest frenzy: the Greggs vegan sausage roll. Since those heady days, Covid and the cost of living crisis has spurred some people to return to familiar comfort food – a recent Waitrose survey highlighted a resurgence in the popularity of dishes such as shepherd’s pie, macaroni cheese and chicken kiev.

According to figures by consumer intelligence company NIQ, UK sales of chilled meat alternatives fell 16.8% in January 2023 compared with January 2022, and frozen meat alternatives fell by 13.5%. Companies including Oatly, Nestlé, Innocent and Heck have recently withdrawn various vegan products from the UK.

Has the vegan bubble burst? Catherine Shacklock, a buyer for Waitrose, has said that the market is simply “maturing”. Glover agrees, pointing out that in many countries, plant-based sales are still growing. In the UK, though, the market may have become saturated. “Too many startups are competing with established companies that have launched vegan lines and with supermarkets that are investing in own-label plant-based ranges,” he says. “We’ve lost some brands and we’ll lose some more in the next 12 to 24 months.”

Health concerns about ultra-processed foods have also led to increased scrutiny of modern meat, fish and dairy substitutes, leading some vegans to avoid them and cook more traditional foods (tofu sales, Glover notes, are still growing). But he believes that part of the backlash against brands such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat is down to misinformation disseminated by the meat industry. “It’s very similar to the tobacco lobby,” he says. “And the rightwing media loves to bash vegans. The reality is that, in comparison with meat, the vegan alternative is better for you and the planet.” Of course, he would say that – he now runs a vegan fried-chicken company, VFC, which bought the brand Meatless Farm out of administration, and has co-founded a venture fund to invest in meat-alternative startups.

However, research backs up Glover. A University of Bath review in 2022, published in Future Food, examined 43 studies into the health and environmental impacts of plant-based meat alternatives. It found they cause lower levels of greenhouse gas emissions than meat, require much less land and water, and cause less pollution. They have a better nutritional profile and are beneficial for weight loss and building muscle mass. Crucially, they also appeal to meat-eaters. The authors concluded that substitutes are the most effective way to reduce the demand for meat and dairy, rather than simply telling people to cook beans and pulses instead.

Jack Millar, 28, a former contestant on Married at First Sight Australia, lives in Sydney and turned vegan after doing Veganuary in 2023. He understands the power of meat substitutes to change minds. “My friends were supportive but my family found it challenging – at first, I was a burden to them at family meals,” he says. “But there are some delicious alt foods now. Supermarkets all have vegan sections.” Still, he is under no illusions about all Aussies giving up their bangers and mash or steaks. “I just think everyone’s got to reduce. Meat should be a sometimes food rather than an every time food.”

And reducing has got a lot easier. Glover remembers visiting motorway service stations and finding nothing to eat but peanuts. Now every high-street chain has vegan options – Wagamama’s menu has been 50% plant-based since 2021 – and non-dairy milk is mainstream. The UK has all-vegan pubs, hotels, fine-dining restaurants, even carveries and steakhouses. In November, students at the University of Warwick voted for it to become the eighth fully plant-based university in the UK. Last month, Camden became the fifth UK council to switch to 100% vegan catering.

The “Veganuary effect” can be seen all over the world. Leozette Roode, 35, from Cape Town, South Africa, completed the first Veganuary in 2014 and has just celebrated her 10th year of being vegan. “Veganism in South Africa has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past decade,” she says. “In 2014, there were no vegan restaurants and only one brand offering meat alternatives. Today, major cities in South Africa have fully vegan restaurants or impressive vegan menus and there is a plethora of plant-based ranges.” Since 2014, Roode has written two vegan cookbooks and completed four Ironman 70.3 triathlons. “There are many misconceptions about vegan diets, assuming they lack the essential protein, iron and efficient energy required for athletes – which is entirely false,” she says. “Thriving as an athlete is absolutely possible on a veggie diet.”

In the YouGov survey, past participants’ main reasons for taking part in Veganuary were animal welfare (62%), environmental (54%), personal health (46%) and global health, eg pandemics/antibiotic resistance (30%). As Glover says: “The underlying reasons for a plant-based diet are still there. Animal agriculture remains hugely problematic in terms of cruelty, the environment and health.” Factory farming is not just a US problem, as is commonly believed. In 2021, Compassion in World Farming estimated that 73% of farmed animals in the UK are kept in indoor factory farms, after a 26% rise in intensive animal farming over the previous six years. In 2000, there were no intensive chicken farms; by 2017, there were 1,400.

But not all vegans are solely motivated by ethics. Arvind Krishna, a professional basketball player and actor from Hyderabad, India, hopes to inspire those who prioritise looking and feeling good. At 39, he plays alongside teammates half his age, and films physically demanding fight and dance sequences for his movies. Since going vegan five years ago, he says: “My hair is better, my skin is better, my recovery between workouts has got better and I feel much better as a person. I’m not an activist. A lot of vegans tend to be preachy, and no one wants to be preached to. I just show the results.” (His Instagram profile is a feast of #veganathlete inspiration.) Krishna’s next role is in a Tollywood sci-fi thriller called A Masterpiece, out in March – and his fans have already dubbed him the vegan superhero.

Despite the advances, for most people cutting out meat, fish, eggs and dairy is still a huge challenge. Veganuary participants receive a cheery daily email with support, nutrition tips and recipes, which can feel like a lifeline. “The daily newsletter was such a help,” says Tuemmers. “I learned how important it is to have a good basis of food at home to avoid any frustration, such as a milk alternative, fruit, vegetables, pasta, rice and a chocolate you like.” Veganuary surveys show the main difficulties are eating out, cooking, shopping, friends and family – and cheese. “We still haven’t nailed cheese,” Glover says. I’ve found a couple I like – Nettle’s Haverstock White and La Fauxmagerie’s Camemvert – but generally, yes, vegan cheese is pretty grim.

According to the Vegan Society, the most accurate estimate of the number of vegans in the UK is the Food Standards Agency’s online survey, Food and You 2 (although it covers only England, Wales and Northern Ireland, not Scotland). This has found that 1.5% of the population is vegan. Surveys put Germany at about 3%; the US data suggests 2% to 5%; and India consistently reports the highest percentage of vegans, at 9 or 10%. Of course, the percentage of people cutting down on animal products is far higher. Britons are eating less meat than at any point since records began in the 1970s, according to government data.

Still, Veganuary seems a long, long way from its ultimate goal: a vegan world. Glover takes a philosophical view. “As an activist, I’m not in a 100-metre race,” he says. “It’s more of a long-distance relay. I’m not going to see the finish line. But I can carry the baton forward to the next runner.”

• Sign up for Veganuary 2024 at veganuary.com