Veganuary: over half a million participants in 2021!
Veganuary is in its sixth edition and just keeps on growing! This year, the initiative involved almost 600,000 people worldwide and over 30,000 in Italy alone. Numerous companies, influencers and celebrities supported this month-long vegan challenge.
The 2021 edition of Veganuary was a triumph. The official figures were published two days ago and the results left us speechless: 582,538 people signed up, far exceeding the target of 500,000 and last year’s record of 400,000. We reached 31,637 participants in Italy, making Essere Animali the partner with the most participants in Veganuary’s history (i.e. excluding the UK, Germany and the US, countries which have an official Veganuary team).
In terms of the country with the highest number of participants, Italy is in seventh place worldwide. Milan came fourth globally, as the city with the most participants after London, Santiago and Bogotà!
© Essere Animali
These extraordinary participation levels were also reflected in the dissemination of the event on social media and mass media. Thousands of people took part in the online events – both on Instagram and Facebook – with Silvia Goggi, Giulia Giunta, Vittoria Tomassini and finally the visit to the animal sanctuary Fattoria Capre e Cavoli. Dozens of articles on the initiative appeared in blogs and newspapers, including national newspapers such as Huffington Post, Ansa, Repubblica, Tgcom24, Vanity Fair and Ohga. On January 13, our interview appeared in the paper edition of the Corriere della Sera. For the occasion, the newspaper also asked various questions to Silvia Goggi, a medical doctor, nutritionist and expert in plant-based nutrition who supported the participants throughout Veganuary.
Love of animals one of the main reasons for taking part
It may come as a surprise, but the participants did not just include vegans and vegetarians: almost half (44.3%) said they followed an omnivorous diet, 16% pescatarian, 25% vegetarian and 14% vegan. This shows the extent to which Veganuary is able to involve different people, also those who are keen to try a plant-based diet and are looking for useful advice and information. Even more importantly: once people have tried it, they often decide to continue eating plant-based throughout the year.
There are numerous reasons why so many people make this choice, but the majority do so because they care about animals (39%), 27% for health reasons and 23% for the environment.
Companies supporting Veganuary
In the UK, dozens of brands and restaurant chains launched vegan menus throughout January. Other companies – such as PWC, EY, Bloomberg, Nestlé, M&S and Quorn – took part in the Veganuary Workplace Challenge, encouraging their employees to try vegan in January and providing more vegan options in the workplace. The plant-based meat start-up, THIS™, sold over £300,000 worth of products during the first week of January.
Brands were also keen to take part in Italy: Lush, Capatoast, America Graffiti, Alpro, Verys, Mozzarisella, Food Evolution, Vitariz, Primavena and Pangea Foods participated by means of campaigns on social media, involving influencers or launching special offers.
We are very happy to have taken part in this wonderful project by bringing it to Italy again this year. We are extremely pleased with the enthusiasm with which it was received and the numbers achieved. More and more people are interested in choosing a plant-based diet and we are here to help them by means of Veganuary and many other initiatives. Events like this are critical and have a huge positive impact on animals and the planet.
Special thanks to Dr. Silvia Goggi for always being by our side to provide information on the scientific aspects of the plant-based diet and for her professionalism.
Would you like to try a plant-based diet too?
The vegan month needn’t stop there: in February you can take part in ‘Veguary’ (Vegan February), promoted by the non-profit AfroVegan Society. This campaign deliberately takes place in February, Black History Month in the United States, to highlight the contribution of these communities and the numerous benefits of a plant-based diet.
But remember that Veganuary isn’t just for January: you can subscribe to Veganuary all year round to receive the 31 emails offering daily support. Just go to www.veganuary.com to sign up.