A staggering 400,000 people took part in Veganuary's successful 2020 campaign, and the vegan charity has just released the official stats on its 2020 campaign.
ADVERTISEMENT
More people than ever before pledged to take part in Veganuary‘s 2020 campaign, with a record-breaking 402,206 people from 192 countries signing-up to take part.
The vegan charity set itself targets of 350,000 sign-ups, with its previous record of 250,000 in 2019, but by all accounts absolutely smashed this target this year!
Motivation
Encouragingly, the sign-up survey revealed more than half of the 2020 participants took part for ethical reasons, either to spare animals from suffering (37%) or protect the environment (18%), while 38% cited health as their main motivation.
Just over half of participants (51%) were still eating meat and/or fish when they took the pledge, 30% were vegetarian and 19% were vegan.
Demographics
As in previous years, the majority of participants were female (83%; male = 15%), with nearly one-third of sign-ups (29%) aged between 25-34 although 18-24 year olds and those aged 35-44 also made up significant proportions (21% and 20% respectively).
Veganuary is now truly a global phenomenon with their highest participating countries spanning every continent:
- UK
- US
- Germany
- Argentina
- Chile
- Mexico
- Italy
- South Africa
- Australia
- Sweden
Sticking with it
More than half of non-vegan participants maintained a fully vegan diet for the whole month (59%) and an amazing 72% of them plan to stay vegan after Veganuary!
When asked why they planned to stay vegan, the top reasons given were:
- Learned more about veganism
- It was easier than expected
- Felt improved health
- Discovered great tasting food
- The Veganuary email support
Challenges
Even though some participants didn’t manage to stay 100% vegan for the whole month, more than three-quarters (77%) of those who didn’t say they are very/extremely likely to try veganism again in the future.
The biggest challenges participants reported facing during the Veganuary pledge were:
- Eating out
- Friends and family
- Missing non-vegan foods
These results show that more still needs to be done to address negative social pressure and limited availability of vegan options in some regions.
Veganism is here to stay
Commenting on the results in a statement sent to Vegan Food & Living, Veganuary’s International Head of Communications, Toni Vernelli, said: “These incredible results prove not only that veganism is a trend that’s here to stay, but that Veganuary is making it easier for aspiring vegans around the world to achieve their goal!”
She added: “We work very hard to equip our participants with as much helpful advice, delicious recipes and friendly support as possible, so it’s very rewarding to know that 98% would recommend Veganuary to others! This figure has been consistent for several years, demonstrating the value of Veganuary’s work for those who want to try vegan – whether they complete the month or not, and regardless of why they chose to give it a go.”
