Some people may find making the switch to a vegan lifestyle to be a bit daunting, especially if they have never thought about cutting meat and dairy out before. “What will I eat?” is the most common concern. To be honest, this question arises when changing any eating habit. We usually stick to about nine different meals that we rotate and breaking out of this habit can be daunting, especially when you are looking to change out all nine meals at once. This is why the Veganuary initiative is such a great one.
Veganuary invites you to pledge to go vegan for the full 31 days of January. The wonderful part about taking the Veganuary pledge is that they support you every step of the way. You receive a beautiful, easy to use cookbook pdf on signup and then you will receive an email with meal ideas and tips every day throughout the month of January.
More about Veganuary
Veganuary is a non-profit organisation that was started in the UK in 2014 with the main aim to encourage people to try being vegan for January and beyond. It is a movement that is focused on changing consumer behaviours and attitudes, while providing all the information and practical support required to make the transition to veganism as easy and as enjoyable as possible throughout the month.
Since the campaign was launched in January 2014, more than 500,000 people have registered to try vegan, although data suggests that about ten times more participate without registering.
How to pledge
Taking the Veganuary pledge is really easy to do… simply sign up at www.veganuary/register and fill in a few details. You will immediate receive a really lovely cookbook and, starting January 1st, you will receive a wealth of support through daily emails, social media content, a facebook group, a website full of helpful resources (a starter kit, meal plans, tips on where to shop and eat out) and more. Veganuary reaches more than just the pledges. The organisation also supports brands, manufacturers and retailers to expand their plant-based options and become more vegan-friendly.
Veganuary in South Africa
Support for Veganuary has been steadily growing in South Africa. In 2019 we came 5th in the number of signups to the campaign and this year we are really aiming for a spot in the top 3.
It doesn’t matter whether you are already vegan, veganish, vegan-curious, vegetarian, flexitarian, pescatarion, omnivore or anything else, we encourage you to take the pledge and add your name to the Veganuary initiative. Start the year off by committing to just 31 days of trying something new and see where it takes you.
For more info, please visit the Veganuary South Africa website
Veronica Ridderhof
Veronica is a web developer by day and vegan home chef by night. She started vegan.co.za together with her partner, Werner as a way to bring the vegan community of South Africa together in kindness and create a resource for all.
