Veganuary - how an idea over a glass of wine in York became a global phenomenon

Love it or hate it, Veganuary is here to stay.

The idea to get people to pledge to go vegan for 31 days in January was the brainchild of York couple Jane Land and Matthew Glover in 2014.

Since then, more than two million people across the globe have signed up to give up all animal products for a month.

“I think there are only two countries that aren’t involved and one of them is Vatican City,” says Land, a former English teacher who gave up her day job to run the campaign full-time.

(The other country is North Korea).

Land and her partner Glover, who met on a vegan dating site, came up with the idea through frustration at being unable to really get their vegan message across.

“I’d been vegetarian since my 20s and was an animal rights activist. When I met Matthew, who was vegan, I decided to become a vegan too.

“We were both passionate about animal rights and also the effect animal production has on the environment, but we were frustrated that the message wasn’t getting across as quickly as we would have liked.

“Matthew had done Movember and we started to think how could we do something similar to catch the public’s imagination around veganism.”

Over a glass of wine in their York home they set about creating a name, a brand, and getting a campaign together.

“It made sense to do it in January when a lot of people are looking at their lifestyles and wanting to become more healthy and Veganuary just worked,” says Land.

“We got the website together with loads of information and resources and started a Facebook group. Matthew and I are a good balance for each other. He is very optimistic and I think I am more of the realist. I thought if we get about 100 people I’d be happy, Matthew said he wanted 1,000, in the end we got 3,300 pledges which was amazing.”

Some famous participants include wildlife presenter Chris Packham, TV presenter Jasmine Harman, actor Peter Egan and ‘Dragon’ Deborah Meaden – all of whom are now ambassadors for the charity.

Harman, who took part in the first Veganuary in 2014, says: “I feel very proud and very privileged to have been with Veganuary from the start and to be one of their ambassadors.”

Joining as an ambassador for 2022, Meaden says: “Taking part in Veganuary helped me change how I eat, and now my diet is the best for animals, the planet and for me.

“If the climate crisis, animal suffering or the loss of wild places and species concerns you, sign up, take part and let Veganuary help you, too.”

Egan says: “The first thing which is wonderful about Veganuary is that there is no pressure. So you can, if you like, say ‘ok I’m only going to do it for January’.

“I’d be very surprised if you decide to do it for January and then not do it for February because it is such an exciting and interesting way of living in terms of food.

“So, I think it’s a wonderful imperative. And one that, of course, I totally support and I’m very, very happy to be an ambassador for.”

Packham is encouraging everyone who cares about climate change to take part this January as he fronts the charity’s 2022 campaign video.

The charity now has campaign hubs in seven countries – the UK, the US, Germany, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and India.

For some, Veganuary was life-changing: a Devon woman who lost seven stone and went from self-confessed couch potato to triathlete; a 70-year-old woman in California who has lowered her blood pressure, cholesterol and no longer registers as pre-diabetic; and a woman in Eswatini who has started her own vegan

mail-order company to help other people in her community take on the challenge as well.

The launch of Greggs’ vegan sausage roll for Veganuary 2019 sent Piers Morgan into meltdown, but in 2020 KFC and Burger King joined the party with the first fast-food Veganuary launches. McDonalds and Wimpy joined them in 2021.

Joaquin Phoenix, Paul McCartney, Joanna Lumley and New York’s mayor Eric Adams have all urged people to take part in Veganuary, helping official participant numbers grow year on year from 3,300 in 2014 to 580,000 in

2021.

Kantar research suggests the number of people who have ‘done Veganuary ‘ without officially signing-up is actually ten times greater.

Reflecting on the two million milestone, Glover, said: “Now Veganuary is a bigger feature in the retail calendar than Christmas, reflecting the ever-increasing

number of people choosing

plant-based food.”

He added: “Two million official Veganuary participants in just eight years is a huge achievement, but the explosion in plant-based products that has accompanied it is truly revolutionising the future of food.”

Throughout the year, Veganuary encourages and supports people and businesses alike to move to a plant-based diet as a way of protecting the environment, preventing animal suffering, and improving the health of millions of people.

Veganuary is free to join, and people can sign-up at veganuary.com to receive 31 daily emails packed with nutritional info, recipes, easy meal plans and helpful advice.

Land and Glover have recently taken a back seat, handing over the running of the organisation, which now employs some 30 staff, to a chief executive.

“I think we got a bit of burn out,” admits Land.

“It had become so big and all consuming so in 2018 we decided to take on a CEO. It meant that we had our first Christmas since 2012.

“It was so draining and was still frustrating even though the momentum for change is growing.”

They are both still on the board and Glover remains chair.

It doesn’t mean they have stopped banging the vegan gong – far from it.

Glover launched the Million Dollar Vegan campaign to get the Pope to pledge to go vegan for Lent in return for $1m to his chosen charity.

“We nearly did it,” says Land who along with Glover are now what they call vegan venture capitalists, supporting vegan start-ups but with all profits going to charities that work with animals,

In 2020, Glover founded Vegan Fried Chicken whose products are now in 380 Tesco stores.

You get the feeling they have more vegan products and campaigns up their sleeve.

“Of course we want a world where people don’t consume animals or animal products,” says Land.

“Things are changing, especially now there is so much research around the effect on climate change.

“I don’t think we’ll see it in our lifetime but you have to keep going.”