Veganuary 'helps boost vegan numbers in the UK'

_99825217_gettyimages-860026356.jpg
Veganuary (going vegan for January) has been credited with boosting the number of people in the UK choosing to follow the lifestyle full-time.

From 2006 to 2016, it's estimated the number of vegans in the UK jumped from 150,000 to 542,000.

The Vegan Society says the campaign - now in its fifth year - is part of the reason for the increase.

"Vegan is the new vegetarian. It's becoming more accessible," claims Dominika Piasecka from the society.

The ethos of being a vegan centres around animal welfare.
_99827256_fgv.jpg
The belief is that no animal should be harmed, exploited or killed for human benefit.

Pro-vegan groups often share videos online featuring industrial farming methods or cases of what they claim to be animal mistreatment.

"The animal welfare argument for becoming vegan makes a lot of logical sense, because actually, most of us are against animal cruelty," says Dominika.

Image Copyright @siniauer@SINIAUER
Report
She says the charity's membership is at an all-time high and it's not just people living in major cities where vegan options tend to be more accessible.

"I mean even McDonalds has a vegan burger," she added.

The fast food chain launched the meat-free option in Finland but if successful may roll it out across Europe.

Skip Instagram post by mileycyrus
Report
End of Instagram post by mileycyrus
Celebrities including Sia, Lewis Hamilton, Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus have all chosen to go meat-free.

While Twitter has reported an 85% increase in the number of posts containing #veganlife since 2016.

"Veganism is not a trend. It's not a fad. It's here to stay," says Fat Gay Vegan.

The Australian-born blogger, whose real name is Sean O'Callaghan, is one of the people at the forefront of what he describes as a "social shift".

H2
H3
H4
3 columns
2 columns
1 column
Join the conversation now
Logo
Center