Why 2020 is the perfect time to go vegan!

I said this last year, and the year before that too. It seems that once you think veganism is the easiest it could ever be, something changes and it gets even easier!

Veganuary 2020 has seen more than 350,000 sign up to go vegan for the month of January. It has also seen the launch of some amazing and innovative products by some of the nation’s largest and well-known retailers. Gregg’s who took the world by storm with the launch of its vegan sausage roll last year one-upped themselves by launching a vegan steak bake – which is delicious enough to cause a certain morning television host to have a melt-down. In addition, they altered the recipe for their glazed doughnuts, making them vegan!

As well as this, companies which have never been too vegan friendly got involved! KFC launched their Zero Chicken burger nationwide, following a very successful trial in 2019. Sandwich chain Subway has also introduced vegan ‘meat’balls and vegan cheese.

Costa Coffee, Caffé Nero, Starbucks and other coffee chains have also launched some amazing new vegan products. Costa even does a vegan cheese and ‘ham’ toastie, which is delicious by the way.  

Supermarkets have also gone vegan crazy, with every major UK supermarket launching new vegan products after seeing huge increases in sales of plant-based foods over the past year.

And that’s just a tiny snapshot of the new products available!

Of course, some people may take issue with some of the large companies who are releasing new vegan products, perhaps they see them as ‘jumping on the bandwagon’ and promoting junk food that isn’t necessarily the healthiest plant-based option, and this is a view that I totally sympathise with. After all, companies like KFC have created an entire business out of selling slaughtered animals on such a huge scale.

But at the same time, brands that non-vegans are aware of and restaurants that they regularly attend releasing delicious vegan food only seeks to make veganism more normal and mainstream. In turn, this means that veganism and plant-based eating becomes much accessible to the majority and thus more socially accepted.

Veganism is no longer considered to be ‘weird’ by the majority of people. In fact, its popularity is only set to continue. Figures show that the number of vegans in the UK has exceeded 600,000 people and the UK vegan market is worth £740 million.

Research shows that this huge increase is due to a growing concern about the environmental cost of the production of animal products, and also a concern for animal welfare. Animal farming is one of the biggest causes of greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, water pollution, land use and fresh water use.

“A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use.” – Joseph Poore, Oxford University, Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers.

Undercover investigations by Animal Aid have revealed the shocking reality of animal farming and slaughter in the UK. We have shown chickens confined to cruel cages, so called ‘free range’ turkeys languishing in cramped sheds with open wounds and animals routinely being abused at slaughterhouses throughout the UK, to name but a few things.

The good news, however, is that you can do something about this. By going vegan you can help reduce the demand for products that are reliant on cruelty to and exploitation of animals. You will be taking a stand against the destruction of the planet. And, of course, you will still be able to eat amazing food.