This year, thousands of people around the world are focusing on vegan nutrition at the beginning of the year: The so-called Veganuaryfocusses on dishes without any animal products, i.e. without dairy products, eggs, fish, meat or animal parts. The reason: The non-profit organization and campaign Veganuary wants to encourage a vegan diet worldwide. Households and companies should come into contact with veganism, at least partially change their meals and thus protect the environment and animal welfare.
The most important facts at a glance:
- Veganuary is a global initiative that encourages people to try a purely plant-based diet without animal products in January to promote environmental and animal welfare
- Veganuary 2023 has already been a success with over 700.000 participants, 820 new vegan products and media presence
- Switching to a vegan diet requires small steps and also offers a variety of alternatives to meat, fish, milk, cheese and eggs, making Veganuary accessible to everyone
Big successes in Veganuary 2023
Last year's Veganuary was according to the Veganuary Report 2023 a complete success: over 700.000 people registered for a vegan month, 820 new vegan products were brought onto the market and up to 790 vegan dishes ended up on restaurant menus. In addition, Veganuary received a large media presence: the hashtag #Veganuary was viewed up to 894 million times on common social media platforms.
Why Veganuary is relevant for everyone
Veganism has grown significantly in recent years: in 2023, around 1,5 million would classify themselves as vegan. Nevertheless, more than half of Germans eat a conventional diet.
However, animal-free diets are suitable for many more people: according to a recent study by Jama Networks , a vegan diet ensures better heart health. And not only that, your own CO2 emissions can also be reduced many times over. A full-fledged vegan saves up to 2 tons of CO2 in a year through their diet. By switching to a vegan diet, you are doing something good for all components of the earth: people live healthier lives, fewer animals die and nature is protected.
How do you start a vegan diet?
A vegan diet can and should be increasingly integrated into everyday life. But how do you start such a change? First of all: Initial doubts about changing your diet are completely normal and are no reason not to continue working on your diet. People feel comfortable in their comfort zone. This takes place exactly where he has been moving for years. However, if you expand your horizons, even what seems new soon starts to feel old and familiar. Small steps are enough to get to grips with a new diet and soon integrate it into your own eating habits.
How to make your favorite food vegan
However, a vegan diet does not mean giving up your favorite food. We'll show you the best tips on how to prepare conventional dishes vegan:
Alternatives to meat:
Whether as minced meat in lasagna or as bratwurst on the grill. The food industry nowadays offers a variety of vegan meat alternatives. These are especially for beginners in the vegan diet. It is important to try out all the manufacturers. If you don't want to buy ready-made products, you can use tofu, jackfruit or tempeh as a meat substitute. Mushrooms such as king oyster mushrooms are also becoming increasingly popular in the vegan world because they have a similar consistency to meat.
Alternatives to fish:
The healthy omega-3 fatty acids from fish can also be easily consumed in a vegan diet. Flaxseed oil, chia seeds and walnuts, for example, also contain a lot of Omega-3. To create a fishy taste, vegans like to use so-called nori sheets; to create a fishy consistency, watermelon is often used for tuna or pickled carrot for salmon.
Alternatives to milk:
Vegan milk alternatives are already standard in many restaurants. In addition to common milk alternatives such as oat, soy, rice or nut milk, the first companies are working on vegan whole milk in order to have the rich taste of cow's milk as close as possible. You can also easily make vegan milk yourself. For example, for oat milk you only need oat flakes, water and salt. You can also buy plant-based quark or yoghurt in many supermarkets, or make it yourself from cashews, water and probiotics.
Alternatives to cheese:
The vegan cheese enjoys a rather low popularity even among vegans. Nevertheless, there are now products that produce a cheesy taste without harming animals. Yeast flakes are a suitable vegan basic tool. These are particularly good in pasta dishes as an alternative to Parmesan.
Alternatives to eggs:
Vegan cakes or Muffins are no longer uncommon at many celebrations or events, because they can be easily made without animal eggs. Fruit such as a banana or an apple is particularly often used for this, but chickpea flour or chia seeds also end up as an egg substitute in many vegan baked goods. Our tip: For fluffy vegan pancakes, beat the water from the can of chickpeas with a mixer and process it into the dough as vegan egg whites.
If you are looking for an alternative to your morning scrambled eggs, you can fry either tofu or a chickpea flour mixture in the pan and then season with Kala Nalmak salt. This seasoning gives every dish a light egg flavor.
By now it should be clear to everyone: a vegan diet isn't all that challenging and can even be a lot of fun. By trying things out a little, you can quickly come up with new dishes and alternatives that may soon become part of your menu as a normal dish.
Vegan diet is intended for everyone
Veganuary offers the opportunity to move beyond your usual horizons. New vegan products on the market also make the transformation to an animal-free lifestyle easier. Unfortunately, just one month a year is not enough to really sustainably improve our food industry. As in so many areas of life, however, it helps to first think in shades of gray, not just in black and white: by trying out and testing vegan alternatives, you quickly find out in which areas it is particularly easy for you to avoid animal products to renounce. It is precisely with these that it is important to build on. As soon as everyone feels a little bit responsible for changing the food industry, big things can be achieved.
FAQ's:
What does Veganuary mean?
Veganuary is an organization and campaign where people try a plant-based diet in January to experience the benefits of a vegan lifestyle.
What's the point of the Veganuary?
If more people follow a vegan diet long-term, environmental impacts will be reduced and awareness of animal rights will be raised.
How do you eat vegan?
A vegan diet excludes all animal products and is instead based on plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts or seeds.
