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Hundreds of thousands of people are giving up meat to become vegan for January – and their resolution tends to continue through the year, campaigners have claimed.
More than 800,000 people gave up animal products for the first time in 2019, according new research commissioned by Veganuary, a campaign that aims to encourage people to go vegan at the beginning of the year.
And many of those people continue to avoid eating meat even after their resolution for January is over, the same research suggested.
The new data gathered by research company Kantar looked at the shopping habits of 30,000 households. It found that an estimated 1.3 million people gave up animal products for January 2019, with the vast majority of them doing so for the first time.
After the month was over, many of those people went back to eating animal products but in reduced amounts, with the effect carrying into July or even later.
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1/20 Athens, Greece
In this decade, humans have become ever more aware of climate change. Calls for leaders to act echo around the globe as the signs of a changing climate become ever more difficult to ignore
AFP/Getty
2/20 California
Fierce wildfires have flared up in numerous countries. The damage being caused is unprecedented: 103 people were killed in wildfires last year in California, one of the places best prepared, best equipped to fight such blazes in the world
Getty
3/20 Redding, California
Entire towns have been razed. The towns of Redding and Paradise in California were all but eliminated in the 2018 season
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While wildfires in Greece (pictured), Australia, Indonesia and many other countries have wrought chaos to infrastructure, economies and cost lives
AFP/Getty
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In Britain, flooding has become commonplace. Extreme downpours in Carlisle in the winter of 2015 saw the previous record flood level being eclipsed by two feet
AFP/Getty
6/20 Hebden Bridge, England
Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire has flooded repeatedly in the past decade, with the worst coming on Christmas Day 2015. Toby Smith of Climate Visuals, an organisation focused on improving how climate change is depicted in the media, says: "Extreme weather and flooding, has and will become more frequent due to climate change. An increase in the severity and distribution of press images, reports and media coverage across the nation has localised the issue. It has raised our emotions, perception and personalised the effects and hazards of climate change."
Getty
7/20 Somerset, England
Out west in Somerset, floods in 2013 led to entire villages being cut off and isolated for weeks
Getty
8/20 Dumfries, Scotland
"In summer 2012, intense rain flooded over 8000 properties. In 2013, storms and coastal surges combined catastrophically with elevated sea levels whilst December 2015, was the wettest month ever recorded. Major flooding events continued through the decade with the UK government declaring flooding as one of the nation's major threats in 2017," says Mr Smith of Climate Visuals
Getty
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PA
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Months after the cold snap, a heatwave struck Britain, rendering the normally plush green of England's parks in Summer a parched brown for weeks
AFP/Getty
11/20 New South Wales, Australia
Worsening droughts in many countries have been disastrous for crop yields and have threatened livestock. In Australia, where a brutal drought persisted for months last year, farmers have suffered from mental health problems because of the threat to their livelihood
Reuters
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Carlo Frem/Amazon
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AFP/Getty
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Cycling infrastructure is taking over cities the world over, in the hope of reducing society's dependency on polluting vehicles
Ma Weiwei
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AFP/Getty
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More recently, large swathes of the Amazon rainforest were set alight by people to clear land for agriculture
AFP/Getty
20/20 California
This decade may have seen horrors but it has led to an understanding that the next decade must see change if human life is to continue
Getty
The total volume of that reduction in animals products was calculated at 4,452,603kg – though the campaign noted it was probably much higher since that number did not count products made up of several ingredients or meals that are eaten out. Veganuary claimed that reduction represented about 3.6 million animals.
The organisation claims that this year is expected to be even bigger, with 300,000 people already having committed through its official channels and many more thought to be taking part without signing up.
The news comes as red meat sales drop drastically. Research by Nielsen revealed last month in The Grocer showed that sales of beef and pork in supermarkets fell by £184.6m in 2019, driven in part by health concerns and other objections to red meat, as well as a relatively short summer and increased worries about price.
The drop affected all kinds of meats, from beef to processed meats like bacon and sausages, though people continued to eat cheaper options like mince, the same data showed.
Sales of poultry and fish did increase slightly over the year, apparently driven by the perception that they are a healthier option, the magazine reported.