What is Veganuary, and Why Should I Care?

Veganuary is a movement where people go vegan for January. Learn more.

Jan 10, 2020
What is Veganuary, and Why Should I Care?
Photo by Brigitta Baranyi / Unsplash

Introduction

The new year has just begun. Do you know what that means? It's an opportunity for a fresh start. In terms of veganism, let’s get our learning caps on and talk about a vegan concept that’s somewhat related to New Year’s resolutions: Veganuary.

Before diving in, if you don’t fully get what veganism is, here’s the inside scoop on veganism. Also, if you’re not vegan and haven’t had much experience with vegan blogs, I wrote down 11 reasons why non-vegans may struggle to make vegan recipes successfully through vegan blogs alone.

Veganuary

Veganuary is the concept of going vegan in January as your New Year’s resolution, and hopefully, you will become vegan beyond the month of January. Here is the official Veganuary website for more concrete information about it. People’s reasonings for participating mainly are for the animals, the environment, and their health.

I’ve never participated in Veganuary, and none of the above reasons were related to why I went vegan in 2017. Nevertheless, the main issue I have with Veganuary is it’s not accessible to everyone. Going completely vegan is hard and requires a lot of work and discipline.

Fortunately, here are 20 ways to be more plant-based and transition into a vegan lifestyle if you decide to do so. The first 10 are dietary changes, and the last 10 are lifestyle changes.

  1. Add Meatless Mondays to your eating routine.
  2. Become vegetarian.
  3. Be a chegan.
  4. Gradually become vegan one food at a time.
  5. Have more plant-based foods and less animal-based foods.
  6. Try going vegetarian this October.
  7. Try some foods with a certified vegan logo.
  8. Make or extend your own pantry.
  9. Go to a vegetarian or vegan fest.
  10. Get all of your necessary vitamins and minerals.
  11. Get a pet.
  12. Install renewable energy.
  13. Drive less.
  14. Enjoy nature.
  15. Don’t litter.
  16. Waste less.
  17. Educate others, especially future generations.
  18. Travel.
  19. Take care of yourself.
  20. Adopt.
Vegan salad bowl
Photo by Anna Pelzer / Unsplash

1. Add Meatless Mondays to your eating routine.

Meatless Mondays is how it sounds: eating no meat on Mondays. Here is the official website dedicated to this campaign. The thing that surprises me is this movement started more to save on rationing instead of having anything to do with going vegetarian or vegan. For more information about Meatless Mondays, just look this concept up on Google News or whatever news source or search engine you prefer.

Vegan food dish
Photo by Ralph (Ravi) Kayden / Unsplash

2. Become vegetarian.

If you want to become vegetarian, all you would have to do is take meat out of your diet. If you are dying for some meat again, try these vegan meat substitutes or the following vegetarian recipes.

Bread toasts with avocado, banana, tomato. Easy to make, great for a quick breakfast.
Photo by Ella Olsson / Unsplash

3. Be a chegan.

A chegan stands for a cheating vegan. A famous example is Daisy Ridley from Star Wars. She explained more about this in her 2017 interview with Elle UK, and she’s still a chegan to this day, or at least was at the end of 2019.

Andy Shovel and Pete Sharman are other examples of people not being vegan full-time. They’re the founders of a vegan-meat-substitute company called THIS.

Photo by Kenny Eliason / Unsplash

4. Gradually become vegan one food at a time.

Instead of increasing the number of vegan meals you have per week, list all the non-vegan foods you eat. Then, pick the first food you’re willing to give up or replace with a vegan substitute. Eliminate one non-vegan food from your monthly diet until you’re completely vegan. Even if it’s as simple as salad dressing, it’s better than nothing.

Paper bags with groceries including fruits and vegetables and bread
Photo by Maria Lin Kim / Unsplash

5. Have more plant-based foods and less animal-based foods.

What veggies would make up for cutting a recipe’s meat and/or dairy intake?

  • pasta made with broccoli
  • portobello mushrooms as hamburger buns
  • mushrooms in spaghetti
  • tomatoes and lettuce on walking tacos
  • spinach in omelets
  • fruit on cereal
Photo by Louis Hansel / Unsplash

6. Try going vegetarian this October.

If Veganuary and a non-vegan made a baby, it would World Vegetarian Day, observed on October 1st. To celebrate, people like to go vegetarian for the entire month of October. That is way more feasible than going all vegan in January, right?

Vegan Black LT Sandwich
Photo by roam in color / Unsplash

7. Try some foods with certified vegan logos.

There are many products with certified vegan labels out there. People can label food whatever they want, but only vegan food that underwent a certification process gets an official vegan logo.

Spice rack with jars, shallow depth of field
Photo by Heather McKean / Unsplash

8. Make or extend your own pantry.

If you have some extra space on a shelf, in a drawer, inside the freezer, or wherever, stock up on your non-perishable food items due to the food’s longevity. Plus, by saving up an extra can or two or filling up a Mason jar each month, you have enough food to make these 40 recipes with little to no additional ingredients.

This photo was taken when me and my girlfriend were on an evening walk at the city of Turku, Finland. I just noticed a fuse box that was stuck with old notice papers and I a shot of it. I just loved how gritty the whole fuse box looked with all these torn old notices. The “Go Vegan” text also really catches your eye.
Photo by Miika Laaksonen / Unsplash

9. Go to a vegetarian or vegan fest.

If you’re traveling to or live in a major city, there’s a good chance that you may get the opportunity to go to a vegetarian or vegan fest. If you have some vegan friends/family or just want to learn more about vegan-food alternatives, this is a great place to start.

I went to my home state’s vegan fest in 2019 and didn’t like it. Granted, it was smaller. I went by myself, and I don’t like most food unless I make it. Either way, grab someone you know and head to the vegetarian or vegan fest that’s nearest you.

healthy, fresh, raw vegetables and fruits
Photo by engin akyurt / Unsplash

10. Get all of your necessary vitamins and minerals.

Most people ask me the same questions after they learn I’m vegan. Two questions are where do I get my protein and calcium. If I keep mindlessly nodding my head, they’ll stop talking, right? The issue I have with this immediate response is one, I’m probably getting more nutrients with all the produce I eat than them. Two, the majority of the world’s population suffers from some sort of vitamin/mineral deficiency.

Regardless of how healthy you eat, keep track of how many vitamins and minerals you consume, and supplement your diet with vitamins as needed.

Blue-eyed cat portrait
Photo by Pacto Visual / Unsplash

11. Get a pet.

One major reason why people become vegan is for the animals. The problem is becoming vegetarian, let alone vegan, is this change isn’t practical for everyone, but if you’re a petless animal lover, become a pet owner.

The first question that may come up in this discussion involves the ethics of having pets, companion animals, or whatever you want to call your non-human friends as a vegan. I grew up on a farm with cats and dogs, and I have four cats. As long as the pets you would like to adopt are legal where you live and you properly take care of them, get as many as you would like.

The other question that is brought up a lot with vegans and pets is the ethics of making pets vegan too. Sure, there are vegan pets out there due to being omnivores and ways to make your cats and dogs vegan. I am strongly against making carnivorous pets vegan due to how dangerous that could be to impose on them.

Follow my Instagram @karsten.wuerth
Photo by Karsten Würth / Unsplash

12. Install renewable energy.

Have you ever heard of wind turbines, solar panels, or geothermal? I’m pretty familiar with those types of renewable energy because my parents use solar and geothermal energy, and there are a decent amount of wind turbines near my previous home.

There will be times that you’ll have to use fossil fuels, but if you use renewable energy as much as you can, that lessens your carbon footprint. Climate change is highly debated, but one thing should be certain: we aren’t taking care of the Earth how we should. Make a difference by incorporating some renewable energy into your life.

Photo by Dan Gold / Unsplash

13. Drive less.

  • Can you make a carpool to the grocery store, to a sports event, or out on a date?
  • Are you close enough to bike or walk there?
  • Is there a way to do more errands in a day instead of taking multiple car trips
  • Can you use public transportation to get there instead of a car?

These are just a few examples of how we can decrease our carbon footprint by driving less.

Photo by Henry Be / Unsplash

14. Enjoy nature.

It’s one thing to go outside and another to pay attention to your surroundings while out and about. There are so many local, state, and national parks worth visiting that you shouldn't have an excuse to get some fresh air.

A plastic water bottle found during a beach cleanup in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. During the summer, seasonal beaches are overrun with visitors, and we find overwhelming amounts of single use plastics littered across the sand. You can help by leaving the beach cleaner than you found it, and making small changes to your everyday life. Respect the ocean. Follow on Instagram @wildlife_by_yuri, and find more free plastic pollution photos at: https://www.wildlifebyyuri.com/free-ocean-photography
Photo by Brian Yurasits / Unsplash

15. Don’t litter.

In high school, I picked up so much litter that there’s photographic evidence of me picking up litter in one of my high school yearbooks. What? I had nothing better to do that day.

Many don’t realize how awful littering is to the environment, so keep your trash in your pockets until you have a garbage can to dispose of.

An extreme case of littering is oil spills. Dawn soap has been well-known for cleaning birds for decades.

Another situation on some random gas station. This time the security wasn’t bothered by someone photographing the place ;)
Photo by Pawel Czerwinski / Unsplash

16. Waste less.

Another way to change your lifestyle is going zero waste; the perfect example is Lauren Singer. She’s so dedicated to eliminating waste and promoting more sustainable options that she has a blog called Trash is for Tossers and founded Package Free, a zero-waste company.

Love to Learn | Instagram: @timmossholder
Photo by Tim Mossholder / Unsplash

17. Educate others, especially future generations.

Yes, it is nice to learn stuff and have it all to yourself, but you could take these lessons a step further by informing others about them.

  • Let your kids and younger relatives know where food comes from.
  • If they would like to become vegetarian or vegan, support their diet change, and make meat separately from grains and veggies.
(contact me for the full resoluton image)
Photo by Dino Reichmuth / Unsplash

18. Travel.

We all need an excuse to get out of the house or get away for a few days. Seeing the world is a great way to help the economy in other communities while getting another perspective on life and how to better care of ourselves and the Earth.

Walkarounds in Amsterdam.
Photo by Max van den Oetelaar / Unsplash

19. Take care of yourself.

Please take care of yourself. Here are

  • Stay hydrated.
  • Sleep well.
  • Get exercise.
  • Eat healthy foods.
  • Socialize.
  • Be productive.
  • Seek help if you or someone you know does self-harm and/or has suicidal thoughts.
Happy Adopted
Photo by frank mckenna / Unsplash

20. Adopt.

If someone or a couple wants kids, adoption is the perfect place to look.

Veganism emphasizes the importance of conserving resources, so instead of making more children, adopting children is more environmentally friendly, especially with the worry of the increasing world population.

Conclusion

No matter what you do this year, make it count by adding a tip or two to your life. The world would be a better place, and the planet will thank you.

10 dietary changes

  1. Add Meatless Mondays to your eating routine.
  2. Become vegetarian.
  3. Be a chegan.
  4. Gradually become vegan one food at a time.
  5. Have more plant-based foods and less animal-based foods.
  6. Try going vegetarian this October.
  7. Try some foods with a certified vegan logo.
  8. Make or extend your own pantry.
  9. Go to a vegetarian or vegan fest.
  10. Get all of your necessary vitamins and minerals.

10 lifestyle changes

  1. Get a pet.
  2. Install renewable energy.
  3. Drive less.
  4. Enjoy nature.
  5. Don’t litter.
  6. Waste less.
  7. Educate others, especially future generations.
  8. Travel.
  9. Take care of yourself.
  10. Adopt.