More than a quarter of Veganuary 2024 participants have gone vegan, and the majority are eating at least half the amount of animal products they did before the challenge, a survey has found.
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Veganuary followed up with people who had joined the 2024 challenge six months later. It received 5,931 responses. Of those, 27 percent said they had gone vegan, while 37 percent said they had reduced their consumption of animal products by more than three-quarters. In total, 81 percent had cut down by at least half. Only three percent said that participating in Veganuary had not led to any sustained reduction in eating animal products.
The survey only asked people about their eating habits if they had said they were not vegan when they signed up to Veganuary.
“These incredible results show that Veganuary is so much more than a one-month pledge and that taking part leads to lasting diet change for most people,” Veganuary’s International Head of Communications, Toni Vernelli, said in a statement.
Making better choices
Ninety-five percent of participants credited taking part in Veganuary with helping them to make better choices about their diet. More than half said they were now making more compassionate, healthy, and sustainable food choices. Trying the challenge made 70 percent feel more inspired in the kitchen, and 60 percent said they had become more adventurous with their food.
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The biggest factor that influenced the participants who have remained vegan was discovering that it was easier to make the change than they expected.
Since cutting down on animal products, 65 percent reported experiencing overall improvements in their health. Energy levels and mood were the areas where most positive effects were felt.
The survey also asked participants who hadn’t completely ditched animal products if they would try going vegan again in the future. More than half said it was “extremely likely,” while 70 percent said they would “definitely” try Veganuary again.