Turn your t.v. on and you will see the commercials advertising the health benefits of animal products like beef or milk. They have catchy advertising slogans like "Milk: It Does a Body Good" or "Beef, It's What's for Dinner." These advertising campaigns in conjunction with the USDA Food Pyramid have pushed the idea of what is a "normal, healthy" diet. According to ForksOverKnives.com, 63% of America’s calories come from refined and processed foods; 25% come from animal-based foods; 12% come from plant-based foods. Should we rely on these advertising campaigns to dictate our lives, health and impacts on the environment? Is there another way?
The answer is simple: YES! Let go of the animal products and GO VEGAN! In 2014, Jane Land and Matthew Glover developed the idea of Veganuary (Vegan+January) to inspire people to try vegan for 31 days and this has become the world's largest vegan movement. The Veganuary Vision is simple: "we want a vegan world. A world without animal farms and slaughterhouses. A world where food production does not decimate forests, pollute rivers and oceans, exacerbate climate change, and drive wild animal populations to extinction."
According to the 2020 Veganuary Campaign Report, "Veganuary has participants in EVERY country except for North Korea, Vatican City and Eswatini (formerly known as Swaziland)." This year more than 500,000 people have already signed-up for the 31-day vegan challenge – surpassing 2020s total of 400,000 – and sign-ups are still in process.
Want to get involved and pledge to TRY VEGAN? Go to veganuary.com and pledge to forgo all animal products for 31 days. In return, you receive delicious recipes, easy meal plans and helpful hints plus an invitation to a Facebook group so that you can ask questions as you transition to this new lifestyle. You can also check out a blog post from Central Arkansas Vegan writer, Kathryn Tennison, called For the Vegan-Curious in which she breaks down what being vegan means.
Want more information about veganism and the impacts on your health and the environment? Netflix has you covered with the following documentaries: What The Health, The Game Changers, Cowspiracy and The C Word.
What are you waiting for? Ready to pledge? https://veganuary.com/try-vegan/
Ready. Set. Vegan!
{Sources: veganuary 2020 campaign report on veganuary.com; forksoverknives.com;}