Veganuary Breaks Records for Participation in 2023

The New Year inspires the world to introduce healthier and long-lasting habits into their day-to-day routines, and Veganuary—the global movement to eat vegan for January—challenges people everywhere to give plant-based foods a chance in the new year. This year, Veganuary reported a record-breaking sign-up rate with one person joining the challenge every 2.4 seconds on New Year’s Day.

With the help of YouGov, Veganuary found that committing to a New Year's resolution makes people happier and more hopeful on average at the start of the new year, and that those adopting a vegan or vegetarian diet for their resolution tended to be more optimistic than others about the year ahead.

“The fact that I learned about Veganuary on the radio just driving down the road makes me hopeful that plant-based living is becoming more and more thought about, normalized, and easy to achieve,” Veganuary 2022 participant Anne, age 52, of Watkinsville, Georgia, said in a statement. “Learning the numbers Veganuary shares with us about the impact it makes on the environment and the people it reaches and how many people participate makes me feel very hopeful as well!”

Veganuary intends to encourage people worldwide to try eating healthier and more sustainably at the start of the year. The global movement has enlisted over 2.5 million since its founding in 2014, with participants from nearly every country in the world. A YouGov poll found that 85% of non-vegan past participants have reduced their animal-based consumption since their first Veganuary.

The YouGov poll also reveals the most common resolutions for 2023. The YouGov survey found that 34% of resolution-makers hope to eat healthier overall; 28% intend to budget better; 28% wish to reduce stress; and 39% aim to exercise more. Veganuary primarily intends to instill hope in consumers everywhere, helping encourage people worldwide to fulfill their resolutions.

“Many of us could use a little hope right now,” Wendy Matthews, Veganuary’s U.S. director, said in a statement. “But hope isn’t just wishful thinking. It’s taking steps that lead to the changes we want to see. Participating in Veganuary is a powerful way to start the year off with positive action, no matter what your resolution.”

Following last year's Veganuary challenges, 49% and 48% of participants recorded having improved energy and enhanced mood, respectively.

Similar to last year's campaign, several major brands including Wicked Kitchen, Aveda, Violife, and more are debuting vegan items to celebrate the movement. New York City is celebrating Veganuary with its first-ever vegan dining month. Several restaurants are participating in the event hosted by the food and travel website Vegans, Baby.

“I am so excited to launch Vegan Dining Month in NYC after running it for six years in Las Vegas,” Diana Edelman, Vegans, Baby founder told Forbes. “The city has such a dynamic vegan dining scene, and I am thrilled to create an event here that encourages people to dine out during the month and give restaurants—both vegan and vegan-friendly—a try for a good cause.”

To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer. For meal-planning support, check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.