A charity has inspired tens of thousands more people to embrace a plant-based diet after records numbers took part in a vegan awareness campaign this year.

The findings come after the charity Veganuary heard from 44,000 people around the world who took part in their annual campaign, which sees hundreds of thousands of people pledge to go vegan for the month of January.

The vast majority plan to slash their intake of animal products, with 85% planning to at least halve their consumption permanently and a whopping 40% who plan to stay vegan.

Even for those people who don’t plan to remain plant-based, three quarters of them are still very or extremely likely to try being vegan again in the future.

Half of those surveyed say they felt the health benefits from taking part in Veganuary, with half (49%) reporting increased energy and 38% reporting weight loss.

Veganuary’s International Head of Communications, Toni Vernelli, said:

These incredible results show that Veganuary really is inspiring people around the world to adopt a more planet-friendly diet.

The survey found that the biggest reason for people wanting to try going vegan was the animals, coming in at 46% of all those who took part. More than a fifth (21%) said their number one reason was the environment.

A number of well-known brands, restaurants and fast food chains have seen the potential for the vegan market in recent years. This year was no exception with more than 825 new vegan products and menus launched for Veganuary 2021 according to the UK based charity.

The 2021 campaign continued to receive backing from a number of high-profile celebrities too, including Oscar winning actor Joaquin Phoenix, BBC TV presenter and environmental activist Chris Packham and Big Bang Theory actress Mayim Bialik. This year saw 582,000 people take the pledge to go vegan for the month of January.

Photo credit: Veganuary