Last week on 1st January I joined the tens of thousands of people, including celebrities such as Chris Packham and a number of MPs and Peers, in signing up to the Veganuary movement and committing to going vegan for the month of January.

Veganism is having a bit of a “moment”,  and according to The Guardian, “Many regard 2018 as the year that veganism moved out of the realms of counter-culture and into the mainstream.”

There are as many reasons for going vegan as there are vegans but most people’s motivation to make the switch, on a temporary or permanent basis, probably falls into one or more of the following categories: ethical, environmental or health-related. Of these, the ethical/animal welfare aspects are the “traditional” reason that people choose to make the change to a plant-based diet and lifestyle but the environmental benefits of veganism have probably led to the greatest number of “converts” in the past year or two, with the increasing amount of evidence relating to the negative impacts of animal agriculture. 

Campaigns such as Meat Free Mondays have been running for a number of years, and there is increasing consensus that global meat consumption, particularly in developed countries, needs to be drastically reduced if humanity is to avoid the twin perils of climate change and mass starvation as well the the loss of habitats and biodiversity associated with the felling of rainforests to enable the feeding of cattle for the beef industry and the intensification of grazing on agricultural land in other parts of the world.

There are a number of well-documented health benefits of going vegan, from a lowered risk of heart attack and stroke as a result of the lower saturated fat content of such a diet to better skin and fewer migraines.

My own reasons for trying veganism for a month probably draw on all three of these aspects, together with a desire to be more mindful about my diet. My previous diet can probably best be described as “mainly vegetarian with quite a lot of fish and the occasional bit of meat” (try putting than on a T-shirt followed by the words “…and proud”). The most useful piece of vegan equipment I have found so far are my reading glasses – vegans spend a lot of time standing in supermarkets reading the small print on the back of packets, jars and cans. This month I will be able to say that I have not put anything in my mouth that I have not thought about carefully first.

Knowing that I was contemplating Veganuary, my daughter (a lifelong vegetarian with a weakness for cheese) gave me The 28-Day Vegan Plan by Kim-Julie Hansen for Christmas. This has proved to be a great source of inspiration and recipes and, whilst I have followed her advice to “start by veganising your favourite dishes”, I have also really enjoyed trying some completely new ideas and shifting our weekly menus out of the sort of rut that I expect many people get stuck in – the same old favourites week in and week out.

I realise that I may have fallen into the stereotype of vegans never shutting up about veganism but I have really enjoyed telling people about my Veganuary experiment and seeing their reactions. I have not so far been abused or ridiculed for my dietary choices, unlike many “proper vegans” with the most common reactions so far being “why?” (fair enough when they are willing to listen to the answer) and “what on Earth are you going to eat?” (revealing an incredible lack of imagination, although I accept that my previous “mainly vegetarian, etc” diet has meant that the switch has been far easier than if I had previously followed a diet based on steak and Big Macs.)

All in all, after 8 days of a vegan existence I can say that I am definitely not bored or hungry but it is too early to say whether I feel any health benefits or what changes, if any, I might consider continuing with into February .

I am certainly not dying for a bacon sandwich…