Jacobs University’s Environmental Club participates every year in spreading more awareness about the benefits of the vegan diet. They created a vegan challenge in 2019 that supported Jacobs students into going vegan for a month, in corporation with Apetito Catering.
As most of you probably know, a vegan diet excludes all products derived from animals. According to the American Vegan Society (1), “vegans don’t consume meat, fish, birds, cow’s or goat milk, eggs, honey, or foods made with any of these or other animal products such as gelatin, beef or chicken broths, lard or tallow.” As well as, some vegans stay away from real leather, pigments (derived from animals), and products tested on animals.
During January, people are encouraged to try out the vegan diet and join the movement. In 2020, over 400 000 people around the world participated to try the vegan diet. As stated by Allplants (2), the top Veganuary countries by order of sign-ups are the United Kingdom, United States of America, and Germany.
Once people sign up for Veganuary (3), they are provided with information, recipes, and helpful tips. One can decide if they would like to go fully vegan or just introduce a few meals into their diet. One way or another, being vegan makes a great change to the world for the better. Oxford Martin School shares that “a global switch to diets that rely less on meat and more on fruit and vegetables could save up to 8 million lives by 2050, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two thirds, and lead to healthcare-related savings and avoided climate damages of $1.5 trillion (US)“ (4). Moreover, their study "projects that by 2050 (...) adopting global dietary guidelines would cut food-related emissions by 29%, vegetarian diets by 63%, and vegan diets by 70%.”
However, if the vegan diet does not work for you, there are other alternatives to support the movement. The Vegan Trademark (5) was introduced in 1990 creating an international vegan standard set by The Vegan Society, which nowadays can be found on cosmetics, toiletries, food, and drink items.
It is never too late to challenge yourself and experiment with something new, even though Veganuary has passed – you can still sign up and try being vegan for a month. Next time you want to order food, check the vegan options, check for the vegan stamp while shopping, and be more mindful of your daily choices.
References and more information could be found in the following websites:
1. https://americanvegan.org/vegan-is/
2. https://allplants.com/blog/lifestyle/veganuary-2020-facts-and-figures
4. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/news/201603-plant-based-diets/
5. https://www.vegansociety.com/
6. https://jacobsuniversity.blog/october-2020/jacobs-environmental-club
7. https://ethicalelephant.com/crueltyfree-vs-vegan/
BY KREMENA TERZIEVA (BULGARIA) | CLASS OF 2021
