2019 has already been a huge year for veganism, and it is only set to get even bigger in my opinion.
If you were to go back 10 years, vegan options on the high street and in restaurants would have been scarce to say the least. But let’s not dwell, nowadays we are spoilt for choice! You can go into pretty much any chain restaurant and find not only vegan options, but in many cases entire vegan menus.
Even those without stated vegan options (which are now in the minority) are often more than happy to make something vegan upon request.
Every single supermarket has huge ranges of vegan food; from meat-alternatives, plant-milks, cheese and ice-cream, to vegan and cruelty-free toiletries and household cleaning products. It has never been easier. And since Animal Aid’s #MarkItVegan campaign, the vast majority now label their own-brand vegan products, making shopping that little bit easier.
For every animal-product you can think of, there is a delicious plant-based alternative.
The evidence for going vegan
Not only are plant-based options accessible, there is a growing mass of evidence to show that eating more plant-based, vegan foods is better for the planet. A 2018 Oxford University study resulted in lead researcher Joseph Poore going vegan and stating: "A vegan diet is the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth[.]"
This is because the production of plant-based foods requires less land and resources than animal-products, and produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions.
As well as this, major dietetics associations including the British Dietetics Association and the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, all confirm that a well-planned vegan diet is perfectly healthy at all stages of life. There is also research to suggest that those following a plant-based diet suffer a reduced risk of certain illnesses and diseases such as type-2 diabetes, heart disease and certain types of cancer.
In addition to being better for the planet and healthy, a vegan diet also spares countless animals from a life of misery and suffering on farms and in slaughterhouses.
Our investigators found harrowing scenes, which included seemingly piles of dead animals left out in the open, injured animals with untreated wounds, and animals being beaten, burnt with cigarettes, and having their throats hacked at with blunt knives.
So why not help the animals, the planet and stay healthy, and try vegan this June with Animal Aid’s Summer Vegan Pledge? It is free to take part, and you will receive all the help you need. You can find out more here