The Problem With Veganuary: Does it help or hurt the animals?

Veganuary is just another tool in the toolbox for vegan and animal advocates, Judging a tool on how it appears from the outside without exploring the inside goals will likely lead to misunderstanding and unwarranted, often times harsh accusations and criticism. Animals would benefit greatly from us learning to be more understanding, curious and knowledgable about the various tools and strategies used by individuals and organizations to create a better world for animals.

DAVID RAMMS: 2025 marks another year of Veganuary, the annual challenge encouraging people to embrace animal-free eating for a month. But not everyone’s cheering. Some vegans argue that Veganuary waters down the vegan cause, and even harms animals. Are these claims valid, or is Veganuary a stepping stone for change?..

Concern: Veganuary has nothing to do with veganism —

This is quite a common criticism of Veganuary within vegan circles, but where does it come from? Well, the claim is that as Veganuary is basically a challenge to eat animal-free foods during January, it doesn’t encapsulate what veganism is. Veganism is more than a diet, it’s a rejection of using, abusing and killing animals, and applies to many other aspects of our lives (entertainment, clothing, cosmetics etc).

Critics worry that Veganuary blurs the meaning of veganism, reducing it to a diet and overlooking the broader ethical stance against exploiting animals. This, they argue, ultimately harms the animals it aims to protect.

As much as I empathise with this critique (I have avoided using food challenges like Veganuary and Challenge22 in the past with similar reasoning), I no longer agree with the conclusion that challenges like these are bad for animals.

Veganuary may be mis-using the term “Vegan” by labelling a food challenge with it, but their overarching goal is in fact to promote vegan ethics and create more vegans. Veganuary is a strategy, not an end goal. The goal isn’t to get people to try eating animal-free food once a year, it’s a strategy to get people to look deeper into why people eat animal-free diets in the first place…

Concern: Veganuary dilutes veganism —

This critique is more focused on the idea that Veganuary undermines veganism by painting it as a trend or a diet fad. By having January as the “month to go vegan”, veganism becomes a novelty, a silly thing that people do every January for a bit of a change or to start the year off in a healthy way (based on the idea that a lot people have of veganism being a health diet movement).

Critics suggest that treating veganism as a passing trend undermines the deeper ethical foundations, and this could make people more likely to revert to animal consumption once the novelty wears off.

While it’s true that many people likely see Veganuary in this way, joining in as a yearly tradition for their own personal reasons, I’m not entirely convinced this has a net-negative impact for animals.

When it comes to eating animals, it appears that behaviour drives belief… I believe getting people to change their behaviour, regardless of the belief behind it, can be powerful in creating long-term change. This appears to be backed by research into human behaviour…

Concern: Veganuary exploits animals for profit —

This criticism is less about the official Veganuary group, and more about the cultural impact Veganuary has. Every January, especially in the UK, businesses that are otherwise entirely unethical where animals are concerned capitalise on the popularity of Veganuary. They add exciting animal-free options to their menus, some even adding an entirely animal-free menu, all with the intention of squeezing as much profit out of the campaign as possible…

Regardless of their intentions, they’re putting animal-free food on the menu for hundreds of thousands of people. Bear in mind that some of these animal-free dishes are impressive, delicious dishes that help dispel the myth that “vegan food is boring”. Add that to the fact that many of the businesses that take part are big well-known brand names, helping to normalise animal-free food.

Should you use Veganuary in your advocacy? —

Veganuary is just another tool in the toolbox for vegan and animal advocates, and whether you decide to use it or not is completely up to you. What is clear though is that judging a tool on how it appears from the outside without exploring the inside goals will likely lead to misunderstanding and unwarranted, often times harsh accusations and criticism.

I believe animals would benefit greatly from us learning to be more understanding, curious and knowledgable about the various tools and strategies used by individuals and organisations to create a better world for animals. If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you agree with me on that point! Thank you for being open-minded and eager to learn about our movement. SOURCE…

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