Veganuary

[notedbiscuits]

Noticed supermarkets are promoting Veganuary. Past couple of years it has been a failure. People don’t want to eat that horrible looking fake meat.

My cousin who is a code checker at one of the big 4 reduced so much fake meat in Jan.

So why do supermarkets promote www.grocerygazette.co.uk/2024/01/30/veganuary-losing-its-lustre/#:~:text=Early%20indications%20have%20revealed%20a,pressures%20to%20general%20Veganuary%20fatigue.

While it still makes money, they’ll promote it. It’s a waning trend but the promotion makes money at present. They will likely drop or substantially reduce their commitment to it over the next few years if the trend continues to decline.

Veganuary isn’t ‘about’ promoting fake meat.

It’s about showing people a less harmful lifestyle, the impact it can have on your health as well as the impact on animals/the planet… so much more.

Supermarkets hop on it because for them it IS about selling product. But in reality you can do veganuary without eating a single fake meat product, and actually look into cooking with tofu/tempeh/different vegetables and pulses that you may not have tried before. You might be surprised!

Given that we all need to be eating predominantly plant based diets if we have any chance of limiting global heating to a level which isn't catastrophic, anything that encourages people to eat vegan meals is a good thing - what makes you think it's a failure?

With the growing awareness of the dangers of ultra processed foods, it's no surprise that fake meat is going unsold. Hopefully people trying Veganuary for the first time will be replacing meat with nuts, beans, legumes and fermented soy products instead of overpriced fake crap.

In the very unlikely event I decided to 'do' Veganuary I wouldn't be eating that awful fake meat stuff - as a pp said, I would base my diet on pulses/beans and vegetables.

As a regular eater of meat, I'd be more receptive to the idea of a vegetarian January than a vegan one.

There's a lovely scene in a apocalypse movie (Can't remember which) where the only shelf with food left on in the supermarket is vegan.

People don’t want to eat that horrible looking fake meat

I do, I bloody love it 😁 The vast majority of what I eat is plant based whole food so if I want some delicious over processed shite now and then I have it.

I think there are two things here. Individuals deciding in January they want to eat more healthily and sustainably decide different things - some cut back on meat, some vegetarian some vegan. Site are available to help/posters on IG

Second is profit making companies that through market research realise there is a profit in veganuary, I expect more in fake meat then original vegan foods cooked from scratch or that happen to be vegan. Few months later and lamb and chocolate promotions for Easter and so on

Actually, if I wanted to do a meatless month I would choose a summer month, not January, when I naturally tend to eat less meat and more salad.

I do have meat free days. No fake meat

Most of the products they are advertising they will sell year round anyway, this is just a good time for them to advertise them and they won’t only be hoping to reach the people doing veganuary, they’ll also be hoping to reach people who are vegetarian and vegan year around or people with dairy allergies plus people who aren’t going to commit to veganuary but may want to lower meat intake or up their veg intake. Lots of people go on a detox/ diet in January so it’s a good time to advertise plant based recipes and products which may be seen as healthy, and not everything advertised will be fake meat, there are plenty of other plant based foods available to buy. It’s just a good time for supermarkets to advertise these products, they don’t care if the people buying are actually doing veganuary so long as they buy the products.

The pubs I worked in needed something for January I think.
Huge gastro burgers chips sticky toffee pud not so appealing after all the Christmas food .
Vegan food can just be plant based with lentils etc
I've persuaded my new place to advertise veganuary.
Aubergines with miso,chick peas sesame oils spinach kale all colourful and tasty.
Alot of veg curries are vegan and delicious.

Me too. Love veggie food but vegan doesn't do it for me at all

Veganuary is a fake meat marketing gimmick.

I'll stick to proper meat, but they must think there is a market, I think when they do promotions part of the price cut comes from the manufacturer too, so it's probably worth the supermarket trying to make it work.

Those pesky vegans with their fake meats, they are such a strain on DNHS!
<fuming&shaking>😤

Tofu is nice, Quorn mince is okay-but vegetables and pulses are far nicer. I’d rather eat fake meat than real meat, but vegan food is nicer when it’s vegetable and whole food based.

Anything that encourages reduced consumption of animal products is a good thing, due to the impact on global warming.

I'm vegan, and mostly eat whole foods, but I'll have some vegan sausages once a week and ham for sandwiches. People eat processed stuff all the time, but it's suddenly only an issue when the food is labelled vegan lol.

I won’t be buying any of it, thanks.

People don’t want to eat that horrible looking fake meat
Thank you for speaking for absolutely everyone 🙄

It’s marketing … I can’t believe anyone thinks supermarkets have any care about health or the environment ..

I agree with pp. I do happily eat vegetarian but not vegan

You must have been living under a rock if you think non-vegan processed food isn't a massive and much-discussed issue.

I don't see anything particularly wrond with promoting vegetarian or vegan diets. You don't need to eat disgusting fake meat to be a vegetarian or a vegan. I est meat, but could easily and pretty happily be vegetarian or even mostly vegan if I lived alone (family would not be keen!).

For non vegans it can seem a drastic jump from eating meat to then a fully plant based diet. If an in-between such as a meat substitute helps people to explore an alternative then I'm all for it. Some people will revert back to eating meat others will decide to explore further and experiment and drop the alternatives.

FWIW- I am a long term vegetarian leaning heavily on the scale towards being 100% plant based.

I know UFPs are a talking point.

But everytime I tell people I'm a vegan, it's met with conversations about health, as though the vast majority of people in the UK don't eat quite unhealthily as a cultural norm lol..

I don't care what others eat. I truly don't. I'm fine with processed foods. Everything is fine in moderation. But people definitely moan more when it's about vegan meats.

I just find it a bit odd that anyone who's so carnivorous that they're not used to eating meat-free dishes fairly often would consider going vegan in the first place. I like meat as much as the next person, but I can think of lots of dishes I eat on a regular basis which are 'accidentally' vegetarian or vegan, by which I mean that I have them just because I like them, rather than because they are meat-free.

Going vegan has nothing to do with eating UPF fakemeat.

The supermarkets are pushing over-processed food on everyone. You don't have to eat it.