40% surge in veganism

The Vegan Society has reported that the number of people signing up to its online Vegan Pledge has increased by 40% in the first two months of 2013 compared with the same period in 2012. The Vegan Society offers a vegan pledge scheme for people who would like to try to go vegan for 7 or 30 days. On the 30 day programme the new vegan can be matched with an online vegan mentor who will support them during their pledge period by answering their questions and offering advice. The Society has seen a significant increase in pledges so far in 2013 of 40% worldwide and 26% in the UK. There are also other signs of a burgeoning interest in the vegan diet and lifestyle. Anjali Sareen writing in the Huffington Post notes that there is evidence from Google Trends statistics that “veganism is entering the mainstream” following public support from figures such as former President Bill Clinton and Justin Timberlake for the vegan diet. Google trends statistics for both the UK and worldwide show an increase of over 30% in the number of searches in the past two years for the term ‘vegan’, with March this year showing the highest number of searches ever for ‘vegan’. Organisers of the vegan consumer diet and lifestyle exhibition, VegfestUK, held on 16 and 17 March in Brighton saw a 44% rise in footfall from the previous year – from 5,000 to 7,200 visitors. The number of cookery books sold by amazon.co.uk with ‘vegan’ in the title also increased from 145 books in 2011 to 255 books in 2012 demonstrating a growing market for animal-free cookery. Vegan Society CEO Jasmijn de Boo commented: “We welcome the recent surge in interest in the vegan diet and lifestyle. It is hard to know whether it is the result of food scares such as the horsemeat scandal, the public support of celebrities for the diet or whether consumers are simply recognising that they need to re-think their food choices for the benefit of animal welfare, the environment and their own health. Whatever the root causes this trend can only be good news for manufacturers and retailers that cater well for the vegan community.”