Veganuary ushers in an auspicious start to the New Year, setting up to be the biggest ever yet. With 250,000 people worldwide signing up in advance, that's already over half the number of last year's unprecedented 400,000! Kiwis are as keen as ever to be taking the vegan challenge, finding many of their traditional favourites existing in vegan form. The opportunities for the plant-based market is bigger than ever, with many NZ brands sourcing locally grown produce. The future is vegan and 2021 is certainly going to see increased interest in all things plant based as we endeavour to improve our sustainability.
 

Not only are top athletes such as All Black TJ Pereana finding they benefit from a plant-based diet, our Governor General Dame Patsy Reddy found improvements to her and her husband's health too. Actors Holly Shervey and Emmett Skilton, comedian Tom Sainsbury and MP Chloe Swarbrick are showing their compassionate sides by choosing a kinder way to eat. The predictions are that more celebrities are reducing their resource footprint through their diet. a trend that keeps growing and is set to see even more people taking on the 21 day easy vegan challenge.

Veganism is now touching all areas of life, with improvements made to plant-based materials causing huge stirs in the fashion world. As people seek alternatives to plastics and oil-based materials, there is a trend towards new leathers made from plants such as pineapple, mushroom, cactus, corn and even apple peel as well the softer style bamboo, hemp, linen and cotton for fabrics.

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“Vegan foods and fabrics are set to increase production both in New Zealand and worldwide, as their greater sustainability and lower carbon footprint makes growing crops ever more important. Increasing the amount of plant-based food you eat is the simplest way to help mitigate climate change and one you have complete control over.” says Vegan Society spokesperson Claire Insley, “We predict the end of the meat and dairy industry in the US by 2030, mostly due the increase of taste and texture identical foods, which are more efficient to produce than using animal agriculture”

With the Labour government announcing a climate emergency earlier this month, we should expect some changes in the way New Zealand sustains itself. Our current emissions due to agriculture must be addressed and there is a petition calling on the government to incentivise our farmers to diversify to sustainable farming. We need to build back better and address the climate curve, having mastered the Covid curve, if we want 2021 to be a better year than 2020.

To try vegan in NZ sign up to www.tryvegan.org.nz

To sign the petition supporting diversification to sustainable farming go here: https://our.actionstation.org.nz/p/diversify

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