For those in the know, Veganuary has became a popular phenomenon in which usual meat eaters or vegetarians decide to transition to an all animal-free diet for the month of January. With the decline of meat eating during this post-holiday diet season, naturally the bigger food chains would pick up on the trend and produce what the consumers want to see - A varied range of food suitable for those who don't, or can't, consume dairy, eggs, gelatine and other every-day meat byproducts. This includes meat alternatives, which are particularly a transitional favourite to many who have consumed meat their whole lives and are going cold turkey (excuse the pun), as well as general "junk food" favourites. After all, being vegan or vegetarian is not about being "boring" or healthy or denying treats for many. It's about finding a comfortable balance between your ideology (love for animals, wanting to live a more sustainable lifestyle, and so on), while feeling you and your family can easily adapt. It shouldn't be hard and only for the elite.
Following on from January each year, store bosses obviously decide to take many of these products off the shelf, as numbers in veganism decline again for another year. However many of us have noticed a trend the last couple of seasons -higher proportions of those who try the change for the month either remain as vegan, or drastically adapt their normal meat product consumption. Each January, we are seeing more and more products saved from the February chop. Hence the growing number of delicious and versatile alternatives to test out.
