News
IN THE NEWS
Veganuary As an official Veganuary partner for the second year running, we were delighted to see yet another record-breaking number of people sign up to the challenge to eat vegan for the month of January. We gained media interest by sharing new data we collated from a consumer survey which asked people who had influenced them to try veganism. Our press release proved a huge success, with Media and PR Officer Francine Jordan completing eight broadcast interviews on stations including BBC Lancashire, BBC Guernsey and South East Radio. We also set up an interview on Heart Breakfast between NHS frontline worker Emily, a nurse trying Veganuary for the first time, and Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden – spreading the positive vegan message to their 4.6 million listeners.
landed us national coverage and saw Head of Campaigns, Policy and Research Louise Davies quoted alongside climate activist Greta Thunberg in the Independent. Insight and Commercial Policy Officer Louisianna Waring spoke on BBC Cornwall about the huge negative impact the ban could have on both businesses and consumers, potentially putting people off veganism at a time when we’re facing a climate emergency. We ran another consumer survey in which 1 in 3 respondents said they believe the government should promote plant-based diets to tackle the climate crisis. 61% of the 2000 respondents who backed this approach said they would welcome public awareness campaigns on the benefits of plant-based foods, while 60% said the government should mandate at least one healthy plant-based meal on every public sector menu.
Free plant milks At the end of February we had cause for celebration when the Scottish Government agreed to include plant-based milk alternatives in a government-funded nursery milk scheme. The move follows years of campaigning from The Vegan Society and the Play Fair with Plant Milk initiative. Our press release on the announcement, which highlighted the work of the society’s campaign team, was written up in a number of local and national publications, including Plant Based News, The Vegan Review, Dairy Reporter and Live Kindly.
Climate crisis In February we signed an open letter alongside 20 other NGOs including Greenpeace and WWF, asking EU council members to rethink plans to ban words such as ‘creamy’ or ‘alternative to’ from plant-based products. Our response
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Vegan Trademark We were pleased to secure coverage for our brilliant Vegan Trademark client Rebecca, who has created the first Vegan Trademarked companion animal bed. Rebecca was invited on her local radio station, BBC Three Counties, to discuss the achievement.