Veganuary: Brits reveal the non-vegan foods they couldn't live without
Cheese, eggs and even pancakes form a big part of the list
January is here again, and while many people may be foregoing 'dry January' this year due to these strange times we're living in, plenty of people are still taking part in 'Veganuary' swapping their animal-based products out to sample an alternative Vegan lifestyle.
However, plenty of Britons say they would be 'unable' to convert to veganism - even for a month - as there are simply too many foods and ingredients that they wouldn't be able to live without.
Cheese was top of the list of things
Top of the list of items that we Brits say we would miss too much is Cheese - not exactly a shocker, as Cheese is one of the most strangely addictive dairy-based foods on the planet, with 56% admitting that they would struggle to stick to a diet where cheese was 'off limits.'
There are other staples too that feature on the list, such as eggs - a staple ingredient in many everyday dishes, foods and delicacies, and one of the hardest ingredients to substitute when turning vegan.
Eggs are one of the trickiest things to avoid when going vegan.
The survey, carried out on 2000 British people by Elmlea Plant and So Vegan, revealed the top 40 items that people list when asked what would stop them doing 'Veganuary' or converting to veganism as a whole.
Millions of Brits admit they would struggle with veganism because they couldn't live without cheese, eggs - and pancakes.
Pepperoni also ranked high on the list of 'excuse' ingredients, with 1 in 6 saying they couldn't forego their pepperoni pizza topping, and nearly 25% saying that they wouldn't want to forgo cream.
Cream seems like a strange one to me - surely milk would be harder to live without?
Steak was another big ingredient that people didn't want to forego
Predictably, meat also features, with sausages, steak and - oddly enough - lasagne cited as some of the meat-based foods that survey participants wouldn't want to give up.
Catherine Lloyd, spokesperson for Elmlea Plants said: "It's fascinating to see that such a big proportion of the UK population are taking part in Veganuary this year, but that many don't expect to make it even halfway through the month."
However, there were some words of encouragement from Lloyd too: "Going vegan doesn't have to mean missing out. Vegan alternatives have come a long way and a lot of the foods people would miss by going vegan now have really great alternatives that are indistinguishable in terms of taste, including cream and cheese."
'Going vegan doesn't have to mean missing out'
It seems that taste is the biggest factor in people's choices, with 39% of those surveyed saying that they would be 'more inclined' to buy vegan products if they were indistinguishable by taste, compared to their animal-derived equivalents.
Have you ever taken part in Veganuary? Did it result in you going vegan full-time? Let us know below.
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Comments (6)
My backyard chickens 🐔 would pass serious judgement on me if I stopped eating their eggs.
Not having meat is kind of easy, but I like my prawns, cheese and eggs too much to be going on a vegan diet 🤭
热干面，豆浆，面窝，苕面窝，油条，春卷，三鲜豆皮，豆腐脑，烧卖，欢喜坨，糯米鸡，煎饼馃子，韭菜盒子，三鲜包子，韭菜包子，白萝卜包子，糊米酒，米酒汤圆，汤圆，芝麻糊，模糊，豆奶，糯米包油条，豆丝，糍粑，素拉面，三鲜水饺，三鲜煎饺，粥
Easy. But I don't like it.
I don’t join veganuary. It’s no problem for me to go veggie for a couple of days but vegan is not really for me. But I think it’s good for many people to rethink about some of their habits. But from my point of view it’s not really ideal in January when almost every fresh vegetable has to be imported
I didn’t do veganuary, but it’s such a great initiative! Nowadays, it’s not hard to eat a vegan diet, the meat & dairy alternatives haven’t been better! Now in regards to the eggs, I was never a big fan, so I don’t really miss them 🤷🏻♀️