Move Over, Dry January, ‘Veganuary’ Is the Next Big Thing in New Year Fad Diets

December 12, 2019 Admin 0 Comments

Plus, Krispy Kreme’s owners are giving $5.5 million to Holocaust survivors, and more news to start your day

A U.K. initiative to eat vegan for a month is making a push in America

In a similar vein as “new Year, new you” initiatives like Dry January and Whole30, U.K. campaign Veganuary is coming to the U.S. and asking participants to keep a vegan diet for the first month of the year. “During the 2019 campaign, more than a quarter of a million people took our pledge to try a vegan diet,” says the non-profit, “...more than 500 brands, restaurants and supermarkets promoted the campaign, and launched more than 200 new vegan products and menus in the UK market alone.”

It’s certainly easier than ever to eat vegan, with the proliferation of “fake meat.” But will it actually work, or like Dry January, will it give a lot of people justification to binge come February 1? Traci Mann, a psychology professor at the University of Minnesota, told SF Gate that “In general, denying yourself something makes you want to eat it more — and then eat it more.” But honestly, the biggest qualm is probably the name. When will we learn that “January” makes for unsatisfying wordplay?! We could instead go for No Meat November, Meatless March, or April Is The Cruelest Month (For The Meat Industry).

And in other news...

• Just in time for Veganuary! A federal court has blocked an Arkansas law that made it illegal for non-meat products to use words like “meat,” “burger,” and “sausage.” The state argued that calling something “vegan chorizo” would mislead customers about what’s in it, but according to a release from the ACLU, “The state could not identify any evidence that consumers are confused about plant-based products.” [ACLU]
• The family that owns Krispy Kreme, Panera Bread, and Pret-A-Manger are continuing their attempts to make amends over their ancestors’ Nazi ties. The family is donating $5.5 million over two years to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which provides resources to Holocaust survivors. [NBC News]
• A Presidential policy in Nigeria has blocked imports of chicken from Benin, creating a shortage of the staple food. [WSJ]
• UK researchers are suggesting putting exercise labels on food, which would tell you how much you need to work out to burn off those calories. Seems like a great way to trigger people with eating disorders. [CNN]
• Nestle is selling its ice cream division for $4 billion to Froneri. Brands include Häagen-Dazs, Drumstick and Outshine. [FBN]
• An “eggless egg” startup just bought a production plant in order to make its product cheaper. [Bloomberg]
• New England fishers are losing their jobs because of climate change. [Modern Farmer]
• Tired: it’s like herding cats

Wired: it’s like cleaning up citrus on a Florida freeway

• All AM Intel Coverage [E]