Ollie Funnell | Student Journalist, Coventry University
Veganuary has drawn in hundreds of thousands of people around the world over the last few years, allocating the month of January to allow committed individuals to rethink their dietary decisions of being associated with animal products.
Spurred on by the influence of social media, the relatively new concept has been growing ever since its official debut in 2014.
As people become more aware about the environmental impacts that their diet may entail, more and more people are trading in their animal-derived lifestyle for more environmentally friendly methods of consuming food and living.
It may come as a surprise, but the conversion to this upcoming convention isn’t necessarily the best solution for tackling global environmental issues as individuals.
Becoming vegan either temporarily or permanently will usually involve a diet focused on the consumption of food items often derived from plants. And this is precisely why issues are created when vegans decide to explore what’s on offer for them that isn’t always available to be harvested in the UK when it is in demand.
For example, there are a significant number of fruits and vegetables on supermarket shelves that you simply cannot purchase from a UK producer, no matter what season it may be. This means that produce that thrives in warmer climates around the world must be imported in order to be stocked.
Among the most prominent and far-fetched fruits and veg are Asparagus, Pineapples and Bananas – all of which have to endure approximately 5,000 miles before they reach store shelves in the UK.
The problem here is the environmental impact that this logistical system creates – produce has to be shipped or flown from overseas, all at the expense of the environment. Shipping items in long-distance container ships results in four forms of pollution – air, water, acoustic and oil. Within this, ships account for more than 18% of air pollutants.
Air freight is no better either – and it comes with a lot of baggage. Shipping by air accounts for 7% of all emissions worldwide, and aeroplanes release more carbon into the atmosphere than ships do.
In turn, this automatically increases your carbon footprint as an individual – meaning that the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere is attributed to your choice to buy non-native produce.
On top of all this, there are certain fruits such as guavas, mangoes and mangosteens that are sourced from up to 50 different countries around the world collectively. It’s hard not to ignore the environmental impact that this causes.
Having said this however, countries closer to home such as Spain and the Netherlands are two of the biggest exporters of fruit and veg to the UK, meaning that not every journey sacrifices thousands of miles just for you to bite into your orange.
The best valuable advice to give to those wishing to participate in Veganuary would be to make sure you are purchasing as much home-grown produce as possible – this will undoubtedly reduce your carbon footprint, which is a core principal of what it means to be vegan.
Ollie Funnell | A Journalist's Portfolio 