I have spent some of the last few weeks reflecting on 2022 and thinking about what 2023 may bring. Will it be different? Will anything really change for our clients, our profession or the animals we care for? We can hope for a more stable UK government, peace in Ukraine and a way out of the cost-of-living crisis, but these are largely outside our control. So, the custom is to make new year's resolutions to try to change some of what can be controlled, which often focus on health and fitness. I for example, having not run a marathon since 2018 and having hardly run at all for the last 2 years, have decided to try to get fit enough to run the Edinburgh marathon in May, with my son; 37 years my junior! Foolhardy perhaps, but not as much as some of the fads that are seen at this time of year.
While I support individuals' choices when it comes to diet and lifestyle, the idea of everyone going vegan for the month of January is a step too far for me. Veganuary is touted as the solution to all the world's ills – improving health, animal welfare and the environment simply by adopting a vegan diet for the first month of the year. As a profession dedicated, among other things, to promoting animal welfare, the One-health approach and sustainability, including sustainable food production, we need to consider the facts.
Participation in Veganuary is reported to have increased year-on-year, with 582 538 people across the world signing up in 2021 and 629 351 in 2022, although the media coverage seems much less this year. Regardless, 629 000 is a substantial number of participants – slightly fewer than the population of Liverpool as reported in the 2021 census. A post-Veganuary (2022) survey of 32 522 people revealed that 32% were vegetarian, 17% vegan and 11% pescetarian before undertaking Veganuary. Only 55% maintained a vegan diet for the full month of January, and even fewer (36%) intended to continue with a vegan diet. Veganuary does not seem to have drastically altered long-term eating habits, even in this highly selected population.
YouGov (2022) showed that only around 2% of the adult population is consistently vegan and 5% vegetarian, suggesting that rumours of the demise of the omnivorous diet are greatly exaggerated. It seems that the livestock industry is here to stay. However, we must do all we can to educate the public on the benefits of high welfare, sustainable livestock production and, where appropriate, eating a little less and paying a little more for animal products in our diet.
Whatever your views on Veganuary, we have a responsibility to consider what we can do to improve sustainability in our professional and personal lives. The work of Vet Sustain (vetsustain.org) and policy documents and a tool kit produced by the BVA (https://www.bva.co.uk/take-action/working-towards-a-greener-profession/) as well as the BCVA (2021) sustainability policy and numerous other online resources and courses, such as those run by Vet Sustain/VetSalus are there to help us.
Remember that financial pressures and staff shortages may be threatening animal welfare on some farms. The APHA have recently highlighted the legal position on once-a-day feeding of young calves. We are reminded that ‘Farmers should not provide the daily liquid milk ration as a single feed for consumption in one meal, i.e. “once-a-day feeding”, during the first four weeks of life.’ Be proactive in talking to your clients about the pressures they are facing and how you can help.