Not up to Dry January? How about Veganuary

At the start of the year the words Dry January become synonymous with those who have over indulged during the Christmas period, but there's a new phrase doing the rounds - #veganuary.

"Veganuary aims to reduce the suffering of animals by inspiring and supporting people across the globe to go vegan for the month of January." This is the official line from the Veganuary Twitter account - no animal products for the month of January in support of the push against animal suffering.

Is it another trendy fad that will be forgetting after the first few weeks of February, with few of those taking on the task even completing the full 31 days? Or will it help spark a change in the practice of veganism with fewer and fewer people consuming meat, fish and dairy altogether.

According to reports, over 50,000 people have already committed to the movement with celebrity names including Vivienne Westwood and comedians Sarah Pascoe and Romesh Ranganathan.

Veganuary's marketing manager Clea Grady told the Guardian that concern for animals and environmental factors were also top of the list of people's reasons for signing up.

She said: 'We ask about motivation when people sign up to Veganuary and, for the past two years, animals are the primary reason by a large majority, with health coming second, and the environment third.

'There is an increasing awareness and concern at how we treat, use and abuse animals, and this is growing year on year.

'Anecdotally, we know that, for whatever reason an individual approaches veganism, the lines begin to blur once education has taken place.'

Find out more about Veganuary on the official website here or with the hashtag #veganuary on social media.