York Veganuary founders say Vegan cheese needs more work

Jane Land and Matthew Glover launched Veganuary in 2014

Vegan cheese needs "more work", according to the founders of Veganuary.

The campaign, which invites people to try a vegan diet during January, was first launched from a York kitchen table in 2014.

The number of people taking part has grown from 3,300 that first year to more than 700,000 in 2023.

Veganuary founders Jane Land and Matthew Glover say switching to vegan cheese is regularly named among the biggest challenges for participants.

More people have been choosing to try veganism because of environmental reasons since the movement was founded, Ms Land said.

There has also been an increase in the number of vegan items on menus and supermarket shelves, many of them marketed alongside the Veganuary branding.

The Veganuary founders said 700,000 people signed up last year

When the couple started the campaign, one of their aims was to increase people's understanding of the word 'vegan'.

"Getting that word 'vegan' out there and making it more mainstream was one of the main objectives," Ms Land said. "I'm really pleased that I think we have achieved that."

People from every country in the world, except for Vatican City and North Korea, have taken part in Veganuary.

That may be why, when asked who he would most like to see sign up for the challenge, Mr Glover said: "I would choose Pope Francis."

Ms Land joked that she would like to see the team at GB News take part.

"I would love for them to try it. That would be incredible," she said.

The campaign has been supported by a range of celebrities and criticised by others, including Piers Morgan.

The TV presenter was particularly critical when Greggs introduced its vegan sausage roll.

"We had some banter with Piers Morgan on Twitter," Ms Land said. "He's inadvertently probably got us more sign-ups than we could have paid for that year."

Mr Glover added:"I think Piers Morgan is one of our ambassadors. He just doesn't know it."

Five main challenges

If you have taken part but battled with the allure of brie or a craving for cheese on toast, the couple say you are not alone.

Surveys conducted after each Veganuary reveal participants' five main challenges: food shopping, cooking, eating out, the response from friends and family - and cheese.

Mr Glover said vegan cheese was a problem at the start, adding: "I think it's got much better since then but I think people have struggled.

"Where a lot of products are getting really good, there's still work to do with vegan cheese."