As Lincolnshire produces 20% of the UK’s food, it would seem making a new year’s resolution or doing Veganuary here would be easy. Veganuary’s popularity grows yearly and in 2021 580,000 people signed up for Veganuary worldwide. This year it’s expected to be even more popular.
Lincoln is also the home of Europe’s biggest plant-based meat factory, therefore, giving choices to those trying to give up meat, dairy and any other animal products. According to the Independent cutting out, meat and dairy products could reduce an individual’s carbon footprint by 73%.
Lincoln has multiple vegan and vegetarian restaurants; Cara Oakley, Owner of Pimiento, Lincoln’s oldest Vegan and Vegetarian restaurant said: “More people are trying it out, many meat-eaters have visited the café and expressed a real interest in eating a vegan diet. We certainly have some new faces visiting us with the desire to partake in Veganuary.”
With Veganuary being in the winter months, it seems like an odd time to eat only a plant-based diet but greengrocer, Nathan Willows denies this and said: “At this time of year a lot of produce is from Lincolnshire anyway. The best thing to buy from Lincoln is nice, curly kale, after that it’s all your basics like carrots.”
As Lincoln produces so much food, buying local is easy and it reduces the carbon footprint. Willows said: “The more local you can get the better; you’re cutting down on air miles, transporting and the taste difference is immense. It’s all about the taste and if it’s local and as fresh as possible you can’t get it any better.”
However, not all Lincolnshire businesses support Veganuary, obviously most butchers aren’t supportive of the month. Bowthorpe Park Farm on Instagram showed how far their meat has travelled in comparison with an Avocado. They said: “Born and reared on the farm to the highest welfare standards; we can tell you everything about each animal.” Instead of doing Veganuary, Bowthorpe Park Farm is urging people to buy local and think about where their food is coming from.
Find out more about Veganuary here.
