After living through one heck of an eventful year in 2020, I have reflected a lot on what social media activism really means, and the recurring question I ponder is whether social media activism is actually effective or if it can be counterproductive to its objectives of advancing social and environmental sustainability.

What is Social Media Activism?

Social media activism is a form of advocacy that can include protesting, campaigning, or raising awareness through the use of social media platforms. By using hashtags, online movements can rapidly spread through the world of media, and gain momentum and attention by “trending”, which means becoming one of the top concerns on social media at a given time. But social media activism can often come across as lazy and fake when it is not followed by genuine action, so critics coined a new term for this online facade: “slacktivism”. How do we differentiate between genuine activism on social media platforms and slacktivism?

SOURCE: The Nib

A trend I see amongst my fellow young people on social media is that we each have an “image” that we’ve created of ourselves on our profiles. We are concerned with our aesthetic – what our online presence says about us – and those things are driven by what we post and share on social media. That even applies to people who don’t post anything at all. The silence, unwillingness, or lack of interest in sharing and posting content still upholds a certain image.

I’ll be honest with you, I am completely guilty of slacktivism myself.

What we share and post contributes to and upholds our online reputations by showing what we care about; however, it is all too often that I see people sharing posts that contribute to their identity as an activist, yet it seems that no real action or growth have followed. And isn’t change the main goal of activism? Raising awareness only goes so far before the sharing and posting needs to turn into demonstrating and changing.

I’ll be honest with you, I am completely guilty of slacktivism myself. I have shared plenty of posts on Instagram, adding my own comments encouraging or challenging people to “wake up” to those issues because I support the cause and want to share it, yet sometimes that’s as far as my activism goes. Sometimes I even find myself doing the opposite of what I have shared and advocated for online. I’m sure there have been times when I’ve shared a bunch of posts about the importance of buying local, seasonal produce, and then gone to the store and bought a bag of oranges from Spain. Or perhaps there was a post about a crisis in a developing country that had been circulating through my social media feed and I shared it without actually doing any of the work, like signing the petitions, donating, or educating myself further on the issue at hand.

I was in school this past summer in 2020 and took a literature course that required me to buy 5 novels for the class. Although I tend to be quick to post and share things about boycotting unsustainable corporations, screwing capitalism, and the like, I still somehow ended up ordering all the books I needed on Amazon, which probably came from all over the world and simply put more money in Jeff Bezos’ pocket. I don’t even recall looking at local alternatives beforehand or even asking friends if they had those books that I could borrow. My brain defaulted to searching the books on Amazon and clicking “buy”. Sharing posts on my social media didn’t result in a genuine change in me.

Obviously, no one is perfect and we should all just do what we can. It is not terrible to buy oranges or occasionally buy products on Amazon, as long as you’re doing your best with the resources and capacity that you have. But my point is that my social media image and the environmental and social activist posts that I shared were not followed with genuine change on my part, even though I could easily make those changes. I was not practicing what I preached.

So, can the progress of movements actually be stalled if people are just sharing the content but no one is taking action or actively trying to change? This is how the rise of social media activism can be counterproductive to genuine activism. The act of retweeting a post on Twitter may allow people to feel as though they have done their part and satisfied their “activist duty”, even when no action or transformation has really taken place (me being anti-Amazon online, then buying books on Amazon offline). Maybe my social media activity gave me a sense of fulfillment that allowed me to mentally check off the “activism” box in my mind, giving me more space to make less sustainable choices, given that I had “already done my good for the day”.

Source: Diginews

We have been living in an online world for a while now, and the global pandemic has only accelerated the extent of online life. As young activists, it may seem harder than ever to do anything beyond the online work. But even during the pandemic, we can take part in both social media activism and activism in our offline lives as well. Online activism needs to be followed by real action that supports those ideas.

Despite all the toxic traits of the social media world, there are still plenty of positive aspects of social media activism.

I wanted to dive deeper into this concern because it’s clear that there are issues with slacktivism, but I know social media activism isn’t all bad – like anything, there are pros and cons. So, how can we embrace the advantages and be wary of the problems?

Cons

First, a few of the cons…

• Misinformation

Activism on social media can lead to a variety of issues regarding the legitimacy of information that is shared. Not all information online is reliable. Social media is notorious for spreading misinformation because people tend to believe what they want to believe and don’t always fact check the sources.

• Confirmation bias

Social media also drives strong oppositions of “sides” by upholding worldviews. There are issues with confirmation bias, which is just a fancy term explaining how people only see information online that they support and that confirms their beliefs.

• Systemic issues with algorithms

On social media there are also behind-the-scenes mechanisms at work called algorithms, which are programs that learn what you like and support from your information, like the accounts you follow, content you like and share, and so on. But algorithms are not unbiased in the slightest. Algorithms ensure that the content you see and hear is content that supports your worldview, and this is dangerous because how can you ever learn the full story when you only ever see your perspective of it? No change can come from this. The walls that separate us from the stuff we don’t want to hear need to be broken down in order for transformation and dialogue to happen.

Speaking of algorithm bias, Instagram and Facebook have been accused of having racist algorithms. And they likely do. Algorithms are programs that are created and controlled by programmers. Take the programmers of Instagram, for example. Those people are working for someone, so who is instructing their work? Who is the head honcho directing orders? The head of Instagram is Adam Mosseri, an American, white man. And prior to him, Instagram was founded by two other American, white men. So… it might be safe to say that some systemic issues are likely embedded in our social media, and they may present issues of oppression by burying and uplifting certain voices in the algorithms.

• The mute button and “cancel culture”

The mute button is also alive and well on social media. If posts are circling around that you don’t agree with, you have the choice to simply click one of many buttons to make it all go away – mute, unfollow, report, block. Conflict can easily be avoided, at least by the people who are privileged enough to experience those issues only second hand through media. It’s too easy to shut yourself off from conflicts that you could take part in solving. And this past year, people on social media were muting these issues in a new way through “cancel culture”, where a group of people publicly shamed and ostracized individuals and brands, essentially “cancelling” them from society. But cancelling something is not very productive. We can’t resort to voting people off the island just because we don’t like them. Cancel culture does not allow the necessary space to have conversations and begin transformation.

• Lack of real action

And of course, likes and hashtags do not always result in change, actions do. Posts and hashtag movements and sharing can be a wonderful way to spark the flame, but they won’t fuel the wildfire.

Pros

Despite all the toxic traits of the social media world, there are still plenty of positive aspects of social media activism.

• Messages to movements!

Social media is a strong vessel for raising awareness, and spreading news and messages. Within seconds, ideas can spread across the globe and movements can be started.

• Educating and inspiring

Social media platforms have also transformed into spaces where people can learn from one another by listening to each other’s stories. As long as you’re learning from reliable information, there are plenty of online resources to educate ourselves on certain topics. Social media can be a wonderful place to spark ideas and gain inspiration!

• Global connections

Online, people can network, establish meaningful relationships, and join together in solidarity across the world with others who believe in a common purpose.

• Gaining support

Fundraising or gaining support on petitions for causes have never been easier. Think about how much change and awakening have come from the Black Lives Matter movement across all media platforms. Or Greta Thunberg’s social media activism with her weekly photos of her climate strike.

SOURCE: Hypebae

Overall, social media activism is not a bad thing, but it can potentially be counterproductive to activist movements and present barriers to change if it turns into slacktivism, when the online work is not followed with offline work.

Conducting Genuine Online Activism 

My reflection and research on this topic have allowed me to compile a list of simple actions that I believe we can do to avoid slacktivism and make sure our activism efforts are genuine and productive. And going forward, I aim to follow all of these pieces of advice to improve my own activism and make it meaningful.

• Be mindful. Try not to share posts blindly. Read and understand what you’re sharing before you do so. Make sure you ask yourself whether you’re sharing that post for the greater purpose of progressing the cause or simply upholding your image.
• Follow with action and show the world. Do more than the act of sharing and posting – take actions and make changes in your own life to reflect that you genuinely support the causes you share. And show those actions on your social media! That is the beauty of social media activism – you can inspire others with your own personal experiences and contributions!
• Take advice from more experienced activists. Talk to an activist that made change before the age of social media. You may learn some valuable lessons from them.
• Have conversations. Talk to your friends and family and others who don’t agree with you. Try to have those difficult conversations in order to plant seeds in their mind and inspire them.
• Educate yourself. If you don’t have the capacity to take action in your life, then take time to educate yourself. Mental changes are just as important as physical ones. Learn about all perspectives, read other people’s stories, do research. Reflect, journal, and ponder. These are all exercises and activities that will support your activism and make it meaningful.
• Ask questions. Pause and ask yourself questions while undertaking social media activism – does this align with my moral compass and internal purpose? How can I advocate for change in those areas on social media and in my own life?
• Be authentic and be honest. Remember – no one is the perfect activist ; there is no one right way to do activism. Find what works for you and roll with it. Do the work, but remember to take care of yourself too. We all still need time to rest and recharge when fighting for a better world.

What do you think? Is social media activism an effective tool for making positive change, or is it a barrier? I don’t think there is a simple answer. Activism on social media is definitely a catalyst for change and a first step towards transformation, but we, as online activists, need to be aware of slacktivism and the systemic issues within social media. At the end of the day, the goal is to be a better version of you and to keep doing good in the world on screen and off screen. So, what are you doing off screen to support your activism that your followers might not see?

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…including ways we can right our environmental wrongs and help nature thrive…”

I do not believe that humans are inherently bad for nature. In history, humans lived harmoniously with nature for generations, living as an intertwined part of nature rather than separate from or in control of it. In fact, even today, in many places in the world, healthy ecosystems actually depend on human intervention and stewardship to thrive.

Does that mean the problem is that humans aren’t living in harmony with nature anymore, as we should be? Well, that may be a piece of it; however, in addition to being better environmental stewards by taking measures to protect the environment, I also believe that we should be taking reactive measures to fix the problems we have already caused. This is where ecological restoration comes into play. There are plenty of things individuals can do to help the environment, including ways we can right our environmental wrongs and help nature thrive in places it used to. Ecological restoration is just that – righting the wrongs, repairing the relationship.

WHAT? – Defining Ecological Restoration

The Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) is the leading organization in ecological restoration across the globe. SER defines ecological restoration as “the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed”^[1]. In other words, ecological restoration involves looking at spaces that used to be natural areas that have been ruined in some way as a result of human activities and disturbances, and then taking measures to turn those areas back into functional ecosystems.

The process of ecosystem restoration // SOURCE: Medium

An example of this process in a community could be transforming a damaged, unused parking lot space into a city park where native vegetation can be planted. A larger scale project might look like reverting a decommissioned, highly polluted mine site back into a thriving natural ecosystem. But, wait. Isn’t this supposed to be about how individuals can practice ecological restoration? Absolutely! Ecological restoration does include large scale projects, research, and experiments, since restoration ecology is an academic field of study. But the concept of restoring natural spaces can also be scaled down to the local, household level. So let’s get into what ecological restoration has to do with YOU.

WHY? – The Benefits

Before we discuss the how, we should discuss the why. Why should you care about ecological restoration? Because it benefits you!

Restoring natural areas can do wonders for human health and wellbeing by making our communities healthier and more desirable places to live. For example, transforming degraded areas into functional, natural spaces may improve air and water quality. Ecological restoration projects could also combat climate change, since plant life takes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and cools our environment.

Natural areas also directly benefit human mental health and wellbeing by providing recreational outdoor space, and making urban and suburban areas more aesthetically pleasing. Several studies, including one conducted by the NASA Earth Observatory, have shown the link between positive mental health and both the accessibility and proximity to green spaces. Green spaces are valued by many for enjoyment, boosting their mood, and inspiring deeper connections with nature. To break it down: Ecological restoration = more parks and gardens = more outdoor fun and good-looking cities = happier people.

Ecological restoration projects also usually provide increased and improved habitat spaces for wildlife. Now, I know this article is focused on why ecological restoration is relevant to people, and you are probably not a butterfly or toad looking for habitat, but hear me out. Some very important species are at risk of extinction since their habitat needs are becoming harder to meet in this era of urbanization and climate change. Many natural areas have been reduced or destroyed, and the animals who need to live in those spaces are struggling to survive in many cases. The karner blue butterfly is just one of many examples of a pollinator species that has gone locally extinct in Ontario.

The Karner Blue Butterfly // SOURCE: Nature Canada

Pollinators are especially valuable species for the health of the entire planet, so we really can’t afford to lose any more of them. It is estimated that up to 95% of flowering plants depend on pollination^[2]. In terms of plants that humans eat, that means roughly one out of every three bites of food that you take exists because of pollinators. So if pollinators can’t find habitats and continue to decline, our entire global food system could be at stake. Now that is a scary thought. Allow me to bring back the optimism. It is truly amazing that we have the capability to stop those environmental dooms from happening, and a key method to do so is ecological restoration!

HOW? – The Actions

The individual’s role in ecological restoration is simple: transform your areas with little to no diversity into biodiverse paradises, and take part in local community projects.

One great starting point for figuring out where you should do ecological restoration is identifying areas outdoors that have little to nothing growing there. The average North American lawn is a great example of this. What comes to mind when you think of a lawn? Probably an expanse of short, uniform grass. Let me explain why lawns are one of the areas with the most potential for ecological restoration at the household level.

Lawns are very common green spaces in urban and suburban areas, yet they have no ecological value. Many lawns actually do more harm than good for the environment because they require lots of water and can even release more greenhouse gases than they absorb. It is nonsensical that these precious areas of green space are being wasted on lawn grass!

The key to remember here is simply – restore your green spaces so they are welcoming to a diversity of species in order to create functional ecosystems and promote sustainability.

nstead of having a boring, homogenous lawn, you can transform that space into something more beautiful and ecologically-beneficial! Alternative lawns may look different depending on where you live and what kind of space you have available, but planting a diversity of native plants is a good start. Using a diversity of plants, meaning plants of different species, is important to create habitats. The more diverse your space is, the more types of pollinators and other species it will accommodate, and the more functional the ecosystem will be! If you take pride in the beauty of your yard, then now is the time to let your creativity shine! Check out Credit Valley Conservation’s tips and resources on how to “ecologically landscape” your lawn.

SOURCE: Hamilton Pollinator Paradise

If you don’t have the resources to completely change your lawn right away, don’t worry. You can also just let your grass grow longer instead of regularly cutting it, which can lower the lawn’s water requirements and still foster a space for pollinators. Even simply taking a break from raking leaves in the fall is a strategy to make your spaces more ecologically beneficial because leaf piles are actually super important spaces for small critters to live and hide, like butterfly larvae, salamanders, and shrews!

The key to remember here is simply – restore your green spaces so they are welcoming to a diversity of species in order to create functional ecosystems and promote sustainability.

 For those who don’t have a lawn and don’t have any areas where you can create habitats and gardens, there are still things you can do – just get involved. There are so many local ecological restoration community projects, practically across the whole globe. Finding a project near you that you can help with is just a few clicks away! Just research ecological restoration projects near you. You can also go to the project database on SER’s website to find some larger scale projects in your area if you’re interested in learning more! Many ecological restoration projects welcome volunteers with open arms. You could spend a day in nature by joining a team pulling invasive species in a natural area, or donate to a local initiative trying to turn an old landfill site into a park in your city, or even take a field trip to a conservation area! For example, the Ontario branch of SER hosts several field trips each year in order to introduce the public to restoration efforts near them. Even during the pandemic, they are hosting virtual field trips and webinars.

I study at the University of Waterloo and I like to go for walks on my study breaks. Recently, I took a walk in Filsinger Park, in Kitchener, and I found out that the Filsinger Park stream had been a restoration project. The city replaced the concrete stream channels with native vegetation to create a naturalized, functional stream ecosystem, and it is now a beautiful place to take a walk and appreciate nature! My point is, simply going for a walk and discovering ecological restoration in your city could be the first step in making your mark on the environment a positive one. Ecological restoration is relevant to you. We can all contribute to restoring natural spaces in our own backyards and communities. And by making these contributions, we can restore our relationship with nature, one step at a time.

^[1] Society for Ecological Restoration, “International Principles and Standards for the Practice of Ecological Restoration: Second Edition” (accessed January 7, 2021) <https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.ser.org/resource/resmgr/docs/ser_international_standards_.pdf>^[2] Ollerton J, Winfree R, and Tarrant S, “How many flowering plants are pollinated by animals?” (accessed January 7, 2021) <https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2010.18644.x>

^[2] Ollerton J, Winfree R, and Tarrant S, “How many flowering plants are pollinated by animals?” (accessed January 7, 2021) <https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0706.2010.18644.x>

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Source: BBC News

The day has come where humans are able to generate electricity from a source as accessible as gravity. The Scottish company, Gravitricity, has developed a novel technology that converts the energy from the raising and lowering of weights into electricity. The process really is as simple as it sounds – dropping heavy weights down deep holes. Of course, the weights also have to be attached to special cables and winches that rotate as the weights move up and down thus harnessing the energy that is generated. The technology has proven to work well in decommissioned mine shafts and can also work alternatively by lowering the weights from tall towers.

Why use gravity to produce electricity in the first place? Sustainability, of course! Using gravity is more sustainable than using large batteries, like lithium, since batteries require the extraction of specialty materials and gravity is just, well, constantly available and renewable. Once the weights reach the bottom of the mine shaft, they are raised back up, allowing power to be absorbed and recharged.

Using gravity has also proven to be the most flexible method of generating electricity, which makes it unique to its competing technologies and allows it to suit different energy uses. For example, it can be used to output energy at a slow rate over longer periods of time or very quickly, producing short bursts of high energy.

Finally, it is estimated that using gravity will be the cheapest electrical option once it is commercialized since its main components simply require concrete weights and formerly-used mine shafts. Plus, one Gravitricity device can last up to 50 years with no degradation. If only Isaac Newton could see this!

This is the Week This Friday! 6 quick-and-smart briefs about happenings in the environmental space.

CAN WE TURN DOWN THE HEAT?

New study shows a climate disaster could be curtailed within a couple of decades if net zero emissions are reached.

Source: Quick Meme

A report this week in The Guardian helped pump some hope into the atmosphere of doom-and-gloom related to global warming, climate change and the long-term impacts of our fuel-ish behaviour.

Up until recently, it was believed by the scientific community that further global heating would be ‘locked in for generations’ even IF emissions were to be rapidly reduced. But a recently released study from a team from Pennsylvania State University is giving hope that ‘turning down’ the planetary heat could be more quickly curtailed than previously understood.

Getting to net-zero emissions as quickly as possibly is the key, with net-zero meaning that any country (or entity) will emit no more carbon than is removed from the atmosphere. And with more than 100 countries pledging to that goal by 2050, we do possess the power to begin undoing the damage that we’ve already inflicted. When we get to net-zero emissions, “surface temperatures stop warming and warming stabilizes within a couple decades,” said Michael Mann, a climate scientist at Pennsylvania State University. “What this really means is that our actions have a direct and immediate impact on surface warming. It grants us agency, which is part of why it is so important to communicate this current best scientific understanding.”

Leading climate expert, Zeke Hausfather, from the Breakthrough Institute adds, “This falling atmospheric CO2 causes enough cooling to balance out the warming ‘in the pipeline’ due to slow ocean heat uptake, and global temperatures remain relatively flat after net-zero emissions are reached. The main takeaway for me is that this is good news, because it means that how much warming happens this century and beyond is up to us.”

Trump Administration Opens Up Alaska For Oil Exploration 

Source: alaskawild.org

With just days left in office, the Trump Administration is pushing ahead with the first ever sale of oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. After decades of dispute, the rights to drill for oil on about 5% of the refuge will go ahead. Opponents have criticized the rushed nature of the sale, coming just days before President Trump’s term ends, and yet the plans will still move forward.

The Alaskan wilderness is home to a variety of important species including polar bears, wolves, caribou, arctic foxes, and the like. Covering approximately 78 000 square km, the Arctic National Refuge is often described as America’s greatest wilderness. The habitat is critically important to many species. Let’s talk about polar bears. In the winter months, pregnant polar bears build dens in which to give birth. Due to climate change and temperature rises, sea ice has become thinner causing these bears to start building their dens on land. The coastal plain of the Arctic National Refuge now has the highest concentration of these dens in the state. The coastal plains are also home to the largest concentration of porcupine caribou, around 200 000. In the spring, the herd moves to the coastal plain region of the refuge as it is their preferred calving ground. This coastal plane, which should be protected, is now subject to the first ever oil lease sale in the Arctic National Refuge.

The push for exploration in the park has been a decades long battle between oil companies supported by the state government and environmental and indigenous opponents. According to BBC News, “oil revenues are critical for Alaska, with every resident getting a cheque for around $1,600 every year from the state’s permanent fund”. A last-minute attempt to stop the sale in the courts failed but opponents are hopeful, saying it will not be the end of their efforts to protect the area from drilling. With climate change set to be a central focus for the Biden administration, it is likely that efforts to extract new fossil fuels in Alaska will be subject to review and (hopefully) delay. This could ultimately limit the interest and opportunity for oil exploration in the refuge.

Dangerous Environmental Work on the Ocean

Source: Sea Shepherd

This week a Mexican fisher died in a boat collision resulting from a conflict with the organization, Sea Shepherd. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a global movement of thousands of volunteers and crews, created with the mission of protecting marine wildlife and stopping illegal fishing. The fishing boats were believed to be poachers opposing Sea Shepherd’s activity.

Sea Shepherd claims that their vessel was removing an illegal net in the Gulf of California in partnership with the Mexican authorities in order to protect the endangered vaquita porpoise, when they were violently attacked by several small fishing boats. The Sea Shepherd crew was preparing to leave the area when one of the fishing boats collided with their vessel. The fishing boat that crashed held two fishers, one of which suffered serious injury and died.

Following the accident, Sea Shepherd shared that the attack was just one of several assaults they have experienced while protecting the vaquita porpoise. This story does nothing but highlight how serious and dangerous the nature of environmental activism can be when presented with opposing forces.

In a previous article, A\J’s Alex Goddard spoke with Paul Watson, the founder of Sea Shepherd, on how environmental activists can make real change. Paul Watson described Sea Shepherd’s methods as “aggressive non-violence”. In other words, they take action to protect marine life while avoiding all forms of violence and injury. It is clear from the accident that Sea Shepherd’s actions put them in danger, but the crew strived to avoid violence when it came down to it and even delivered emergency first aid on the two injured fishers.

This event is the perfect example to highlight just how dedicated Sea Shepherd crews are to their work, putting their own lives in danger, working on the front lines of conflict, and experiencing severe circumstances – all for the protection of endangered species and the health of marine ecosystems.

A Look at The Reusable SpaceX Craft: Starship 

Source: TechCrunch // Darrell Etherington

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is planning to soon launch the prototype of a vehicle that could be a game-changer for space travel. Starship is a fully reusable transport system capable of carrying up to 100 people to Mars. The system is composed of a booster stage, named Super Heavy, and a second stage, also referred to as Starship.

The second stage is being designed as a long-duration cargo, and eventually, passenger-carrying spacecraft. The spacecraft will serve as both the second stage and the in-space long-duration orbital spaceship. The company anticipates huge cost savings through re-usable rocketry versus expendable launch vehicles, which Musk has described as a process akin to an airline throwing away their passenger aircraft every time they complete a flight. The process of discarding flown rockets is extremely wasteful. SpaceX has made serious progress towards this goal of reusability by frequently re-flying parts of their Falcon 9 rockets and their Dragon cargo capsules – but the Starship spaceship they’re building now is slated to be even more reusable.

For an in-depth read on exactly how SpaceX has made Starship reusable, click here. But for now, let’s talk about timelines, when can we expect to see Starship take flight?

In the last few years, SpaceX has tested various prototypes of the Starship upper stage at its Boca Chica facility in Texas. In December 2020, SpaceX launched a test article named SN8 (Starship number 8) – the first to feature a nosecone and flaps (like the current Starship design). After reaching an altitude of 12.5 km, SN8 belly made its descent back to Earth, giving SpaceX valuable engineering data about the final part of Starship’s return from space – but the vehicle approached the landing flight too fast and hard, causing it to explode. SpaceX has already moved prototype SN9 to the launch pad, and, this time, they’re aiming to stick the landing. This test fight could take place in the next few months. In October 2020, Musk said SpaceX was aiming to launch Starship on an uncrewed flight to Mars in 2024. An ambitious timeline, but that’s what Musk is known for.

Highest Record of Participants in Veganuary Campaign

Source: Green Queen

This New Year’s has shown the record highest number of people globally who have pledged to take part in the Veganuary challenge. Veganuary is an initiative that encourages and challenges participants to start their new year by eating only vegan foods in the month of January. The most common motivations for joining the Veganuary movement include improving health, animal welfare, and the environment.

Over 500 000 individuals signed up for the Veganuary pledge in 2021, which is the record number since the initiative began in 2014. Keep in mind, that’s just the number of people who have officially signed up on the Veganuary website! There is no doubt many other individuals will reduce their meat consumption this year outside of the Veganuary challenge. Veganism and plant-based eating have continued to gain popularity and it is becoming well-known that plant-based diets are one of the most sustainable diets to adopt to reduce one’s carbon footprint.

Although there are still plenty of people who are hesitant to try plant-based alternatives because some products may be highly processed or taste different, it is encouraging to see increasing numbers of people simply making an effort to reduce their meat consumption. Veganuary encourages individuals to try and continue eating plant-based and reduce their consumption of animal products for the rest of the year beyond January. However, regardless of whether someone continues to eat fully vegan or just decides to reduce their consumption of meat, this initiative is a step in the right direction for the climate and has kicked off 2021 on a positive note!

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