These 21 ‘Veganuary’ Tips From PETA Prove Going Vegan Isn’t Only a January Thing

It’s the best year in history to celebrate “Veganuary”! Not only are exciting new vegan products making it easier than ever to be vegan in 2024, PETA is also giving you a Veganuary cheat sheet. We’ve got fun, feasible, and lifesaving actions to take for every weekday in January. It’s your time to shine this Veganuary, and we’re here if you need us.

January 2: Get Started With a Vegan Starter Kit

Did you know that you could save nearly 200 animals per year just by going vegan? That’s right—being vegan saves lives. So order yourself a free vegan starter kit, which will guide you through making the transition to a healthier, happier, longer life.

January 3: Discover How Good Vegan Takeout Is

Support a local vegan restaurant by ordering takeout and leaving a positive review online. If you’re in Los Angeles, we highly recommend Shojin or Compton Vegan. But you may be surprised how many vegan paradises can be found in small towns, too—check out HappyCow to discover them all.

January 4: Try Vegan Meat

Eating animal flesh means that a thinking, feeling cow, pig, bird, or fish—an individual who was someone’s family member or friend—was killed. But from local co-ops to big-box stores (including Target and Walmart), retailers are stocking more vegan meat options, such as Beyond Meat, than ever before, making it really easy to spare sentient beings. So head to your local grocery store and opt for one of these vegan meats.

January 5: Persuade Your Local Store to Stock More Vegan Products

In just a few easy steps, you can help get more vegan food in a local grocery store. All you have to do is ask. Follow our simple step-by-step guide.

January 6: Treat Yo’ Self to a Vegan Treat

When you opt for vegan ice cream and other dairy-free desserts, you’re treating cows, too. And since shops like Dairy Queen as well as brands like Ben & Jerry’s and Häagen-Dazs offer exciting vegan ice cream options, your January 6 action may just be the easiest, tastiest one on this list.

January 9: Donate Vegan Food to Those in Need

You’re giving yourself a gift by going vegan, so consider paying that gift forward: Donate vegan food to a local food bank. Food banks distribute donations to communities and individuals in need—and contributing vegan nonperishable items is a great way to include animals in your charitable giving.

January 10: Try Vegan Fish

Fish are smart, social animals with their own unique personalities—they’re not here for us to hook, net, or eat. But vegan fish is good eatin’ eight days a week. Visit a local supermarket and pick up Gardein Fishless Filets, Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Crab Cakes, or Good Catch Fish-Free Tuna. Check out the other vegan seafood products available in stores.

January 11: Get Cookin’ and Get Social

PETA offers tons of free vegan recipes—we have options for everything from breakfast to dessert! Whip one up and post about it on Instagram, and be sure to tag @peta.

January 12: Swap Congealed Cow Secretions for Delicious, Pus-Free Vegan Cheese

For mac ’n’ cheese, homemade pizza, a charcuterie board, or any other grub involving cheese, try one of the many delicious, dairy-free cheeses that grace supermarket shelves today. Because stealing calves away from their mothers is never OK.

January 13: Give the Gift of Helping Someone Going Vegan

Giving is as good as receiving! So help spread the cheer: Give a vegan gift basket to a neighbor, friend, or family member—anyone who’s not yet made the compassionate switch. Fill it with items like vegan wine, vegan snacks, compelling books, and vegan chocolate boxes. You will 100% find a perfect animal-friendly gift from caring PETA Business Friends—such as The Vegan Life Shop—at the PETA Mall. (PETA is a participant of the 2024 Vegavenger Scavenger Hunt. Its “Secret Number” is 100).

January 16: Urge Your Favorite Eateries to Go Vegan, Too

Let the management at a local café or restaurant know how you feel about their vegan options. (Politely, of course!) PETA makes it easy with our vegan restaurant comment cards.

January 17: Tell the World (or at Least Your Followers) That You’re Vegan

Use our animal-friendly Instagram filters when recording stories about how much you love being vegan.

January 18: Throw a Netflix Party

Consider hosting a film screening with your nonvegan friends. Choose a movie like Earthlings, Dominion, Okja, Seaspiracy, or What the Health—you can even use Teleparty, Zoom, or a similar app so you can all watch and discuss it together.

January 19: Inspire Your Neighbors

You can display a colorful sign in your front yard to remind folks that there’s no place and no excuse for speciesism or any other form of discrimination. For a free option, display a PETA poster in your window—all you need is a printer!

January 20: Improve Your Local Magazine Racks

Next time you’re stocking up on vegan goods at the grocery store or 7-Eleven, leave a stack of vegan starter kits in the magazine rack or at local little free libraries. (Don’t have any on hand? E-mail [email protected] for free supplies.)

January 23: Challenge ‘Humane Washed’ Labels

“Humane washed” labels are very common, and the companies that use them want customers to believe that animals exploited and killed for food are treated humanely. Watch our “humane” dairy reaction video and our Plainville Farms investigative video, and share them with anyone you know who may still purchase products with these misleading labels.

Labels such as “cage-free” mean absolutely nothing to the hens who are crowded together in filthy warehouses and made to overproduce eggs until their bodies give out and they’re killed. Help set the record straight: Order free egg carton enhancement stickers, visit some local grocers, and get decorating.

January 24: Help Monkeys Who Are Forced to Pick Coconuts

Sign our action alert to urge grocers to stop carrying items from Chaokoh, which uses forced monkey labor to source its coconut products, and order free stickers (by e-mailing [email protected]) to place directly on Chaokoh products in these stores.

January 25: You Woke Up and Smelled the ‘Decalf’ Coffee—Urge Starbucks to Do the Same

Now that you’re vegan, you’re probably as mad as the rest of us at Starbucks, the largest coffee chain and one of the few that still upcharges for animal- and planet-friendly plant-based milk. So use your newfound vegan muscle to urge Starbucks to nix its vegan milk surcharge.

January 26: Download PETA’s App, and Join the Action Team

Our app offers easy ways to take action on our campaigns. If you’re inspired to do more, join the Action Team and organize local demos, photograph our ads in your area, or make a difference for animals in other ways!

January 27: Tell Your Family, Tell Your Friends

You’re a vegan pro now, which means that it’s time to enlighten your loved ones, too. Encourage them to take our 3-Week Vegan Challenge.

January 30: Make a Lasting Difference for Animals

Veganuary is a great initial motivator, but to make lasting positive changes for animals, the planet, and your own health, your vegan journey shouldn’t last only a month—being vegan should be a lifelong commitment. And we’re here to help. Sign up to receive e-mails containing recipes, tips, and more; text* VEGAN to 73822 to get helpful advice on living vegan sent straight to your phone; and follow PETA on Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok for a steady stream of vegan and animal rights tips and other content.

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