Vegan News for January 2026
EVENTS
January 9-11, 2026 (11 am-4 pm), Chef Mark Reinfeld presents 3-Day Vegan Fusion Workshop, Kula. $795/student including recipes, course materials, access to Nourish Your Life Through Food course ($150 value), and The 7 Culinary Keys to Creating Amazing Cuisine ebook ($17 value). More details here.
The Vegan Society of Hawaii sponsors online and in-person presentations. Check here for updates.
Moku Roots offers a series of vegan brunches and dinners at its Kula farm. Sign up for notices about ongoing events.
Check our Facebook page for additional events as they become known.
NEWS AND TRENDS
Is Big Meat Behind the Anti-Vegan Comments in Your Feed?
Senate Finally OKs Plant-Based Milk in Public Schools
Gen Z has the highest rate of veganism in history and it's reshaping the food industry
Why scientists say veganism is key to fighting climate change
Modern vegan activism: what’s working and what’s not
HEALTH AND NUTRITION
Meta-analysis finds vegetarian and vegan diets can support healthy growth in children
Ultra-processed Plant-Based Foods May Be Better for Your Heart Than Unprocessed Meat and Dairy
Plant-Based Diets Could Help Prevent and Reverse CMD Heart Disease
Plant-based omega-3s work better than expected in a year-long diet study
Why doctors love the whole-food plant-based diet (and why it works)
The biggest health benefits of going vegan (backed by research)
Lung cancer warning for foods which make up ‘half the average diet’ after new study
SPORTS AND FITNESS
Torre Washington Becomes First Vegan Bodybuilder to Reach the Mr. Olympia Stage
Yes, you can build muscle on a vegan diet, here’s how
Vegan Athletes Share Protein Secrets
RESOURCES
WFPB and Vegan Cookbooks We Loved in 2025
Blue Zone’s Top Recipes of 2025
CONNECTIONS
If you live on Maui or visit regularly, you might visit three Facebook pages, Vegan on Maui, Maui Vegans and the Facebook companion page to this website, Maui Vegan Life.
THIS MONTH IN VEGAN HISTORY
Baltimore embraces Veganuary citywide (January 8, 2024)
The Baltimore City Council passes a resolution officially recognizing January as the month of Veganuary, making Baltimore the first U.S. city to formally encourage residents to try plant-based eating for the month. Veganuary+2VegNews.com+2
Edinburgh backs the Plant Based Treaty (January 18, 2023)
The City of Edinburgh Council votes to endorse the Plant Based Treaty, becoming the first European capital to formally call for a shift from animal agriculture to plant-based food systems as part of its climate strategy. plantbasedtreaty.org
McDonald’s introduces the Double McPlant in the UK and Ireland (January 4, 2023)
McDonald’s rolls out the Double McPlant burger nationwide in the UK and Ireland for Veganuary, expanding its fully vegan main-menu option and signaling strong mainstream demand for plant-based fast food. Vegconomist
Massachusetts Enforces Cage-Free Standards for Eggs and Veal (January 1, 2023)
Massachusetts begins enforcing Question 3 standards for eggs and veal, tightening housing and sales rules and nudging out-of-state suppliers toward higher welfare.
McPlant goes national across McDonald’s UK & Ireland (January 5, 2022)
After a trial in 250 restaurants, McDonald’s announces that its first plant-based burger, the McPlant (with a Beyond Meat patty and vegan cheese), is now available in every restaurant in the UK and Ireland starting January 5. McDonald's+2McDonald's+2
California Prop 12 Egg and Veal Standards Take Effect (January 1, 2022)
California implements cage-free egg and minimum-space veal requirements for in-state sales, accelerating plant-forward menu shifts in institutions and retail.
Veganuary passes 500,000 participants in a single campaign (January 5, 2021)
Veganuary reports more than half a million people worldwide signing up for its 2021 challenge, a record that highlights how quickly the month-long vegan pledge has moved into the mainstream. Veganuary+1
“World’s first vegan hotel room” opens in London (January 23, 2019)
Hilton London Bankside unveils a suite designed with Bompas & Parr that it markets as the world’s first fully vegan hotel room, with plant-based furnishings, bedding, toiletries, and room-service menu. Fast Company+2Stories From Hilton+2
Canada Releases the New Canada’s Food Guide (January 22, 2019)
Health Canada’s update spotlights vegetables, fruit, whole grains and proteins with an emphasis on plant sources and recommends water as the drink of choice.
Sweeping Study Connects Animal Agriculture to Environmental Collapse (January 16, 2019)
The medical journal Lancet and the environmental nonprofit EAT produce a sweeping meta-study on the connection between dietary trends, personal health and environmental wellbeing.
Mythology Diner opens as Toronto’s first all-vegan late-night diner (January 25, 2018)
Mythology Diner launches in Toronto, branding itself as the city’s first all-vegan late-night diner and part of a new wave of fully plant-based “comfort food” restaurants in major cities.
The Herbivorous Butcher opens in Minneapolis (January 23, 2016)
Siblings Aubry and Kale Walch open The Herbivorous Butcher, widely described as the first vegan butcher shop in the United States, offering small-batch plant-based meats and cheeses in a dedicated storefront. TIME
2015 to 2020 U.S. Dietary Guidelines Released, Recognize Vegetarian Patterns (January 6, 2016)
The federal guidelines formally include healthy vegetarian eating patterns and add limits on added sugars, strengthening policy support for plant-forward diets.
Veganuary Launched (January 2014)
3,300 people from all around the world sign up to go vegan, launching Veganuary, an international campaign.
Battery Cages Banned (January 2013)
Standard battery cages and breeder sow gestation crates after four weeks of pregnancy are banned throughout the European Union, due largely to the efforts of Compassion in World Farming.
UC San Diego debuts Roots, an all-vegan campus dining hall (January 2012)
The University of California, San Diego opens Roots as its first exclusively vegan dining location, one of the earliest all-vegan university dining halls in the U.S., reflecting growing student demand for plant-based options.
United Kingdom Completes National Fur-Farming Prohibition (January 1, 2003)
Commencement of bans across the UK ends domestic fur farming, an early national milestone in the humane movement.
Switzerland Finishes National Phase-Out of Battery Cages (January 1992)
Switzerland becomes the first country with laying-hen production fully out of cages, setting a reference point later echoed by EU reforms.
Vegetarian Society of Hawaii Founded (January 1990)
The organization grows into one of the largest vegetarian groups in the United States, hosting lectures and outreach across the islands.
Down to Earth Opens First All-Vegetarian Store in Wailuku, Maui (January 1977)
The natural foods retailer helps normalize vegetarian deli fare and grocery options in Hawaii, becoming a long-running island chain.
East West Journal begins publication in Boston (January 1971)
East West Journal, a Boston-based magazine associated with macrobiotics and natural foods, starts publishing around January 1971; it becomes an influential outlet promoting whole-food, largely plant-based diets during the 1970s health-food movement.
The Children’s Realm launches as a vegetarian magazine for children
The first issue of The Children’s Realm: A Journal to Teach the Higher Way of Living to the Young appears in January 1906 in London, providing stories, essays, and illustrations that promote vegetarianism and kindness to animals for young readers. (January 1906)
Alpha Restaurant opens in London as the city’s first vegetarian restaurant (January 1, 1879)
Dr Thomas Low Nichols opens the Alpha Restaurant on Oxford Street, often described as London’s first vegetarian or “food reform” restaurant, reportedly serving its first customers on New Year’s Day and helping normalize eating meat-free in public.
American Vegetarian and Health Journal begins publishing (January 1851)
The American Vegetarian Society launches The American Vegetarian and Health Journal (often shortened to The American Vegetarian) in January 1851, one of the earliest vegetarian periodicals in the United States, used to advocate a meat-free diet on health and ethical grounds.
James Simpson’s “Vegetable Diet” letter appears in the Manchester Guardian (January 27, 1847)
Months before the founding of the Vegetarian Society in 1847, James Simpson publishes a letter on the “Vegetable Diet” in the Manchester Guardian on January 27, helping to popularize organized arguments for meat-free living in Britain.
Rev. William Cowherd’s Salford Sermon Urges Abstinence from Flesh (January 29, 1809)
The sermon catalyzes the Bible Christian Church’s vegetarian witness, influencing organized vegetarianism in Britain and the United States.