Participants in the society’s environmental campaign ‘Plate Up for the Planet’, which included Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas MP, collectively saved 147,000 kg CO2 - the equivalent of a flight to the moon and back.
Environmental organisations and businesses such as Friends of the Earth, Eating Better Alliance, Ecotricity, 10:10, Let's Eat Better, International Trees Foundation and Global Action Plan supported the campaign.
Louise Davies, head of campaigns and policy at The Vegan Society, said: “Going vegan is one of the most significant things an individual can do to help combat climate change, and indeed many environmentalists follow the lifestyle to decrease their impact on the planet.
“Those who signed up to our seven-day vegan challenge were shown how much CO2 emissions they’ve saved compared to non-vegan equivalents of the meals.
“What they’ve saved over the course of the week is astonishing and surprised many people, which we hope will lead to more people concerned with the environment choosing the vegan lifestyle.”
The campaign also enjoyed support from celebrities such as Made in Chelsea’s Lucy Watson, poet Benjamin Zephaniah and Harry Potter star Evanna Lynch.
MP Lucas said: “As a vegetarian, I’m very aware of the climate and animal welfare impacts of a meat based diet, but in the past I’ve struggled to eat only vegan food.
“The Vegan Society’s seven-day challenge provided a welcome catalyst to prompt me to go further, and reminded me just how delicious vegan food can be."
As well as flying to the moon and back, The Vegan Society also came up with the following comparisons-
- or 1,019,064 km travelled by car – equivalent to driving round the world 11.5 times
- or 539,000 washing machine cycles - equivalent to washing the clothes of everybody in Cardiff twice
- or 19,510,909 hours of low energy bulbs – equivalent to lighting every home in Brighton for 3 days.