by Fiona Nicholson, Science Writer

“What special sort of new Hell is Veganuary?” asked Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain at the beginning of January. Within a week, the number of new sign-ups to the vegan charity, which has run each year since 2013, broke all expectations at over 160,000 worldwide and at least 50,000 of these in the UK alone. As we see so often, no separate data are available from Veganuary for Scotland, which has traditionally been slower to engage with the growing vegan trend. But with Vegan Dundee attracting 72 new members to bring its total to 1029 members, and Vegan Aberdeen with 1945 members, having gained 61 new members since the 1st of January, we can see why cities like Edinburgh and Glasgow have been vying since 2016 to become Vegan Capital of Scotland.

In 2013, an article in the Guardian mentioned Glasgow’s health records as having both lowest life expectancy in Europe, and the highest working-age mortality in the UK. However, a spokesperson for global organisation PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) pointed out that Glasgow also was the most vegan-friendly city in the UK, with a rapid expansion of the vegan population and facilities. This was driven in part by the vibrant youth culture in the city – 42% of vegans are aged 15-34 years compared to only 14% among the over-65s – with Glasgow University being the first University in the UK to be accredited by the Vegan Society.