Oh yes! It’s that time. As you may know, action is the antidote to anxiety, so let’s get Doing.

Kick off 2022 with four priority Do Actions inspired by Veganuary, post-holiday health and tree planting season.

Whether you’re new to an activity or a dab hand, we’ve got suggestions for your next steps so everyone in our community can make lasting, positive lifestyle changes.

Veganuary

Did you know that producing food for a meat-eater requires four and a half times more land than producing food for a vegan? And we can’t grow land.

We need to cut meat and dairy consumption by one fifth to combat climate change.

Luckily, plants are blimmin’ delicious, and when you get into the swing of it, eating more plants will see you happy, healthy and satisfied. 

Pledge to reduce dairy

Take the Cheesed off pledge.

New to this
🥛 Try going vegan for breakfast. Non-dairy milks are so close to dairy (we love Rebel Kitchen’s MYLK for flavour) and palm oil-free non-dairy spreads are easier to find now, too.
🥛 Then try vegan cheeses, this BBC good food blind taste test is a good place to start.    

Doing this Got a pack of violife on the go? Had a facon butty for breakfast?
🥛 Time to step up and veganise some of your favourite meat and dairy meals. Think lasagne, macaroni cheese, chicken korma.

Done this Already vegan 24/7?
🥛 Share the love. Pledge the Do Action Cook social and batch cook your favourite vegan meal to share with your friends and family. 

Pledge to reduce meat

Take the Veg out pledge

New to this Just reducing the amount of meat you eat makes a difference.
🧆 Treat meat as a side, not as a main, or switch out meat for a meal or two a week to start with.
🧆 Add pulses and lentils to your carbs, like cooking lentils or kidney beans in with rice, or to stews and curries. There’s heaps of tips in this ecowatch article.

Doing this Already passing on the pastrami a few meals a week?
🧆 Go meat free during the week. Use these amazing veganuary meal plans.  
🧆 Try to rely less on fake meats. See how much satisfaction there is in vegan meals made with raw ingredients, like bean chilli, cauliflower steaks, roast chickpeas and veg.

Done it
🧆 Pledge Voice up and share what you know.
🧆 Help others in your household or extended family eat less meat (these delicious family friendly vegan recipes may come in handy)
🧆 Share  your vegan favourites on social media, if you’re a social bee. (Tag @the_donation and use #mydoaction)

Pledge to reduce booze

Counteract the xmas cheersathon and take the Loose your bottle pledge.

New to it:
🧃Avoid triggers and stay away from the pub or evening socialising, if you think you’ll be tempted.
🧃Can’t face the whole month dry? Alternate soft and alcoholic drinks if you want the odd night out on the sauce.
🧃 Set a realistic pledge – if you know you can cut down rather than cut out, do that.

Doing it: Dry Jan and Oct-sober your way through every year?
🧃Discover a new favourite non-alcoholic option.
🧃Take the pledge again. Maybe try dry feb and give your liver a 2 month rest!

Done it: Alcohol free and loving it?
🧃 Probably time to save the rainforests and cut unsustainable palm oil from your life. You’ll feel great after that, too.  

Pledge to grow trees

January is the best month to plant a tree, so branch out from food take the Grow Trees pledge.

Trees! Who doesn’t love them? They clean our air, absorb our stinky carbon, provide habitats to over 80% of land-based biodiversity are just a few of the services they provide. 

A mature tree captures and stores about 22 kilograms of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, each year. Which is equivalent CO2 to streaming Don’t Look Up, 271 times*.

New to it
🌳 If you have space, source a tree and plant it.
🌳 Ditch your current search engine and use ecosia to search the web, they plant trees while you search.

Doing it
🌳 Spent your volunteer days planting trees? Maybe it’s time to get more trees in your community.
🌳 Ask your local council how you can plant trees on your street, or urban orchards on nearby green spaces.

Done it Your neighbourhood is brimming with trees and your shovel needs a rest?
🌳 Gift forests to friends and family this year for birthdays and other events.

References:
Streaming – *Based on 36g per hour of streaming

Meat consumption – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-51210622 

Trees – https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/forests_practice/importance_forests/