8. April 2022
Jenny Bittroff
A vegan diet – we guess there might not be a single person who never heard of it. During the last couple of years, we have been increasingly confronted with the term, e.g. by seeing food labeled as ‘vegan’ in the supermarket, recipes in magazines who promise a healthy lifestyle and numerous articles and debates regarding the subject.
At VAST FORWARD we are also familiar with the term – some of our ladies are already part-time vegans or vegetarians. By implementing our VAST GREEN strategy on a professional level, it is obvious that we also think about the topic when the working day is done.
Towards the end of 2021, VAST lady Julia asked us to participate in a team challenge in 2022 – the Veganuary 2022.
Founded in 2014 by the private sector, Veganuary was first an organization with the goal to promote and push veganism during the first month of the year. In 2019 Veganuary Germany also called for action. Now, two years later, over 200 companies followed suit.
Even though all of us support organizations and initiatives as such, you clearly sensed some kind of nervousness when being asked to eat and live vegan for a month. We decided to let everyone of our ladies participate in the initiative at her own pace- meaning for example that meat-lovers became vegetarians and dairy consumers tried all of the awesome milk alternatives.
But we all know it is not always about perfection but more it is about creating a balance, trying new things, discussing the matter and questioning your personal choices.
During the month, we had ups and downs – not only due to the permanent darkness and rain paired with the renouncement of one’s personal comfort food.
“By living a vegan lifestyle, all of us can contribute to fighting against the climate crisis.” Anja Auer
To finish a gloomy and grey January on a bright note – Anja Auer, Julias mum, who owns a vegan restaurant in Japan, holds cooking classes and speeches and lives a vegan lifestyle herself , prepared a Lunch & Learn for the team. In this L&L she explained why she became vegan and all about her passion and motivation towards the vegan lifestyle.
Twenty years ago, a documentation about livestock farming and meat production made her renounce meat from one day to another. To most people, it was unimaginable to become vegetarian back then – just imagine what it was like going to a restaurant. About ten years ago, the family, then living in New Zealand, met a vegan family who was the first contact to the following change of diet. To Anja it isn’t only about the health and moralic benefits which come with a vegan diet. In her opinion, the already present climate crisis should make us humans overthink our current decisions and try to relieve our environment.
“By living a vegan lifestyle, all of us can contribute to fighting against the climate crisis.”
Anja is talking in a convincing and truly passionate way about her journey. You immediately know, while listening to her, that this decision changed and definitely enriched her life.
We want to thank Anja very much for her insights and her inspirational talk.
The first month of the year 2022 comes to an end. It has been exciting, challenging and instructive to take part in the Veganuary team challenge . We are looking forward to more challenges in 2022.
