World Vegan Day 2025

As every year, on November 1st World Vegan Day is celebrated, an opportunity to take stock and understand where the vegan movement has reached in the world, to raise public awareness of plant-based eating, and to promote the benefits of this lifestyle by sharing tips, recipes, and ideas. Started in 1994 to celebrate the founding of the Vegan Society, this tradition has evolved over time, first into World Vegan Week and then into World Vegan Month.

And so, this year too, November will be marked by many initiatives worldwide (which you can find on the Vegan Society website): from Athens, to London, from Norwich to Milan, the calendar is packed with conferences, music, workshops and plant-based food.

But celebrating this day does not necessarily mean taking part in public events: you could, for example, contribute by organizing a vegan lunch or dinner with friends; by promoting vegan themes in your community; or by sharing your vegan recipes on social media using the hashtags #worldveganday and #worldveganmonth. You could also have fun by challenging your friends and colleagues to follow a vegan diet for a month.

The recipe for preparing fava beans and chicory

On the occasion of World Vegan Day, we want to share with you the recipe of our Cesarina Anna Maria from Matera to prepare a fully plant-based dish with an autumnal flavor: fava beans and chicory.

“I remember when my grandmother used to cook fava beans in a terracotta pot with just water and bay leaves, not on a gas stove but on a wood-burning one, for hours, and the scent of bay leaves spread throughout the house. The sweetness of the fava bean purée and the bitterness of the chicory create a combination that tastes of tradition, and ideally this dish should be eaten in terracotta bowls and accompanied with slices of Matera bread. Alternatively, come taste it at my home, where you can rediscover the aromas of the old kitchen”.

Simplicity in the kitchen always wins, and the only two main ingredients of this recipe prove it: fava beans, a legume probably originating in Asia Minor or the Mediterranean, valued for its nutritional properties, and chicory, wild greens with a bitter taste usually hand-picked in the countryside. If you cannot find them, do not worry: you can replace them with cultivated chicory. They will not have the exact same taste, but together they will still create a rustic, vegan, and flavorful dish typical of the cuisine of Basilicata and Puglia.

Veganism in numbers

How many vegans are there in the world? Answering this question is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack, but some estimates suggest about 79 million people worldwide identify as vegan.

According to data from research conducted by EAT Forum, there is a lot of public interest in veganism, but this interest does not translate into concrete action. In fact, 68% of respondents said they want to add more plant-based food to their diet, but only 20% do so regularly. The potential is there, but it is still largely untapped.

However, the future looks promising for the vegan movement. According to Future Market Insights, the global plant-based food sector will grow from $14.2 billion in 2025 to $44.2 billion by 2035, a triple-digit leap driven by repeat purchases, product innovation, and mainstream distribution.

The main reasons to choose a vegan diet

The reasons why people adopt a vegan diet vary. Health remains the main reason: a study showed that those who follow a predominantly plant-based diet have a 23% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease compared to omnivores.

But health is not the only factor: there is also the environmental issue, a theme particularly important to Gen Z. Various studies show that switching to a plant-based diet can reduce an individual’s food-related carbon footprint by up to 75%.

And finally, there is the financial aspect: eating plant-based costs 21% to 34% less. Beans, lentils, seasonal produce, and bulk grains are generally cheaper than meat and dairy, even considering plant-based milks.