The international vegan charity Generation Vegan (GenV), which rebranded from its former name of Million Dollar Vegan last August, recently launched its latest campaign offering UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak £1 million to go vegan for one month “for the sake of animals, the planet, wild places, our planet, our health, our farmers, and our future.”
In a letter sent to Downing Street on Wednesday, Naomi Hallum, chief executive of Vegan Generation, wrote: “We would like to donate £1m to a charity of your choice in return for adopting a plant-based diet for a month.”
London Billboards, full-page newspaper ads
Billboards at Westminster Underground Station and full-page adverts in four major UK newspapers are featuring ads through the first ten days of the new year, urging the Prime Minister to accept the vegan charity’s challenge, giving him until the end of January to make his decision.
Why Rishi Sunak?
The campaign previously challenged Pope Francis, who did not respond but gave the campaign his blessing and later urged young people to eat less meat. Former US President Donald Trump was also challenged to go vegan for a month but turned down the offer.
According to GenV, UK Prime Minister Sunak has pledged to protect the future of our planet and has spoken about the importance of showing compassion. With climate, environmental, and health crises escalating in the UK and worldwide, “It was time to encourage the UK leader to follow his words with meaningful action,” said the organisation.
GenV’s reasons for going vegan in 2023
Generation Vegan was founded by Matthew Glover and counts high-profile supporters such as Dr. Neal Barnard, Paul McCartney, and Alicia Silverstone. The charity says that it has achieved its target of sharing one million plant-based meals with global communities.
Among the vegan charity reasons urging Rishi Sunak to go vegan are the following:
- Vegan to halt the climate crisis
- Vegan to restore lost wildlife
- Vegan for British farmers
- Plant-based for business innovation
- Plant-based for our health
- Vegan to show compassion
“Our sincere hope is that he will accept our million-pound offer. We urge him to lead by example and showcase how satisfying, healthy, and enjoyable – as well as ethically and environmentally positive – plant-based eating can be,” Hallum added.
