The week will highlight how switching to vegetarian meals can reduce your carbon footprint to benefit the planet.

National Vegetarian Week 2022 saw celebrity supporters and planet-friendly recipes launched. The National Food Strategy says the UK should eat 30% less meat by 2030. For people who eat meat every day, this can be achieved by going meat-free on just two days a week.

Richard McIlwain, chief executive of the Vegetarian Society, said: “The very first National Vegetarian Week ran in 1992. Thirty years later, we are still battling to reduce emissions and yet every single one of us can take meaningful action by simply reducing or cutting out meat from our diets.

“In 2022’s campaign, we inspired people to switch over 70,000 meat-based meals for veggie and plant-based dishes, saving over 100 tons of carbon, equivalent to the emissions released by driving a car around the earth’s equator over 16 times.

“For 2023 we want to reach out to even more people encouraging a greater number of businesses, schools, local authorities, supermarkets and individuals taking part in the week. People often don’t think their own actions can make much of a difference. But by joining the many thousands of people signing up for the week, we aim to demonstrate how, together, individual efforts can lead to real and meaningful change.”