This New Year, like every New Year, I set myself three resolutions that I planned to fail in. It's a Monday, I'm sipping beer – despite my vow to end weekday drinking – and I'm on my fifth cigarette – failing my now annual pledge to quit smoking. I succeeded in failing my first two resolutions with aplomb.

My third resolution, however, has proved more challenging. My girlfriend suggested I take part in "Veganuary". Partly to appease her and partly to prove her plant-based moral crusade wasn't such a great sacrifice, I accepted the challenge.

To prepare myself for this culinary adventure, I read several books debating the merits of veganism. I thought that if I was to give up meat for an entire month, I might as well learn a little in the process. I also assumed that these books would provide me with counter-arguments that I could use to deflect my girlfriend's constant vegan proselytising. It appears that three core issues dominate the debate: animal suffering; the ecological detriment of raising livestock; and the nutritional advantages of a plant-based diet.

Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Show all 25 1 /25 Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Ariana Grande, pop star "I love animals more than I love most people, not kidding. But I am a firm believer in eating a full plant-based, whole food diet that can expand your life length and make you an all-round happier person." Ariana Grande/Facebook Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Paul McCartney, musician "I've been a vegetarian for a long time now and over the years I've seen how the attitudes have changed around the world, so I'm not surprised when I see new research that shows more and more people are increasingly adopting 'meat free eating'." Getty Images Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Ellen DeGeneres, TV Host "It doesn't make [Thanksgiving] harder at all. It makes it easier on the turkeys, too. They get to live." Reuters Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Morrissey, musician "I see no difference between eating animals and paedophilia." Getty Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Bill Clinton, former president of the US Dr Dean Ornish, Clinton's doctor, said: "I asked him, 'Why do you want to live longer?' and he said, 'I want to live long enough to walk my daughter down the aisle and to see my grandkids born and grow up.'" Getty Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Peter Dinklage, actor Dinklage has been a vegetarian since childhood and featured in PETA's 'Face Your Food' film. WireImage Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Russell Brand, comedian "I'm now vegan, goodbye eggs, hello Ellen." PA Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Ellie Goulding, singer "I've got taxidermy, I've got animals.... deer and all sorts. But weirdly, I'm a vegetarian and I don't eat meat. I'm a walking contradiction." Getty Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Ellen Page, actor Page was named as one of PETA's 'Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrities' in 2014. Getty Images Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Al Gore, American politician "There are 10 vegan restaurants in Nashville now." Speaking about how he maintains his vegan diet in the city. Getty Images Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Tobey Maguire, actor Maguire said he was a vegan and "stopped consuming any mind-altering substances" when he was 19. Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Stella McCartney On her website, McCartney said that "the decision not to use leather or fur is not just because I don’t eat animals or that I think that millions of animals each year shouldn’t be killed for the sake of fashion. It’s because I also believe in the connection between fur and leather and the environment. There’s a huge connection." Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Natalie Portman, actor Portman converted from being a vegan to vegetarianism. Getty Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Woody Harrelson, actor "I've always been relatively healthy except for my vices." HBO Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Jared Leto, actor and musician "I'm pretty healthy... I've been that way for a long time - 20 solid years of eating vegetarian/vegan and taking care of myself. That probably helps the preservation process." WireImage Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Jessica Chastain, actor It was reported that the vegan actor bought her mother a vegan food truck. AP Photo/Sony - Columbia Pictures, Jonathan Olley Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Joaquin Phoenix, actor Featuring a PETA advert to promote vegetarianism for Thanksgiving, he said: "Holidays can be murder on turkeys. Let's make this one for the birds." Celebrity vegans and vegetarians In March 2018, Beyoncé revealed she was following a plant-based diet when preparing for her headlining performances at Coachella music festival, while Jay-Z wrote about going vegan in a 2013 blog post, describing it as a “spiritual and physical cleanse". Getty Images Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Kate Mara, actor Mara told E! Online that she stayed fit and healthy by being a vegan. Getty Images Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Alanis Morissette, musician "I'm predominantly vegan, which my friends hate because it's not monogamous; 80% is vegan; the other 20% is following what my body needs." Reuters Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Alicia Silverstone, actor Silverston has a blog called The Kind Life which discusses vegan and vegetarian food. Rex Features Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Kate Nash "I became a vegetarian last September - I used to suffer from OCD and it got stuck in my head that if I didn't eat meat then my bunny rabbit, Fluffy, would survive a dangerous operation she had to have." Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Jennifer Lopez, singer and actor Lopez said that she recommended a vegan diet "because you wake up and feel great". Getty Images Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Mark Hoppus, member of Blink 182 Hoppus announced he was a vegan on Twitter. Getty Images Celebrity vegans and vegetarians Olivia Wilde, actor "[Being vegan] is not always easy and accessible. But it's a way of life and makes me as a person feel really good and physically look better." Getty Images

I was generally aware of the animal-suffering aspect, but I tend to repress this awareness to maintain the illusion of an ethical lifestyle. It's difficult to uphold this charade, however, when faced with the extent of factory farming in cold, hard statistics. According to the Humane Slaughter Society, for example, about 2.6 million cattle, 10 million pigs, 14.5 million sheep, 80 million fish and 950 million birds are slaughtered each year for human consumption in the UK.

One can brush off these statistics on the assumption that the killing is somehow humane. The literature, of course, doesn't simply cite statistics. In sanguineous detail, every book preaching the merits of veganism inexorably describes the caging of poultry, the failed stunning and throat-slashing of pigs and the yearly mass killing of turkeys. The authors recite these stories in explicit detail. They are supposed to disgust the innocent reader. They are successful.

Despite reading the statistics – buttressed by these gruesome stories – I was convinced that, upon entering my second home, the local kebab shop, I could retreat to my previous state of cognitive repression and return to carnivorous glory. Then I suffered another blow: I learnt about the environmental impact of modern agriculture.

Like most people, I'm environmentally conscious – which basically means I watched An Inconvenient Truth – yet I was unaware of the devastating ecological impact of cultivating livestock. A 2006 report by the Food and Agricultural Organisation suggested, for example, that livestock was accountable for 18 per cent of greenhouse emissions – more than all forms of transport put together; the burning of fuel for fertiliser, the transportation of animals and the clearing of vegetation for grazing were responsible for nine per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions; and the flatulence and excretion of livestock caused one third of all methane emissions, which warms the world 20 times faster than carbon dioxide.

So now I was not only confronted by the slaughter of really cute animals – books and documentaries always choose images of adorable piglets and chicks – but I had to deal with the prospect of environmental catastrophe. As the month of Veganuary – or January, to my wiser, meat-eating brethren – toiled slowly on, the merits of veganism became difficult to ignore. It was frustrating.

There was, perhaps, a saving grace. Despite reading of the nutritional benefits of veganism, I hoped it would destroy me physically. I could therefore justify eating meat on the basis of my personal wellbeing. Unfortunately, as the month wore on, I didn't feel sick or fatigued, and I didn't suffer a digestive malfunction. Annoyingly, I actually felt better. I was out of excuses. I had to accept my plant-based fate.

To those people who love meat the way I love meat, I offer some advice: refrain from accepting the Veganuary challenge, or any similar campaign. It might just work.

The point of Veganuary is to raise awareness and educate the masses about the merits of veganism. I am now aware, I am now educated and I regret the whole ordeal. I'm sure I will eventually learn to embrace my new life. One day, I may even feel grateful to the lovely folks running Veganuary.