Is Chris Packham Vegan? A Look Into His Diet And Lifestyle

BBC naturalist Chris Packham hasn’t eaten meat in 30 years. But it was the 31 days challenge (hello Veganuary) without animal products that finally turned him vegan back in 2019.

When talking about his motives behind the decision, he shared the following in the Guardian; “We know the world is eating too much meat, and we know that we as individuals have to do something about it, so I was one of the record 250,000 people who signed up to Veganuary this year.”

The television host said over the last few years he’s been shifting his diet away from dairy.

“Two years ago, I visited a modern British dairy farm where the cows were kept in very clean conditions, indoors, all year round. I hated it. So I switched to oat milk, and last year gave up eating cheese.”

Is Chris Packham still vegan?

Yes, the 59-year-old TV presenter still adopts a vegan lifestyle. Given that Chris Packham is a conservationist and wildlife campaigner, it would make sense for him to adopt a vegan diet. The benefits of following a vegan diet go beyond the individual and their health; it also impacts the health of our world and the ecosystems of the animals on it. Before he went vegan, Packham was a pescetarian, which means he didn't eat meat, but he consumed fish and dairy.

Chris Packham's campaign work for animal welfare

He's hit the headlines in the past few weeks due to his campaign to vastly improve the welfare of chickens in the UK. He has pushed the blame onto British supermarkets, claiming that they are ‘selling suffering’.

The campaign lead by Packham calls on supermarkets to commit to the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC), which was created by experts at animal protection organisations across the country. Joining Packham is The Humane League UK, Open Cages, Animal Equality UK and the RSPCA – all of which have been urging retailers to commit to the Better Chicken Commitment for years.

Disappointingly, only two major supermarkets, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose, have committed to the BCC so far.

According to Vegan Food And Living, Chris Packham explains, “As a bird lover, I despair at the thought of these gentle, intelligent, and sensitive animals forced to endure such suffering.

“Chickens outnumber all the wild birds in the country but we never see them – because they’re suffering behind the closed doors of factory farms.”

Photo credit: The Vegetarian Society

Fun facts about Chris Packham via the Vegetarian Society

• Packham's favourite kitchen gadget is the microwave, an opinion we can 100% get behind at allplants
• His perfect meal would include baked celeriac, fresh garden peas, mange tout, broccoli and plenty of garlic
• His favourite vegan/vegetarian-friendly cuisine is Indian
• He has two pet poodles called Sid and Nancy
• His favourite grab-and-go snack is wholemeal pitta bread and houmous
• He doesn't believe you need to be a good cook to enjoy vegetarian and vegan food, sharing that 'you can now get all kinds of ready meals, cook-in sauces and veggie equivalents so you really don’t have to be a master chef to eat well'