In 1984 when a twentysomething vegetarian illustrator and graphic designer named Nava Atlas published her first book — the quirky, illustrated veg cookbook, Vegetariana (Amberwood Press) — plant-based eating was gaining traction in America, but still well outside the mainstream.
A 1985 Gallup Poll done for American Health magazine estimated there were 8 to 9 million vegetarians in the U.S., as more embraced the diet for animal welfare, health, environmental and, occasionally, contrarian reasons, according to a 1987 New York Times article. Yet ever-contradictory Americans ate more meat than ever that year — to the tune of 237.4 pounds per capita of red meat, chicken and fish, up more than 6 pounds from 1980. The NYT piece noted that many of those claiming to be vegetarian "continue(d) to eat fish or chicken" under the manufactured identifiers of "pescevegetarian" and pollovegetarian. The Vegetarian Times discovered this transgression while interviewing celebrities who dubbed themselves vegetarians.
