Isa Chandra Moskowitz is a cookbook author who is "extraordinarily famous to an extraordinarily small number of people," writes Rachel Sugar for New York magazine. Which is to say, Moskowitz is a vegan cookbook author. And this is the seemingly glum state of affairs for vegans in 2025: "I've known hundreds, if not thousands, of vegans, and most of them aren't anymore," Moskowitz says. "I think people get fatigued, and it's hard, and it starts feeling pointless." Sugar's piece explores the topic, noting that vegan restaurants in New York City and around the US have been closing—and are not being replaced. The movement that appeared to be gaining serious traction only a few years ago is now losing ground as sales of meat surge and high-protein diets become trendy.
Sugar recounts the surge in popularity in veganism, which might be bookended by two quotes from the singer Lizzo. "I just feel better when I eat plants," she said in 2022, one of many celebrities endorsing a meat-free lifestyle at the time. Two years later, she said: "I found that animal proteins helped me to have more energy, lose weight, and helped with my mental fog." One thing that helps explain all this is that while veganism clearly became popular, the number of actual vegans has always remained low—somewhere around 1% of the population. This was a boom, in other words, destined to bust. But it's not all bad news for vegans: Sugar notes that it's much easier today to find a plant-based dish at a regular restaurant, even if it is more difficult to find a restaurant serving only vegan meals.
- "In one world, mainstream veganism looks like an explosion of meatless restaurants," she writes. "In another, meat simply recedes on the menu. You order the vegetables or alternative proteins, traditional or technological, not because you are unusually attuned to animal suffering or climate change or your own cholesterol, but because it's the thing you want." Read the full story.
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