It might be a stretch to describe vegan eating as mainstream but the signs are that more people are willing to give it a go (why else would Beyonce launch a business delivering vegan meals?)

For one thing, the old vegan image of nut roasts and homespun fashion is dead. Eating plants, not animals, has a new glamour thanks in part to the numbers of famous names now reportedly eating meals without animal products - think Christine Lagarde, the elegant head of the International Monetary Fund, musicians Russell Brand and Usher, and actors like Joaquin Phoenix and Jessica Chastain.

Research is showing that people who stick to vegan foods tend to lose more weight than people who eat animal-based foods. Credit:Warwick Smith

And while paleo still rules in the world of cookbooks, the numbers of vegan and vegetarian titles published in Australia is rising. Last year The Oh She Glows Cookbook by Angela Liddon that made the New York Times bestseller list was released in Australia by Penguin Books, which are publishing a second vegan title Peace and Parsnips by Lee Watson in May. So far this year Murdoch Books has released the Easy Vegan by Sue Quinn and Eat Clean Green and Vegetarian by Lee Holmes.

Meanwhile, Kym Staton who founded the Sydney Vegan Club two years ago to support both vegans and those who are trying to be, reports that around 200 new members are joining each month, double the rate of a year ago.