Veganism was the definitive food movement of the 90s, the edible equivalent of a Katherine Hamnett t-shirt. Then, like the pared-back, eco-minded, somewhat po-faced minimalist fashion around at the time, veganism found itself out of fashion, dismissed as worthy, joyless and - the very worst thing something can be - unsexy. But if there was any lingering doubt that the 90s are back in force, veganism has suddenly become Hollywood’s hot new habit. And it's determined to never be called boring, no-fun or unsexy ever again. 

In the past year, a string of smugly glowing celebrity faces have spoken about their vegan status, from Emily Deschanel to Anne Hathaway, from Brad Pitt to Bill Clinton. J-Lo and Ryan Seacrest raved about their “obsession” with vegan guru Mario Borges. Then, in December, veganism scored a double-act of brand ambassadors that Nespresso can only dream of, when Jay-Z and Beyonce announced their plans to go vegan on Jay’s Life & Times blog in December 2013, with Queen Bey posting frequent smug updates of their 22-day vegan cleanse on Instagram.

"In the past year, a string of smugly glowing celebrity faces have spoken about their vegan status."

Savvily enough, PETA are now offering a starter kit of Borges’s programme free to mere omnivorous mortals, going live today. With an endorsement from J-Lo (“You do feel better. I recommend the vegan diet because you wake up and feel great!”) the charity are clearly gunning for a new demographic. I guess they figure that veganism has always been worthy, but it needs to work on being fun and sexy too. PETA’s recent ‘Sexiest Vegans 2014’ campaign is a natural extension of their ‘I’d rather go naked than wear fur’ billboards in the 90s, with a line-up of 'Supers' including Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington. 

Celebrities have always functioned as effective social barometers, the first to seize upon a trend, fad or new movement. Although it’s easy to confuse cause and effect; are celebrities at the forefront of trends because they’re the first to experience something new? Or does it catch on because an influential celebrity is seen practicing it?

Either way, perhaps we should have predicted a vegan revival, given that each generation tends to rebel against what went before, and we have lived through seriously bloody foodie movements. Slow Food made it fashionable to eat meat, with the proviso that it was locally soured and ethically reared. Nose-to-tail eating as proposed by the St John group argued for eating every bit of the carcass, thereby minimising waste. Streetfood events like Street Feast cater unapologetically for omnivores who can tuck into Vietnamese pulled pork buns and kimchi hot dogs; while vegetarians will be lucky to find a falafel. We have to mention the fad diets like Atkins and Dukan. And more recently the Paleo lifestyle has been embraced by the fashion crowd, celebrities and approximately a billion food bloggers. 

Admitting that you didn’t eat meat was tantamount to admitting that you didn’t really like food. 'The proliferation of upmarket 'dirty' food places, decent burger restaurants and the new obsession with American barbecue is all very meat-heavy, albeit with a strong emphasis now on quality and provenance of meat,' says Eleanor Morgan, UK editor of MUNCHIES, VICE's online food channel. 'However, thanks to the likes of Noma's Rene Redzepi, restaurants these days are treating vegetables more like the lead singer of a dish, rather than playing sidecar to a bit of protein.'

"The most protein-rich sources of food on the planet come from greens. - Stephanie Jeffs, Raw Food Chef and Coach"

We’re now officially entering post-paleo times - and veganism circa 2014 is going to be VERY different from veganism in 1994. For a start, everybody is now an amateur nutritionist; we know our acai from our chia. Stephanie Jeffs is a raw food chef and coach, and one of the main hurdles she has to overcome with new clients is reassuring them that they aren’t going to wind up protein-deficient or anemic. 'Typically omnivores panic about ‘where am I going to get my protein from’, because we’ve all had it drilled into us that we need protein, protein, protein, and that carbs are a dirty word,' she says. 'This is an unnecessary panic because the most protein-rich sources of food on the planet come from greens. Most tuned-in athletes know about hemp seeds and spirulina (which is around 70% protein).'

But according to Eleanor, the main driver isn’t how you feel on the inside; it’s concern about the outside world. 'The ethical concerns surrounding meat are impossible to ignore,' she says. 'Trends are cyclical, yes, and while veganism and (shudder) 'clean' eating are buzzwords now, the fact is that we're going to have to stop eating so much meat - in 2050 there's going to be an estimated 2.5 billion more people on the planet.'

"I've basically become a vegetarian since I've worked on Munchies because of the things I've learned about meat production. - Eleanor Morgan, Food Editor"

Eleanor hopes that this time around, veganism won’t be seen as joyless, but thoughtful; an educated decision made by influencers - in fashion, foodie and celebrity circles - who are concerned about the future.  'Most chefs I know, and certainly the ones I've met in places like Noma, are mostly vegetarian, because they just won't eat shitty quality meat,' she adds. 'And I've basically become a vegetarian since I've worked on Munchies because of the things I've learned about meat production.'

The vegans you’ll meet in 2014 aren’t doing it as a fad diet. Instead it’s a badge of cultural capital; it shows you’ve done your research, watched the documentaries, been alarmed, and decided to do something about it. And this, this is oddly sexy.