posted July 27, 2006 03:51 PM         

Lots of great info on this site, but to begin:

Prior to Industrial Revolution Little meat consumption, nearly anywhere (compared to today's standards).

~1900-1960 Meat consumption rises dramatically in Western cultures as transportation and refrigeration becomes easier

1971 Publication of Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe launches vegetarian movement in U.S., but unfortunately introduces myth that vegetarians must "combine" their proteins to get a "complete" protein.

1975 Publication of Animal Liberation by Australian ethics professor Peter Singer provides the spark for the birth of the U.S. animal rights movement and the founding of the group PETA, a strong proponent of vegetarian eating.

Late 1970's Vegetarian Times magazine begins publication

1983 The first book promoting veganism by a credentialed Western medical authority is published, Dr. John McDougall's The McDougall Plan.

1987 Diet for a New America by John Robbins provides the inspiration for the vegan movement in the U.S., while it re-starts the vegetarian movement.

1990's Medical evidence supporting the superiority of vegetarian diets becomes overwhelming. The American Dietetic Association officially endorses vegetarianism, and books by prominent doctors promote low-fat vegan or mostly-vegan diets (e.g., .The McDougall Program and Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease). The U.S. government finally ditches the antiquated and meat- and dairy-industry-sponsored Four Food Groups and replaces it with a Food Pyramid, showing that most of a person's diet should be based on grains, vegetables, beans, and fruits.