Vegetarian Times facts for kids
Vegetarian Times February 2010 Issue
|
|
| Editor | Brittany Martin |
|---|---|
| Categories | Food and Lifestyle |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Company | Outside, Inc. |
| Country | USA |
| Based in | Boulder, Colorado |
| Language | English |
| ISSN | 0164-8497 |
Vegetarian Times is an American publication that focuses on food, culture, health, and lifestyle. It's for people who are vegetarians or vegans, and also for anyone interested in eating more plant-based foods.
Vegetarian Times encourages a healthy, eco-friendly way of life. It offers recipes, tips for healthy eating, cooking techniques, and information about "green" products. The magazine stopped printing copies in 2016 and became an online-only publication by 2017. In 2020, Vegetarian Times was bought by Pocket Outdoor Media, which is now called Outside, Inc.
Contents
History of Vegetarian Times
How it Started
In 1974, a person named Paul Obis (1951-2018) wanted to share his ideas about vegetarianism. He couldn't get his article published, so he decided to create his own newsletter. He called it Vegetarian Times.
Paul made 300 copies of his first four-page newsletter. He delivered them by hand from his apartment in Oak Park, Illinois. From that first issue, he got three people to subscribe! Paul grew up in Melrose Park, Illinois, and studied nursing. He kept working as a nurse even after he started Vegetarian Times.
Growing Bigger
In the 1970s, the magazine grew from 4 pages to 16, then to 24 pages. They printed between 1,000 and 2,000 copies of each issue. By 1977, Vegetarian Times was published every two months and had about 10,000 readers.
Paul Obis was doing all the work of making and sending out the magazine from his home. It became too much for him. In the early 1980s, he looked for a publisher to help. He sold 80% of his magazine to a company called Associated Business Publications (ABP). In return, ABP took over the magazine and its debts.
Changes with New Owners
ABP changed Vegetarian Times to a monthly magazine. They also increased the amount of advertising. The number of copies sold grew eight times, and the money earned grew twenty times to over $1 million. Even with this growth, the magazine was still losing money.
In 1985, ABP bought a new publication. They decided Vegetarian Times wasn't getting enough attention to become profitable. Paul Obis was still the editor during the time ABP owned the magazine. He saw a chance to buy his magazine back. By 1990, he had increased the number of copies sold to over 250,000 and earned $10 million. In the late 1980s, there were no other magazines like Vegetarian Times in the United States.
Paul's long-time friend, Fred Rogers (who you might know as "Mister Rogers"), helped him buy the magazine back. Fred Rogers became a small owner, while Paul Obis owned most of it. In 1990, Paul Obis and Fred Rogers sold the magazine to Cowles Media for $10 million.
More Ownership Changes
Since Paul Obis first sold the company, Vegetarian Times has had several different owners.
- In 1990, Cowles Media bought it.
- In 1999, Sabot Publishing bought it from Primedia.
- In 2003, Cruz Bay Publishing, a part of Active Interest Media, bought the magazine. They relaunched it in November 2004, which was the magazine's 30th anniversary. They invested a lot of money and changed how the magazine was put together.
The magazine started to include topics that would appeal not only to strict vegetarians but also to people who just wanted to live a healthy lifestyle and find healthy recipes. In 2007, Elizabeth Turner became the Editor-in-Chief. She later left in 2015 to work for Forks Over Knives, which is a group that promotes vegan eating.
Becoming Online Only
In 2017, Vegetarian Times became an online-only magazine. This means that instead of getting a physical magazine, people who subscribe can access a digital library of recipes and online cooking classes. The website is run by Active Interest Media (AIM), a company that specializes in magazines for specific hobbies and interests.
A complete collection of all the printed Vegetarian Times magazines has been given to Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.
In 2020, Pocket Outdoor Media bought Vegetarian Times. This company changed its name to Outside, Inc. in February 2021. Brittany Martin was hired to edit Vegetarian Times in the summer of 2021. She has helped to rebrand and relaunch the magazine as a digital-only publication.
Past Contributors
Here are some people who have written for Vegetarian Times:
- James Samuel Gordon
- Suzanne Havala Hobbs
- Anya Kamenetz
- Viktoras Kulvinskas
- Nancy Lonsdorf
- Deborah Madison
Other Publications
Besides the main magazine, Vegetarian Times also published special books and guides. These included The Vegetarian Beginner's Guide and recipe collections like Healing Foods Cookbook: 25 Foods You Need, 75 Recipes You'll Love.
