Not so long ago, there was a certain image associated with being vegetarian in Western nations. It usually involved Birkenstock sandals, lentil loaf and an agenda.

There are still plenty of all three in the meatless movement, but a growing number of people are finding they can have cauliflower and kale at the center of the plate without a side of ideology.

That's because at the same time people are eating less meat, vegetables have gained respect as worthy ingredients in their own right, not just as the garnish for a steak. There are even celebrity vegetables (ramps and Brussels sprouts). And perhaps most telling, the word "vegetarian" has moved from the center of cookbook covers to the margins.

"I've always struggled with the 'vegetarian' label," said Deborah Madison, whose cookbook "Vegetable Literacy" is the most recent in her 30-year career of writing about vegetables. "When I began writing it was so much about a lifestyle. You were or you weren't and people didn't cross that line."

Today that line is fluid. Movements such as "Meatless Mondays," as well as concerns about food quality, have more people treating meat as the side dish. And it shows in how people shop. The number of farmers markets has more than doubled in the U.S. during the last 10 years, and meat consumption is down 12 percent since 2007.

Shifting attitudes regarding what and how people eat also come into play. People today eat more casually than previous generations. The idea of a "center of the plate" — a large piece of meat surrounded by a starch and a vegetable — has loosened. Many diners happily graze on Mediterranean tapas, indulge in sushi or slurp soups like Vietnamese pho.

As people's concepts of what constitutes a meal has widened, so has the range of vegetarian options. During the '70s and '80s, in a search to replace the "missing" meat, many chefs loaded up on cheese, eggs and cream, trying to fill diners up and prove that vegetarian food could be satisfying.

The biggest change is that eating vegetables is no longer about avoiding meat. Today's vegetarian cooking focuses on the best quality produce and creating authentic vegetarian dishes, rather than trying to imitate meat-filled classics. "It's safe to come out now and say 'Here's a bunch of vegetarian food,'" said Mollie Katzen, author of the forthcoming "The Heart of the Plate." "It's a mainstream choice. I can confidently put it right at the top of the cover of my book. Today, people don't think 'It's a handbook for a club I didn't join.'"