Vegetarian

“ Many and many a time have I been begged to explain "what would become of the animals" under a vegetarian régime, fears being sometimes expressed that they would drive mankind from off the face of the earth, at other times that they would themselves perish miserably in utter want and destitution! Many and many a time have I been reminded, not as a joke, but as a serious argument, that animals were "sent" us as food! ”

“ A boon to the vegetarian Indeed, the vegetarian may humor his humane whim, and still enjoy fish, flesh, and fowl at his table without a qualm of conscience in a menu which, in aroma, quality, and flavor, might well deceive his unconverted omnivorous brother, only at last to win his encomium to the glory of the multum in parvo fungus. ”

“ Why shouldn't I have a purely vegetarian drink? Why shouldn't I take vegetables in their highest form, so to speak? The modest vegetarians ought obviously to stick to wine or beer, plain vegetarian drinks, instead of filling their goblets with the blood of bulls and elephants, as all conventional meat-eaters do, I suppose. ”

“ We all eat too much meat, but that a strict vegetarian diet is the necessary thing for good health I deny. The sheep, the cow, and horse are vegetarians, and they are short lived. The eagle, the lion, the man, eat animal food, and they are long lived.
I may be prejudiced, but it does seem to me that the strict vegetarians are a skinny, sallow-looking lot of humans, speaking generally. ”

“ The trend of the world is towards a non-animal diet. Numerous vegetarian eating-houses, boarding houses and sanitariums have been established in Germany, Austria, France, England and the United States, with excellent results. Vegetarian societies in Europe and America, periodicals and books, are also among the agencies now rapidly disseminating the Vegetarian Philosophy—the Gospel of Peace on Earth as applied to the Diet of Man. ”

“ The thorough-going vegetarian, to whom abstinence from meat is part of his ethical code and his religion,—who would as soon think of taking his neighbour's purse as helping himself to a slice of beef,—is by nature a man of frugal habits and simple tastes. ”

“ When, therefore, a Vegetarian advocated an exclusively fruit and farinaceous diet, he might take circumstances into consideration, and believe he had a right to make use of milk, eggs, &c., if he found it more convenient, more agreeable, or more to his advantage to do so. ”

“ You condemn flesh-eating because of the suffering it causes, but it seems to have escaped your notice that the use of milk and eggs is also responsible for much. It is strange that it has never occurred to you——
Vegetarian: My good sir, it has occurred to us years and years ago. The question is as old as the movement itself. The cock-and-bull argument, I presume?
Consistency Man: I ask, what would become of the cockerels and bull-calves under a vegetarian régime? At present your supply of milk and eggs is easy enough, because the young males are killed and eaten by us carnivorous sinners. ”

“ In conclusion, there is, as we have seen in our review of typical vegetarian peoples and classes throughout the world, the strongest evidence that those who adopt a sensible non-flesh dietary, suited to their own constitution and environment, are almost invariably healthier, stronger, and longer-lived than those who rely chiefly upon flesh-meat for nutriment. ”

“ Anyone who is intimately acquainted with the vegetarian movement in this country will bear me out when I say that the average vegetarian is much less susceptible than the average flesh-eater to extremes of cold and heat, and can get through an English winter in comparative comfort, without any of the "wrapping up" to which the mixed dietists are reduced. It is amusing, indeed, after being asked that common question, "Don't you feel the cold very much, as you eat no meat?" ”

“ Now, look here, Chet, suppose you had been living on an entire meat diet, nothing else but meat, mind you, and you should decide to become a vegetarian, and should begin by recognizing the very important point that you must stop eating meat. Therefore you stop. Now suppose that, in stopping the meat, you entirely lost sight of the fact that a very necessary feature in being a vegetarian, is that one must eat vegetables. ”

“ Persons who style themselves vegetarians often consume milk, eggs, butter, and lard, which are choice foods from the animal kingdom. There are other persons, of course, who are strictly vegetarian eaters, and such alone have any right to the title of vegetarians. ”

“ It would be contrary to all the ethical and æsthetic teachings of every religion, and antagonistic to the feelings of all who have evolved to the possession of a conscience and the power to distinguish the beautiful from the base.
When one accustomed to an omnivorous diet adopts a vegetarian régime, a steadily growing refinement in taste and smell is experienced. Delicate and subtle flavours, hitherto unnoticed, especially if the habit of thorough mastication be practised, soon convince the neophyte that a vegetarian is by no means denied the pleasure of gustatory enjoyment. ”

“ The columns of the vegetarian magazines and reviews afford a most decisive proof that where beef and its concoctions, with no end of physic thrown in, have lamentably failed, vegetarianism has triumphantly succeeded. ”

“ It is most desirable, therefore, that an intelligible definition should be framed to indicate accurately the diet thus erroneously described as "Vegetarian," a term which denotes the consumption of food only obtained from the vegetable kingdom, and can by no possibility be accurately, that is, honestly, used to include anything else. ”

“ Vegetarians are divided into two classes: those who use the animal products—butter, milk, cream, and eggs—and those who do not. This latter class contains, probably, the most respected members of the vegetarian body, as it will always be found that there is an involuntary homage paid by all men to consistency. How then are strict vegetarians to make pastry, butter being classed with the forbidden fruit? ”

“ We do not mean by this simply the cooking of vegetables or the preparations of puddings, but the presentation of dishes intended to take the place of flesh, such as soups and broths made without meat, vegetable stews, lentil fritters and other healthful and nutritious dishes. A vegetarian menu is not so simple as it sounds. It requires knowledge and discrimination on the housekeeper's part to serve a solid meal without flesh or fowl. ”

“ These purely physiological and chemical data, abundantly sustained by laboratory researches and animal experimentation, confirm as well as elucidate the now widely made human experience that a properly selected and prepared vegetarian diet is a complete diet for all conditions and periods of life, beyond the lactation term of infancy. ”

“ And we all know that when men are in training for athletic contests it is customary to cut down to very small proportions the allowance of meat.
As to the effect of a vegetarian diet, we may reason by analogy from the animals. The strongest animals are vegetarian—the horse, the ox, the camel, the reindeer, and the elephant. In power and endurance the lion and tiger are no match for them, for the strength of the carnivora as a rule shows itself only in short efforts. The longest-lived of the mammals are vegetarian, the elephant living to an age of a hundred years. ”

“ In colder regions vegetable products are hardly to be obtained, and flesh and fat are indispensable. Thus man is clearly omnivorous; while men may be advantageously vegetarian in one climate, mixed eaters in another, and exclusively flesh-eaters in a third. ”

“ We are forced to conclude, in the face of all the available evidence, that the natural constitution of man closely resembles that of fruit-eating animals, and widely differs from that of flesh-eating animals, and that from analogy it is only reasonable to suppose that the fruitarian, or vegetarian, as it is commonly called, is the diet best suited to man. ”

“ If we could, in like manner, see our portion of beef or mutton and potatoes reduced to dryness, the smallness of the quantity of actually solid food required for a meal would be similarly manifest. An alderman's banquet in this condition would barely fill a breakfast-cup.
I can not at all agree with those of my vegetarian friends who denounce flesh-meat as a prolific source of disease, as inflaming the passions, and generally demoralizing. Neither am I at all disposed to make a religion of either eating or drinking, or abstaining. ”

“ For these are the three great advantages which the Vegetarian believes his way of living to posses ; these are the three chief aspects under which Vegetarianism may be viewed ; and surely, amidst all the clamour and din of conflicting theories and creeds, it is right that the voice of Vegetarianism should be heard, and that they cruelty and wastefulness of the system of flesh-eating should not be allowed to pass unchallenged. ”

“ Can a man be called a Vegetarian who takes milk, butter, cheese, and eggs?" We beg to reply that the majority of Vegetarians partake of these articles, and that a few only do not, whilst all are alike denominated Vegetarians, the principle of the movement being simply to abstain from the flesh and blood of animals, which cannot be procured except by means of slaughter ”

“ Of the numerous arguments brought forward by the advocates of vegetarianism, one is that, in the opinion of many who speak with authority, a vegetarian diet is best adapted to those—of whom, unfortunately, there are many—who, from time to time, have a craving for more stimulant than is beneficial to their health. ”

“ Although there are still many vegetarian restaurants in our large towns, the prejudice against animal food is, happily, dying out; and if ridicule could kill, we should not hear much more of the “cranks” who with delightful inconsistency, would spurn a collop of beef, and gorge themselves on milk, in every shape and form. If milk, butter, and cheese be not [Pg 132] animal food I should like to know what is? And it is as reasonable to ask a man to sustain life on dried peas and mushrooms as to feed a tiger on cabbages.
Once, and only once, has the writer attempted a
Vegetarian Banquet. ”

“ The Vegetarian, then, is one who aims at wholeness, soundness, strength, quickness, vigour, growth, wakefulness, health. These must be won by a return to nature, and the natural food for man is a diet of fruit and farinacea, with which some combine such animal products as may be enjoyed without destroying sentient life.
In the German journals of kindred societies the true derivation has frequently been insisted on. Eduard Baltzer's Vortrag über Vegetarianismus, am 27 Juni 1870 im sächischen Hof zu Nürnberg gehalten. ”

“ Disease among cattle, poultry, and fish has increased so alarmingly in the last few years that we should no longer depend on the animal kingdom for food. We should look to the grains, nuts, vegetables, and fruits for a better dietary than can be prepared [4] from the flesh of animals likely to be contaminated with tuberculosis, cancer, and other diseases.
In writing this book, the author has treated the subject from the commonly accepted definition of the term vegetarianism, which means to abstain from flesh food, but allows the use of eggs, milk, and its products. ”

“ My experiences first as a nurse, later as a physician, have brought me in contact with many different nationalities, and from them has been gleaned much valuable information which has been used in the hope of aiding all who are earnestly seeking a safe and sane method of living, simple and rational methods of using vegetarian foods. ”

“ But granting that there is historic basis for the vegetarian system, the question is asked whether, on ethnological evidence, it does not appear that the dominant races have been for the most part carnivorous, and the subject races vegetarian—a line of argument which always appeals strongly to the patriotic Briton. ”

“ They “fain would fill their belly with the husks that the swine do eat, but no man gives unto them.” There is this to be said in favour of vegetarian diet—that, were it universal, grinding poverty would be banished from the earth. ”

“ Many believers in a sole vegetarian diet like to point to animals as an example, for these, they maintain, prosper on, and are contented with herbs. Let us follow up this statement and see what we find to be the case in the animal world. ”

“ Vegetarians, generally, place the humane as the highest reason for their practice, though the determining cause of the change from a flesh diet has been in most cases bad health.
A vegetarian may be defined as one who abstains from all animals as food. ”

“ Not only the student and the thinker but the manual laborer as well is benefited by a fleshless regimen. A breakfast of oatmeal and cream, a couple of eggs on toast, whole wheat muffins and butter, and a nice rich apple or banana is much more civilized, nutritious and economical than a breakfast in which bloody beef plays chief role. The most successful burden-bearers of the world today are vegetarians. The Turkish ’longshoremen, perhaps the most powerful bipeds on the planet (except the gorilla) , are lifelong vegetarians. ”

“ When I was starting on my travels my parents warned me that in several places the food would be only vegetarian, and that did happen to be the case. During the year I learnt how to eat all types of food at different people's houses. ”

“ To have to live by some of them would almost make a vegetarian turn meat-eater. Most are compilations from other books with the meat dishes left out, and a little porridge and a few beans and peas thrown in. ”