New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-06-03
TEGET5RTANISn.

The vegetarians have always been inclined to
vain gloriousness on the strength of their alleged
rejection Of animal food. They have affected to
look down with a lofty scorn upon the benlghted
people who Glove to their beef and mutton. They
have taken delight in imputing to their sparse ana
innutritous diet an intellectual reinforcement the
evidences OF which have usually been far to seei'
They have assumed special virtue to themselves III
view of their graminiyorous habits, and in many
ways have heaped reproach and cOntumey upon the
rest of the worldthe hesh-eatng world, that IS to
say. One vegetarian writer not long ago published
book in which the abstentiCn from meat was
sO0mnly declared TO lie essential TO salvation. and
the King LON Of Heaven was said to DO closed
against all who ate meat OF any kind. For these
reasons it will probably be agreeable to meat-eaters
to learn that SIR Henry Thompson. in The Nineteenth
Century for May, in paper Oh diet, attacks the
vegetarians in their citadel, 1t we're and boldly
challenges their right to call themselves what they
do. lie asserts that they have IN fact not rejected
animal food that they really it largely III their
Diet and that so using it their positions are absurd
and nouscnsical. sir Henry cites a case OF young
vegetarian glrl who frankly admitted that she ate
eggs. butter, milk and cheese and he adds: " To
call q person thus fed vegetarian IS Il palpable
error; to proclaim ones self 30 almost requires a
stronger term TO denote tho departure from accuracy
involved
lie observes that the so-calcd yegetarians usually
consume abundantly strong animal food, abJuring
IL only IN It's ggosser forms Of flesh AMI sh. And
hence 1t happens, as | have lately learned, that
milk butter, eggs and cheese are now designated
in the language Of 'YegetarianIsm' by the term
animal products ingenious but eYasIye expe
dent TO avoid the necessity for speaking OF them as
animal food" Sir Henry is indeed not hostile 10
yegetariansm for ho - IN harmony with its funda-
mental principle which is that the world eats too
much and too strong food. But party which de-
nouncos all animal food unfit clearly ought to be
more consistent than To 20 Oh con sumug that kind
Of food. and those who wish TO try yegetarianism
should not dclude themselves with the idea that
they are doing 50 while they eating milk eggs,
butter and cheese IL is to be observed that tho
called vegetarian races really eat animal food with
few exceptions, milk being fayorite article of diet
wherever esh is rejected. and butter beng in such
cases everywhere used IN abundance. \ purely
vegetarian race has yet To be discovered nor has 1t
been shown that physical and mental yigor can b.
maintained for any length OF time upon diet which
vigorously oxcludes-as the ordinary vegetarian
diet does not animal foods OF all kinds.
But no doubt the yegetarilus viii desire to reply
to sir Henry Thompson Perhaps DR.. Anna Kings
ford author OF Tho Perfect Way in Diet" and one
of the most morciiess critics of this lcsheatng gen
GRAFTON. will como to the rescue. Yet 1t is dillcult
TO see how any amount of argument can alter the
facts. or can convert milk, butter. eggs and cheese
INTO vegetable products