'Jesus and Vegetarianism: A Foolish Fancy' (1933 debate)

A correspondence between Henry S. Salt and religious critics which was published in the Vegetarian Society journal between September and November 1933. Salt's original letter and response appear here and here . I am indebted to an anonymous contributor for sharing some notable insight into the intellectual life of the Rev. D. Martin Dakin. See also: 'The Vegetarian Society and the Bible'

'Missions in China'

From The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review (January 1915) See: 'The Chinese Vegetarian Vow'

Arnold Hills letter to the Daily Mail (1913)

Published in the January 17th edition of the newspaper and reprinted in The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review (February 1913) See: Obituary

'Tolerant Criticism' by W. Wallace Nash

From The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review (August 1947)

'Animal Suffering' by Rev. Francis Wood

"... we vegetarians must never forget that our special protest is not merely against cruelty to animals. We are very much more than a department of the R.S.P.C.A. We are out, I take it, to protest especially and vehemently against that wholesale and wanton destruction of the wonderful and beautiful creature life of the world of which mankind - especially in this Western part of the globe - are constantly and customarily guilty. We believe in the sanctity not alone of human but of all life. We assert that all life has but one great and sacred source. And we hold it a most immoral and impius thing that man - himself an essentially dependent and finite creature, receiving his own life by absolute will of a Higher Power - should rob his humbler fellows of their God given existence in order to satisfy his own selfish appetites and impulses." From a letter published in The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review (August 1929) See Profile

'Moral and Scriptural Objections' (1852)

An early Vegetarian Society round-up of Bible-based criticism sent their way.

'The Church and Food Reform: Dean Kitchin's opinion'

From The Vegetarian (April 1905)

'Vegetarianism and Christianity' by Max Heinegg

From The Vegetarian News (January/February 1955)

'A Minister's Testimony' (1938)

From The Vegetarian News (August edition)

'Christians and Vegetarianism' by Ronald Lightowler

From World Forum (Summer 1953 edition)

See also: Quotation Quotation

'Praying and Preying'

From The Vegetarian News (Winter 1956)

'Vegetarianism and the Christian Ethic'

Correspondence with editorial input from The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review of September 1949

17th Century letter (anon)

From a Collection of Letters published in 1660 by Sir Tobie Matthew and discovered by London Vegetarian Society member Bertram G. Theobald.

Mr. Theobald further researched the reference to 'Prudentius' and concluded that the line refers to a passage by Aurelius Prudentius Clemens from A.D. 405 which prayed:

"Grant to thy servant, bounteous God, this boon in answer to their prayers, that by a light repast refreshed, their limbs may strong and active be, nor ever feel the weight imposed by loaded stomach gorged with meat."

Above reproductions taken from The Vegetarian News (March 1934)

'Vegetarianism and the C.O.P.E.C. Movement' by Charles W. Forward

In 1924, a major Christian gathering was chaired by William Temple, Anglican Bishop of Manchester: the Conference on Politics, Economics and Citizenship.

There was no published reply to the above proposition from a leading lecturer, historian and editor of various vegetarian publications.

From The Vegetarian News (January 1924)

'Christianity and Vegetarianism' by L. Pearce

From The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review (February 1951)

See Article

Roman Catholic priest's testimonial (1892)

From the digest pages of The Vegetarian Messenger (February, 1892)

100th post: 'Shall I Slay?' - editorial reply by Douglas Macmillan (1884-1969)

The above letter and response was published in a short-lived Christian vegetarian periodical, entitled The Better Quest (November, 1911 edition). In the same year, Macmillan founded the society which eventually became Macmillan Cancer Support, as noted by Dr. James Gregory in Of Victorians and Vegetarians (Tauris Academic Studies, 2007).

The London Vegetarian Society published 'Shall I Slay' as a tract by Macmillan in 1909.

'The Church and Vegetarianism' by Jessie L. Wade

From The Vegetarian Messenger and Health Review, February 1938

'Origin of the word "Vegetarian" By the Rev. Henry S. Clubb'

Henry Stephen Clubb (1827-1921)



The reminiscences of a distinguished Bible Christian emigrant to the U.S. who served as President of the Vegetarian Society of America for just over three decades.

The topic was extensively examined by Henry Amos who traced the first appearance of the word in print to the April 1842 edition of The Healthian.

(Clubb letter published in The Vegetarian Messenger dated November 1901)

Correspondence between Henry Salt and Professor Mayor from The Vegetarian Messenger (September and October 1897 editions).

See also: 'Henry Salt on the Bible and Vegetarianism' and 'Bible and Beef' by Henry S. Salt and 'A Foolish Fancy'