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1media/Thumb 1710.png2024-12-24T11:04:53-05:00Vegetarians5plain2025-06-28T13:42:54-04:00Vegetarians, as their name implies, eat nothing but vegetables. They claim that, on the day when the entire universe stops eating meat, perfect happiness will reign on the earth—so much will manners be softened by the unique consumption of easily digestible foods!
The Congress president, M. A. F. Hill gave an example of the advantage of using these foods that are as simple as they are cheap; in Dunfermshire there lives a vegetarian, Mr. Davie, who, at the age of ninety, is about to get remarried.
Congress has resolved to send a petition to Parlement in hopes of banning the overseas transport of live animals and only allowing it for dead animals, and replacing private slaughterhouses with public ones, etc.
No doubt, we need to soften on the fate of animals and prevent all cruelty against them, but there's no denying the exaggeration of the excessive pity shown by the famous Animal protection society. Supposing, for example, we left cows and sheep to graze peacefully in prairies, wouldn't the gardeners, whose products are so sought after by Vegetarians also be lacking, also be pitied, being endlessly exposed to the intemperate rigours of the seasons?
The general principle of Vegetarians is the abstention from meat, but some of them, among other Mrs. Chantraine of Brussels, go further still; they even want to forbid vegetables. For them, bread and cakes are quite sufficient. Others, like Dr. Densmore, call for the suppression of cereals.
But the prize goes to Mr. Alexandre Jacques, who suppresses everything. It is known that this worth anchorite remained at Westminster Aquarium for forty days without eating anything. He has not yet founded a Society, but who is to say that, in a relatively near future, we won't have a group of fasters, people who only eat every two or three months?
That would certainly be a thrifty system. But before giving humanity the services that its partisans hope for, it will inevitably ruin an incalculable number of industries and many good people who are currently quite useful.