Radical Vegetarianism

"Vegetarians are not a better sort of people, just a better sort of carnivore," writes Braunstein in Radical Vegetarianism, "and carnivores are just a better sort of cannibal." In this updated edition of the 1981 classic, Braunstein courageously takes on the canned canards, sacred cows, and wooly thinking of carnivores and vegetarians alike, and proposes a vegetarianism that goes beyond the stereotypes of pot-lucks and Birkenstocks to one that embraces contradiction and candor, or, as Braunstein says (channeling the Ancients), "Gnaw Thyself."

This book explores the health issues surrounding vegetarianism and helps the aspiring vegetarian make the transition in a way that provides the greatest benefits. Well-researched and easy-to-read, this is an excellent resource for both seasoned and would-be vegetarians.

Nineteenth-century Britain was one of the birthplaces of modern vegetarianism in the west, and was to become a reform movement attracting thousands of people. From the Vegetarian Society's foundation in 1847, men, women and their families abandoned conventional diet for reasons as varied as self-advancement via personal thrift, dissatisfaction with medical orthodoxy, repugnance towards animal cruelty and the belief that carnivorism stimulated alcoholism and bellicosity. They joined in the pursuit of a more perfect society in which food reform combined with causes such as socialism and land reform. James Gregory provides an extensive exploration of the movement, with its often colourful and sometimes eccentric leaders and grass-roots supporters. He explores the rich culture of branch associations, competing national societies, proliferating restaurants and food stores and experiments in vegetarian farms and colonies. 'Of Victorians and Vegetarians' examines the wider significance of Victorian vegetarians, embracing concerns about gender and class, national identity, race and empire and religious authority. Vegetarianism embodied the Victorians' complicated response to modernity. While some vegetarians were averse to features of the industrial and urban world, other vegetarian entrepreneurs embraced technology in the creation of substitute foods and other commodities. Hostile, like the associated anti-vivisectionists and anti-vaccinationists, to a new 'priesthood' of scientists, vegetarians defended themselves through the new sciences of nutrition and chemistry. 'Of Victorians and Vegetarians' uncovers who the vegetarians were, how they attempted to convert their fellow Britons (and the world beyond) to their 'bloodless diet' and the response of contemporaries in a variety of media and genres. Through a close study of the vegetarian periodicals and organisational archives, extensive biographical research and a broader examination of texts relating to food, dietary reform and allied reform movements, James Gregory provides us with the first fascinating foray into the impact of vegetarianism on the Victorians. In doing so he gives revealing insights into the development of animal welfare, other contemporary reform movements and the histories of food and diet.

In the 1600s, European travellers discovered Indian vegetarianism. Western culture was changed forever...

This wide-ranging volume explores the tension between the dietary practice of veganism and the manifestation, construction, and representation of a vegan identity in today’s society. Emerging in the early 21st century, vegan studies is distinct from more familiar conceptions of "animal studies," an umbrella term for a three-pronged field that gained prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s, consisting of critical animal studies, human animal studies, and posthumanism. While veganism is a consideration of these modes of inquiry, it is a decidedly different entity, an ethical delineator that for many scholars marks a complicated boundary between theoretical pursuit and lived experience. The Routledge Handbook of Vegan Studies is the must-have reference for the important topics, problems, and key debates in the subject area and is the first of its kind. Comprising over 30 chapters by a team of international contributors, this handbook is divided into five parts: History of vegan studies Vegan studies in the disciplines Theoretical intersections Contemporary media entanglements Veganism around the world These sections contextualize veganism beyond its status as a dietary choice, situating veganism within broader social, ethical, legal, theoretical, and artistic discourses. This book will be essential reading for students and researchers of vegan studies, animal studies, and environmental ethics.

Intended for students, general readers, vegetarians, and vegans, as well as those interested in animal welfare and liberation, this A–Z encyclopedia explores the historical and cultural significance of vegetarianism in the United States and beyond. Vegetarianism in the United States did not start in the 1960s—it has a much longer, complex history going back to the early 1800s. Cultural Encyclopedia of Vegetarianism examines that history through the lens of culture, focusing on what vegetarianism has had to say to and about Americans. This A–Z encyclopedia brings together the work of a number of scholars from diverse fields, including history, sociology, philosophy, religious studies, anthropology, nutrition, American studies, religious studies, women's and gender history, and the history of medicine. Approximately 100 essay entries cover cultural and historical aspects of vegetarianism, primarily but not exclusively in relation to the United States, shedding light on the practice's roots in ancient cultures and challenging popular myths and misconceptions related to both vegetarianism and veganism. With discussions on everything from activist movements to cookbooks, the encyclopedia offers a unique, wide-ranging exploration that will appeal to students, practitioners, and anyone else who wants to know more.

This extraordinary book offers nothing less than a new vision of medical care. Rudolph Ballentine, M.D., has created a unique, integrative blending of the primary holistic schools of healing that is far more potent than any one of these alone. Like Deepak Chopra and Andrew Weil, Rudolph Ballentine is a medical doctor who became intrigued by the workings of mind-body medicine and looked beyond the West in his search for understanding. Drawing on thirty years of medical study and practice, Dr. Ballentine has accomplished a singular feat: integrating the wisdom of the great traditional healing systems--especially Ayurveda, homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, European and Native American herbology, nutrition, psychotherapy, and bodywork. Melded together, the profound principles buried in these systems become clearer and stronger, and a new level of effectiveness becomes possible. Healing and reorganization are accelerated and deepened--physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The result is transformation. The result is radical healing. Radical Healing harnesses nature's medicinals--plants and other natural substances--with commonsense essentials such as diet, exercise, and cleansing, as well as the most profound principles of spiritual and psychological transformation. In Dr. Ballentine's synthesis, illness is an opportunity for growth that can go far beyond recovery. Through radical healing old habits and attitudes that supported the development of disease fall away, to be replaced by the clarity that comes with a whole new way of being in the world.