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While “plant-based” diets and lifestyles seem to have grown drastically in popularity in recent years, these practices are in no way new. Plant-based diets are often viewed as “the newest fad,” or as “trendy” without consideration of the deep historical roots of these practices.
Beginning as early as 3,200 BCE, many Babylonian and Egyptian religious cultures practiced vegetarianism based upon beliefs in karma and reincarnation.
Pythagoras, a Greek mathematician born in 580 BCE, preached his belief that all animals should be treated as kindred and therefore that the consumption of meat should be avoided.
In Southeast Asia, the historic practice of vegetarianism or veganism is often tied to the idea of Ahimsa, which is a key virtue in the Indian religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Brahinism, Zoroastrianism, Jainism, and Sikhism. Ahimsa is the idea of being non-violent to all living beings. In many cases, this idea manifested in the diets of those practicing certain religions. In India, cows in particular are sacred, as they are believed to represent Mother Earth as sources of goodness and nutritious milk. Krishna, a central Hindu deity, is often portrayed as a cowherd. Jainism takes the most strict approach to Ahimsa, ceasing meat consumption and even the consumption of root vegetables so as not to harm insects’ habitats.
For many millennia and inn many historic cultures from around the world, a plant-based diet has been the norm for working class people simply because it’s usually the cheapest way to feed yourself. These citizens were often healthier than the ruling class, who could indulge in fatty meats, rich sauces and alcohol more easily. Henry VIII for example was famously obese and suffered his entire life from terrible gout.
So there you have it, just a couple of vegetarian cultures from a multitude throughout history. The next time you’re eating a plant-based food, or somebody claims that vegetarianism is not “natural” or “traditional” – you can fill them in!
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