The Ethics of Diet A Catena of Authorities Deprecatory of the Practice of Flesh Eating

by Howard Williams

"The Ethics of Diet" by Howard Williams is a biographical anthology published in 1883. This groundbreaking work traces opposition to meat-eating from ancient Greece through the Victorian era, compiling arguments from over 150 philosophers, poets, physicians, and reformers. Williams presents vegetarianism not as modern novelty but as an enduring moral tradition spanning civilizations. His chronological survey—from Pythagoras and Plutarch through Shelley and Rousseau—influenced major figures including Gandhi and Tolstoy, establishing the book as a foundational text in vegetarian history and ethical thought about humanity's relationship with animals.