Lecture | Peace Histories Seminar Series
Imagining Hierarchies in Vegetarianism between Europe, the United States, and India (19th -20th Century)
- Date
- Monday 6 October 2025
- Time
- Serie
- Peace Histories Seminar Series 2025-2026
- Address
-
Johan Huizinga
Doelensteeg 16
2311 VL Leiden - Room
- 2.60
Abstract
In the second half of the nineteenth century, vegetarianism became a subject of intense debate in Europe and India. Protagonists in both regions often referred to each other. In Europe, vegetarians evoked a simplified image of India as a non-carnivorous subcontinent where violence towards all living beings was rejected to support their cause. In India, proponents for vegetarianism employed scientific knowledge from Europe and North America. While vegetarians were opposed to exerting violence towards animals, vegetarianism was not necessarily linked to the idea of the equality of all living beings. Instead, some vegetarians claimed that a meat-free diet kept in check what they called the “animal” aspects of humans. This, they argued, not only elevated humans above animals, but also vegetarians above those who consumed meat. This connection between vegetarianism and an appropriaton of evolutionary theory was a direct consequence of the dynamic exchange between protagonists in Europe, India, and North America, and in some cases, it helped legitimize the use of violence.
