Review of Reviewt, IflljOS. 



THE NON-FLESH DIET. 



By a Vegetarian. 



To the casual observer vegetarianism is simply 

 a petty food fad, but to those who have enquired 

 into the matter vegetarianism has many sides, each 

 of which has either a scientific or a moral basis. 



The science of comparative anatomy, for ex- 

 ample, places man in the category of the frugivora, 

 that is, fruit and nut eaters. Thus Gassendi, the 

 contemporary friend of Galileo and Kepler, says: — 



" We do not appear to be adapted by Nature to 

 the use of flesh diet, from the conformation of the 

 teeth, since all animals which Nature has formed 

 to feed on flesh have teeth long, conical, sharp, un- 

 even, and with intervals between them ; but those 

 which are created to subsist only on herbs and 

 fruits have their teeth short, broad, blunt, adjoin- 

 ing one another, and distributed in even rows. And, 

 further, that men have received from Nature teeth 

 which are unlike those of the first class, and re- 

 semble those of the second." 



Professor Sir Charles Bell, F.R.S. (1774-1842), in 

 ■' Anatomy, Physiology, and Diseases of the Teeth," 

 1829 (page 33), says: — 



" It is, I think, not going too far to say that 

 every fact connected with the human organisation 

 goes to prove that man was originally formed a 

 frugiverous animal. . . . This opinion is prin- 

 cipally derived from the formation of his teeth and 

 digestive organs, as well as from the character of 

 his skin, and the general structure of his limbs." 



Baron Cuvier, the chief of modern anatomists ; 

 Darwin, the greatest af naturalists ; and Sir Richard 

 Owen, one of the most eminent of zoologists, con- 

 firm these statements. 



Baron Cuvier, the chief of modern anatomists ; 

 dom," r827. Vol. I., page 88; Sir Richard Owen, 

 K.C.B., F.R.S. (i8o4-r892), in his '' Odontography, 

 or a Treatise on the Comparative Anatomy of the 

 Teeth,'' 1829, page 33 ; Charles Darwin, LL.D., 

 F.R.S. (1809-1882), in his " Descent of Man," 

 second edition, 1874, page 156. 



The sciences of Physiology and Chemistry are 

 equally emphatic in their testimony to the excellence 

 of a non-flesh diet. 



Dr. Albrecht Haller, the celebrated physiologist, 

 anatomist and botanist, in speaking of diet in which 

 flesh has no part, says it is " salutary, fully nour- 

 ishes a man, protracts life to an advanced period, 

 and prevents or cures such disorders as are at- 

 tributable to the grossness or acrimonv of the 

 blood." 



The modern uric acid specialist, Dr. Alexander 

 Haig, M.A., M.D., F.R.C.P., in his work, " Uric 

 Acid as a Factor in the Causation of Disease," 

 savs : — 



" That it is easily possible to sustain life on the 

 products of the vegetable kingdom needs no demon- 

 stration for physiologists, even if a majority of the 

 human race were not constantly engaged in de- 

 monstrating it ; and my researches show not only 

 that it is possible, but that it is infinitely preferable 

 in every w-ay, and produces superior powers both 

 of mind and body." 



Dr. W. B. Carpenter, C.B., F.R.S., says: — 



• There is ample and unexceptional evidence that, 

 where neither milk nor any of its preparations are 

 in ordinary use, a regime consisting of bread and 

 fruit and herbs is quite adequate to the wants of a 

 population subsisting bv severe and constant toil." 



Sir Benjamin Ward Richardson, M.D., F.R.S., 

 says : — • 



" It must be honestly admitted that, weight by 

 weight, vegetable substances, when they are care- 

 fullv selected, possess the most striking advantages 

 over animal food in nutritive value." 



That this is so is fully shown by the following 

 table of nutritive values: — 



IN 100 PARTS. 



Cocoa Nibs I 

 Chocolate ) 



500 



3-0 



