What We May Eat (1854)

AUTHOR: Alcott, William Andrus

KEYWORDS: diet, health, nutrition

SUMMARY (Ridvan Askin, edited Deborah Madsen):

This short article showcases the variety and richness of a vegan diet. Rhetorically, the article is staged as a reply to an inquiry as to what — in the absence of meat — there is left to eat, given reformers' zealous dietary restrictions. Hence, the article provides “a list of the various kinds of proper food” (96). Not claiming to be complete, the list is divided into sections on farinaceous substances, fruits, roots, and oily substances. In the first group, Alcott commends in particular wheat, corn, rye, barley, oatmeal, and, if roasted, chestnut. Some substances may be parched or boiled. Alcott adds “buck-wheat, beech-nuts, peas, beans, lentils, millet, rice and sago” (97) to the list, and recommends in particular Graham bread. He then continues in a similar manner in the remaining sections, suggesting a wealth of different fruits and roots native to the United States. What he calls "oily" substances include: “Olives, walnuts, butternuts, cocoa nuts” (97). Overall, his list contains “sixty different dishes to which the most rigid vegetarian cannot object” (98). If the items of food are combined in various ways, the list actually makes for “an aggregate of 1260 different dishes; or for even those who indulge in three meals a day, more than a sufficient variety for a whole year” (98).

If to the list are admitted items that do but “little harm” (98), Alcott writes, then the list expands to include: “Tapioca, arrow-root, macaroni, vermicelli, raised bread, very plain puddings and cakes,  […] boiled and stewed fruits, dried fruits cooked, and mixed breads” (98). He advises against the use of condiments, “dressings or sauces, or relishes,” particularly salt. He also argues against butter, eggs, and lard. The “true vegetarian,” Alcott concludes, not only “has the greatest variety of food,” but also “the most of animal enjoyment” and the greatest “spiritual allotment” (99).

Last updated on May 2nd, 2024

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