Brotherton, Martha (1783-1861)

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Martha Brotherton was born Martha Harvey, in 1783 at Whittington, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire. She emigrated with her husband Joseph Brotherton from England to Philadelphia, where they were among the founding members of the Bible Christian Church in Philadelphia. She is best known as the anonymous author of the first vegetarian cookbook, Vegetable Cookery (1812). First published serially as A New System of Vegetable Cookery by a "member of the Bible Christian Church" in 1812, it was published as a book in 1821 and as Vegetable Cookery in a third edition in 1829. The Introduction sets out an explicit, intersectional argument for veganism. Brotherton links a meat-free diet with the eradication of disease and war, increased longevity, and respect for the divine will; she also identifies the need for Temperance to reduce violence in society. Both Temperance and a vegetable diet would result in more efficient uses of land, as less would be needed to provide sufficient food and drink (water) for everyone. Brotherton died on 13 January 1861.

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