One hundred years ago from The Vegetarian Summer 1995 Since 1848 the Society has been producing a journal for the benefit of its members. Times change but the issues surrounding the movement remains remarkably the same. Former Magazine Editor, now Local Network Co-Ordinator, Bronwen Humphreys looks at the way we were. In this feature, we are always looking backward, but our predecessors did sometimes look forward. There's a small piece in a summer issue of The Vegetarian Messenger for 1895 entitled 'Vegetarianism 600 years hence'. Referring to an article in the Strand Magazine, it presents an argument not unfamiliar to us today: 'Vegetarians may well believe that the time will come, ere the world is many hundred years older, when vegetarianism will be a necessity. The number of acres of land is put down as 33,482 millions. Estimating the population of the world in 1891 at 1,480 millions, this gives an average of 23 acres to each person. Taking the annual average increase in the world's population at 5 per 1,000, it is calculated that in AD 2,030 the population of the world will have doubled itself; and that before that date, in 621 years from the present time, there will be as many people in the world as there are acres, that is only one acre per person. Now it is evident from these figures that there will be little or no room for cattle breeding when the human population has increased to such an extent.' Unfortunately, it seems doubtful we've got as much time as this author imagined, as the population growth rate was 17 per 1,000 in 1990 and (according to A. J. McMichael's 1993 book, Planetary Overload) world population will have reached nine billion by the year 2030. If we haven't converted a sufficient number to vegetarianism by then, it won't be the fault of Mr Albert Broadbent, the enthusiastic new secretary of the Society in 1895. In just over a year, he packed in around 170 lectures and addresses to 'mother's meetings, can shelters, workshops, temperance societies etc etc'. Mr Broadbent discovered that his talks needed something to give them a bit of extra impact and hit on the idea of preparing food during his talks. Does this make him our first cookery demonstrator? It seems unlikely that our present demonstrators, ever encounter quite the same difficulties as Mr Broadbent describes: '...waiting for a pie to finish cooking in a gas stove of short pressure; borrowing the use of a cottage oven, wheeling utensils and stove for a mile in a wheelbarrow; hard up for a rolling pin and having to use a pop bottle, and many times cooking the food in the house of a friend and carrying it to the place of meeting.' As the magazine continued to publish many testimonies to the success of Mr Broadbent's talks and cooking, we can suppose that he was well able to adapt to most adverse conditions. The Vegetarian Society was very nearly 50 years old in 1895, and must have reached the stage when the senior workers were feeling the strain, because in the August issue, there was a call for some young blood to come and help out with the task of promoting vegetarianism. Although we use different language today, some of the appeals have a familiar ring to them! 'Let no-one think that he can do nothing to spread vegetarianism. For those whose strength lies in public speaking there are many opportunities of introducing the question in debating societies; for those whose weapon is the pen there is a splendid field for propagandist work in the country newspapers, which are always willing to receive short and timely letters on the subject... Our women vegetarians have it in their power to render the vegetarian cause the greatest service. To say nothing of the training of children, our women friends can do good work by introducing vegetarian dishes to the notice of their flesh-eating guests. Our athletes can give practical demonstrations of the suitability of a vegetarian diet for those who perform athletic feats.' Quite a lot of the magazine was regularly given over to proving that vegetarians were as healthy and strong as anyone else; not only were there regular testimonies from people who had been cured of health problems by adopting the vegetarian diet, but there were also frequent reports of athletic achievements. The secretary of the Scottish Vegetarian Society, John Barclay, seemed to have a particular talent for running and won many cross country races. The Vegetarian Cycling Club features too.

The recipes offered to tempt to the reader through the summer months included 'Salade de Legumes' consisting of carrots, turnips, asparagus, peas, and French beans boiled and flavoured with tarragon, chervil, parsley and chives; and 'Wholemeal Cabinet Pudding' - a kind of bread and butter pudding with almonds and sultanas. The Society's shop was selling bottled fruit at 1s 2d per 3lb jar, and Postlethwaite's Nut Extract, for people who didn't like to use butter, at 1s 10d per 3lb tin. The latest recipe leaflet (price 1/2d) boasted of a selection of 'vegetarian dishes that were tasty and that could be prepared without difficulty by landladies' being recommended for 'travellers and others who spend a considerable part of their time in hotels and boarding houses.'

Despite the vast improvement in catering for vegetarians today, the success of our catering leaflets and consultancy services suggests that even this need still exists.
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