The Society has always believed in the power of the printed word and the current magazine 'The Vegetarian' can look back upon an unbroken history dating back to 1848.

Entitled in its earliest incarnation 'The Truth Tester', within a year it became 'The Vegetarian Advocate', followed in 1851 by the launch of 'The Vegetarian Messenger'. Vegetarianism was then viewed as part of a wider movement known as 'temperance', advocating the abandonment of, 'Alcoholic drinks, animal foods, tea and coffee, drugs, tobacco and snuff, and condiments; and to recommend a gradual return to nature.' The pages of this publication were just as likely to feature an article on the evils of alcohol as the consumption of flesh. By a strange quirk of the time, newspapers published on the Isle of Man were allowed to be sent post-free throughout Great Britain, which explains why early editions of the 'Messenger' were printed in Douglas.

By the mid 1850s, the distribution of 'The Vegetarian Messenger' was already over 20,000 and would continue to grow for the next thirty years. During that time, science and industry were busy transforming Britain into a mighty world power. 'The Vegetarian Messenger' also recruited both as allies. Articles showed the scientific certainty that people were intended to be vegetarian. Scientists were consulted, doctors wrote learned articles; Darwin and the theory of evolution were often invoked. Vegetarianism was not merely seen as 'alternative', but as radical and dangerous -- a threat to the rigid social order. As one eminent Victorian remarked, 'Vegetarianism is worse than socialism, for the first need only be professed, but the latter has to be practiced.'

By the beginning of the twentieth century, circulation of the 'Messenger' stood at 50,000 copies and a new addition had appeared on the pages -- advertisements! With the growth of vegetarianism came a whole range of new commercial enterprises. Vegetarian foods, clothes and even holidays were now available. The July 1914 edition carried an advertisement for the Kur Hotel Wassen, a vegetarian resort hotel in Germany. However, within a month, that destination would be well beyond the reach of any British vegetarian.

The outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 saw many vegetarians in a crisis of conscience. How could men who had an abhorrence of shedding animal blood take human life? If they enlisted, would the army pay any regard to their dietary preferences? 'The Vegetarian' tried to help out with these dilemmas. Units sympathetic to vegetarians were formed, many of them within the Royal Army Medical Corps, and these were advertised in the magazine. As the war progressed, the pages also began to carry the names of vegetarians who had fallen on the battlefield. The magazine also shrank in size, because of wartime restrictions on paper. Through the l920s and '30s, the movement slowly grew -- but things were different. The pages of the 'Messenger' showed that a subtle, but important change had come over the Society. Temperance was hardly mentioned, in its place articles on fitness and vitality, the setting up of international vegetarian communes and exclusive vegetarian schools. The concern for animals was still present, but vegetarianism was seen more as a concern for the body, rather than just the mind. By the Second World War things were quite different. Both civil and military authorities had a better understanding of vegetarianism and the government reacted by allowing vegetarians extra food rations on surrender of meat coupons. Throughout the war the magazine continued to push for the adoption of a vegetarian diet as a means of assisting the war effort. The government, which had established both a Ministry Of Food and a Committee of Vegetarian Interests, was torn between the obvious dietary and economic advantages of vegetarianism and the potential propaganda value the Nazis might derive from Churchill turning his back on 'the roast beef of Old England'. It settled for extolling the virtues of a vegetarian diet without actively recommending it. Ironically, the nation's health improved as the pressure on agricultural land forced more food crops to be grown for human consumption, rather than animal feed. Wartime rationing continued into the 1950s, but by 1952 things were improving. There was a new, young queen on the throne and people began to look forward rather than backward. The Vegetarian Society decided a change was needed too and 'The Vegetarian Messenger' became simply 'The Vegetarian'. The mood within vegetarianism was changing as well. Writing in 1954, Geoffrey Rudd, then editor of 'The Vegetarian' said: (We) '...are severely restricted by the narrow outlook of certain members who insist on propaganda going out almost entirely on the lines of health and diet. If other aspects are mentioned touching the vegetarian way of life in relation to religion, pacifism, or politics, they withdraw their support. There is an antagonism between the scientifically minded and those whose vegetarianism is based on intuition and mysticism.' Perhaps influenced by life in the shadow of the atomic bomb, from the 1950s onward articles became increasingly sceptical of scientific 'advances'. As early as the mid 1950s, questions were raised concerning the desirability of mass inoculation and vaccination of animals as a method of disease prevention and the increasing use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. In the 1960s the magazine was retitled 'The British Vegetarian'. Colour was also first used, though only upon the cover. Vegetarianism was now going mainstream and celebrities were regularly featured. DJ Pete Murray, the actress Gretchen Wyler, Charlotte Rampling and Julie Christie were all written about.

In the 1970s the Society magazine went tabloid, reverting back to the name 'The Vegetarian'. July 1973 brought bad news to vegetarian maidens everywhere. The magazine announced the forthcoming marriage of that most eligible vegetarian bachelor -- DJ Pete Murray. As an indication of how much the Society had changed in 130 years, there was also an article on home winemaking and adverts from the Kwoffit home brew company and Wineleader Ltd of Accrington. What would the temperance-minded founders of the Society have thought? The newspaper format lasted throughout the seventies, but by 1981 it was looking very dated and the decision was made to go back to a magazine format.

DID YOU KNOW? Vegetarian TV personalities include Julia Carling, Phillipa Forester, Fiona Phillips, Ricki Lake, Tim Vincent, Trevor ans Simon, Pamela Armstrong, John Peel, Tony Blackburn and Jackie Brambles.

The focus by now was on the 'holistic' vegetarian. Recipes were now becoming more sophisticated, reflecting movement away from 'brown and stodgy' dishes of the past. Articles appeared on cosmetics, fox hunting, bringing up vegetarian children and animal liberation. Just to show the magazine was keeping up with the times, you could also find articles on the food processor and the Sinclair C5! The Nineties have brought many changes to the magazine. 'The Vegetarian' went full colour throughout and at 64 pages it is currently larger than ever. 'The Vegetarian' today tries to reflect the diversity and interest of the broad church that vegetarianism has become. The common links between 1848 and 2000 are still there though. The underlying principles that keep vegetarianism alive are as powerful and true today as they ever were. A respect and regard for animals and their right to have rights. A belief that for everyone, the vegetarian way of life is best and an understanding that we should live lightly upon the Earth. Today 'The Vegetarian' sums up these beliefs as 'For animals, for health, for the environment'. The first writers of 'The Truth Tester' back in 1847 may not have used that very phrase, but the sentiment has remained the same.

We still produce The Vegetarian every two months. Click here to see a recent summary of contents

www.vegsoc.org/21cv : 21st Century Vegetarian