Has there ever been a predominantly vegan or vegetarian culture?!
Has there ever been a predominantly vegan or vegetarian culture?
Hindu?
Answers:
The Hindu culture has been predominantly vegetarian for thousands of years.
The Jain culture has been vegan for an even longer period of time.
The Grahamites of Northampton MA were a strict vegetarian community in the US in the early 19th century. Their leader was Sylvester Graham, of whom the graham cracker was named after.
So the answer to your Q. is definitely yes. And many have lasted for long period's of time.
"Amazingly, three of Europe's most important early seventeenth-century philosophers - Descartes, Gassendi and Francis Bacon - all advocated vegetarianism. At no time before or since has vegetarianism been endorsed by such a formidable array of intellectuals, and by the 1700s their pioneering work had blossomed into a powerful movement of scientific vegetarianism."
"Although most people preferred not to think about it, the vegetarians insisted that filling the European belly funded the torture of animals in unpleasant agricultural systems, and ultimately the rape and pillage of the entire world."
lots of buddists are vegetarian/vegan . some dont eat onions or garlic either.but have really delicious food.
I'd say Hindu qualifies and don't forget the Jains!. Bhuddists (esp. Zen) should count IMHO. If I recall correctly the Essenes were veggie.
Edit:
Aside to Asleepfornow. My spelling of Bhuddist is preferred by some Bhuddist friends of mine. They consider omitting the h to be a mildly insulting western innovation.
Drew got the 7th Day Adventists, there's also The Farm (I consider them to be a culture
Sorry it's a pet peeve. I just have to make the correction for my two esteemed previous posters, but the correct spelling is "Buddhist".
Most of the world's non-European based cuisines are predominantly if not completely vegetarian, some some are vegan.
Indigenous cuisines are always based on what's available locally, and anyplace in which animals of any appreciable size are rare or non-existent, the cuisine will be vegetarian or vegan. There are, in fact, groups in the Kalahari desert which are vegan, by necessity. They have large families, the women nurse the children for 2 - 3 years, and even at that, osteoporosis is almost non-existent in the area of the world.
Yes, and they're much healthier for it.
Don't forget Seventh Day Advantists. Dr. Kellogg, for example.