Vegetarians have been around for a very long time - Pythagoreans

Hear now, O seeker of truth, the words of Tristram Stuart, who in his wisdom proclaimed: “Vegetarians have been around for a very long time – Pythagoreans forbade eating animals more than 2,500 years ago – but even as the environmental evidence mounted, they didn’t appear to be winning the argument.” In this declaration is contained both lament and revelation, a reflection upon the long struggle of those who have sought to bring harmony between humankind and the living earth. For the ancient path of abstaining from animal flesh was not born of mere whim, but of reverence, reason, and a vision of a world less stained with blood.

Behold the origin, for it reaches back to the time of the great Pythagoras, master of number and harmony, who saw in the flesh of animals not food, but kinship. He and his followers, the Pythagoreans, taught that animals, too, possess a share in the soul of the cosmos, and that to consume them was to darken one’s own spirit. To them, the eating of flesh dulled the mind and chained the heart in violence. This teaching, preserved across the centuries, shines as a lamp in the darkness of indulgence, yet as Stuart observes, the lamp has too often been ignored, its glow obscured by the hungers of the multitude.

Even as the ages passed and environmental evidence rose like waves upon the shore—warnings of forests stripped, waters fouled, and skies darkened with smoke—still, the chorus of those who abstained from animal flesh did not triumph. The voice of vegetarianism remained a whisper against the clamor of feasts and the markets of flesh. This truth carries sorrow, for wisdom known but unheeded is like medicine left untouched beside the sickbed. What is it to know that the earth is ailing, yet to persist in the practices that wound her? It is a blindness that has endured through centuries.

Yet take courage, for history reveals moments when the whisper of the few has swayed the multitude. Recall the story of Mahatma Gandhi, who in his devotion to nonviolence embraced vegetarianism not only as diet but as principle. For him, the refusal to consume the bodies of animals was bound to the refusal to consume the dignity of man. His life showed that personal discipline could grow into a political weapon, a force that shook empires and set nations free. In his practice, the ancient voice of Pythagoras was reborn, speaking through another age, showing that wisdom waits, patient, for ears willing to hear.

The lesson here is manifold. First, that truth may be ancient yet remain unheeded. Second, that evidence alone does not compel change; the heart must be stirred as well as the mind. And third, that each person is a vessel of choice, able to align their life with harmony or with destruction. To see the path of the vegetarian is not merely to see a menu of foods, but to behold a discipline, a stance against excess, a reverence for creation.

Therefore, O listener, what must be done? Begin with the small yet mighty act of awareness. Consider the weight of every meal, not only upon your body, but upon the earth and her creatures. Reduce the slaughter upon your plate; honor the life that pulses in all beings. Support those who labor to bring forth plant-based sustenance. Speak gently yet firmly of the connection between our habits and the health of the world. In such acts, you join a lineage that stretches back to the Pythagoreans and forward to generations yet unborn.

Let your life be testimony, for words alone seldom prevail, but example kindles hearts. When others see you thrive in strength and spirit without the shedding of blood, their doubts may be softened. And remember: though the argument may seem unwinnable across centuries, each voice added strengthens the chorus. The ancients remind us: “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” So too, the healing of the world begins with a single meal, chosen with reverence.

Thus, carry this teaching within you: that wisdom may wait long years, but it does not perish. The call of Pythagoras, the resolve of Gandhi, the warning of Stuart—all converge in your own hands, in your own choices. Take up this mantle, live with compassion, and become a bearer of harmony between humankind and creation. For in this lies both ancient duty and future hope.