THE BLOODLESS REVOLUTION
The truth is often stranger than fiction. Would you believe, for example, that Rene Descartes-a philosopher often maligned for his ostensibly inhumane view of animals as unfeeling machines-was actually an advocate of vegetarianism? Did you know that Adam Smith, the world renowned Enlightenment economist, believed that the integrity of the northern European economy depended on switching from wasteful animal husbandry practices to a more efficient potato-based agriculture? Could you have imagined that Hindu Brahminism was a key influence on 17th century Christian sects seeking to restore the lost harmony of Eden through English gardening practices? Learn more about these and many more surprising facts heretofore lost to history in Tristram Stuart's The Bloodless Revolution: A Cultural History of Vegetarianism from 1600 to Modern Times