Genre:

Essay, Drollery

Subjects:

Nutrition, Morality

    Criticizes the 'principle' and goals of vegetarians. Drawing parallels between animal and vegetable foods, questions the statesman Joseph Brotherton's conviction that vegetables are not harmed in their consumption. Believes the 'philosophy that renounces animal food because of the pain inflicted upon animal sensation' applies to vegetables, and wants vegetarians to prove the 'want of sensation' in vegetables. Hopes to see a day when philosophers 'entirely subsist on air'.