Cover of A Vindication of Natural Diet.

A Vindication of Natural Diet.

by Percy Bysshe Shelley

Reading level
Fairly demanding
Price
Free

About the book

"A Vindication of Natural Diet" by Percy Bysshe Shelley is an essay on vegetarianism published in 1813. Originally written as notes to his poem "Queen Mab," Shelley argues that eating meat is unnatural and responsible for disease and immorality. Using comparative anatomy and vivid imagery of slaughtered lambs, he contends that humans are naturally plant-eating creatures. Shelley prescribes a strict vegetarian diet and distilled water as the path to health, longevity, and moral living, linking meat consumption to bodily corruption and social ills.

  • Vegetarianism

Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #38727. A Vindication of Natural Diet. on Wikipedia.

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