Many people think vegetarianism is a trendy new fad, but in reality it has a long history. Brahminism, Buddhism, Jainism and Zoroastrianism, all long established religions, advocated abstention from flesh foods, as did such early philosophers and thinkers as Pythagoras, Seneca, Ovid, Diogenes, Plato, Plotinus and Socrates (although we don�t actually know if they all practised what they preached!)

In later times famous writers such as, Voltaire, Paley, Pope, Shelley, Bentham and Lamartine all expressed similar opinions about the desirability of a flesh free diet. John Wesley, co-founder of Methodism and John Howard, the prison reformer, were also vegetarians.

It wasn�t until the 19^th century, however, that any attempt was made to organise a vegetarian movement in this country. In 1809, the Reverend William Cowherd, the founder of the Bible Christian Church in Salford, asked his congregation to refrain from eating meat. One of his followers was Mr Joseph Brotherton , MP for Salford who later became one of The Vegetarian Society�s presidents. Mr Brotherton�s wife published the first vegetarian cookery book in 1812.

Two followers of the Reverend Cowherd, the Reverend William Metcalfe and the Reverend James Clark emigrated to the United States in 1817 with 39 other members of the Bible Christian Church and formed the nucleus of a vegetarian movement in America.

By 1846, a vegetarian hospital called Northwood Villa had been established in Ramsgate, Kent, under the direction of Mr and Mrs Horsell, both prominent vegetarians. A meeting held at that hospital on 30 September 1847 resulted in the formation of The Vegetarian Society which is, as far as we know, the oldest vegetarian association in the world.

The fledgling Society held it�s first annual meeting in Manchester the following year and by that time had grown to 478 members. The first issue of the Society�s magazine, called The Vegetarian Messenger in those days, came out in September 1848 and nearly 5000 copies were circulated. Mr Isaac Pitman, of short-hand fame, spoke at the Society�s second annual meeting and announced he had been a vegetarian for 11 years.

The London Food Reform Society was formed in 1877. Dr Allinson (now immortalised on a popular brand of wholemeal bread) was one of it�s members. This organisation merged with The Vegetarian Society in 1885 and became its London Branch, but there was some friction and in 1888, the London Branch broke away and became a second national society, The London Vegetarian Society with it�s own magazine, The Vegetarian.

Both Societies flourished during the latter half of the 19^th and the first half of the 20^th century. Mahatma Gandhi was a member of The London Vegetarian Society and George Bernard Shaw joined the original Society, which was then based in the Manchester area. Other famous vegetarians of that time include Bramwell Booth of the Salvation Army, Anna Kingsford, a doctor and campaigner for women�s rights, Mrs Annie Besant of the Theosophical Society and the Russian novelist, Count Tolstoi.

The sort of food available to most vegetarians then was rather plain by our standards. Strangely enough, the magazines published few recipes, but were fond of printing "testimonies" from individual vegetarians who believed their diet was responsible for their good health. One such testimony was by a Mr Ching of Stockwell, who ate only "haricots at dinner with other vegetables, potatoes and cabbage; wholemeal bread and butter for tea, breakfast and supper, sometimes with some cheese." He also reckoned that his occupation was "not a very laborious one". Business hours were only 8am to 8.30pm and he had only to walk three miles to and from work!

The Societies� social events seem to have been memorable! For example, in 1920, The Vegetarian Society held a summer school at Arnold House, Llanddulas that ran for five weeks at the height of the holiday season, averaging an attendance of 70 people a week.

Today around three and half million people in this country are vegetarians including such notables as Paul & Linda McCartney, Tony Banks MP, the actor Nigel Hawthorne, tennis champion Martina Navratilova, author Ruth Rendall and astronomer Heather Couper. Restaurants, caterers, supermarkets and manufacturers have woken up to the size of the market and we now have an abundance of tasty, ready-made meals, a huge variety of vegetarian burgers, sausages, bacon, pates, sandwich fillings, and colourful vegetarian foods garnered from all over the world. It�s a far cry from Mr Ching�s haricots, potatoes and cabbage!