The Philosophical Bases of Veganism in the Ancient Western World

Vegetarianism, and even veganism, are not recent lifestyles in Europe. Indeed, animal ethics and its practical consequences, such as the refusal to hunt, to honor deities with blood sacrifices, and to consume meat and other animal products, are as old as the West itself. We find traces of it among the first Greek philosophers, Empedocles and Pythagoras, at the end of the 6th century BC. Throughout antiquity, the "Pythagorean diet" was passionately advocated and, by contrast, forcefully rejected. We will see that although some arguments put forward by both sides may appear absurd today, others are sophisticated and persuasive and share much in common with contemporary discourses in favor of animal rights.