
The History of Greco-Roman Vegetarianism (2010) - plasticchris
http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2010/08/the-hidden-history-of-greco-roman-vegetarianism/
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f_allwein
> only the wealthiest citizens could afford to eat large amounts of meat on a
> regular basis

Same thing in modern day Germany. My dad told me that until the 1950s, most
families in Bavaria could not afford meat, or only had it a few times a year.
This must have changed when people became wealthier (and meat cheaper) from
the 1960s. Still, it’s astounding that Bavarian food is mainly associated with
heavy meat dishes like roast pork or knuckles today. Seems like many
vegetarian dishes have been forgotten in recent decades.

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icc97
I don't really understand why meat became so much cheaper, is it purely
intensive farming of animals? Or was there other factors?

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gepi79
Intensive farming, technology (machines, antibiotics), breeding of extreme
animals, cheap food and water and land for animals, subsidies.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_subsidy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_subsidy)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcA3P6abmjY&t=817](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcA3P6abmjY&t=817)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zctdaxvewng](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zctdaxvewng)

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jkingsbery
"What this hidden history teaches is that many Greeks and Romans survived
without eating animal flesh or using animal products."

So, I get it, this post has a particular point of view to advance. But this is
a terrible argument. The average Greco-Roman was impoverished and had a life
expectancy of around 35-40. The average Greco-Roman happily ate meat when
given a chance. Today, at least in many parts of the world, meat is pretty
cheap, so the idea of meat being a decedent luxury doesn't follow the way it
would have 2500 years ago. Further, in the Greco-Roman world, animals and
animal products were used for lots of things - leather for sandals, honey from
bees, oxen and mules to produce the grain that made up the basis of the
vegetarian diet. So even the people who had a vegetarian diet (by constraint,
not by choice) very much benefited from animals in ways that many activist
groups today would object to.

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maze-le
>> The average Greco-Roman was impoverished and had a life expectancy of
around 35-40

This is more a problem with statistics than anything else. If anything, the
median life expectancy should be measured. The reason that the average life
expectancy is so low, is that infant mortality was very high (and the
procedure of childbirth was extremely dangerous). This means an unusual high
percentage of humans, that die very early in their lives. So the 'average',
while being a correct average, skews the number downward and thus gives the
false impression that the average person only got 30-40.

If a peasant survived into his 30ies, chances were high he would get into his
50ies.[0]

For the rest of your post: Yeah, I concur, the last thing any roman would have
had in mind are animal rights. Not only was slavery the norm, this was a
society where you could kill your slaves without repercussions. Human
sacrifices in the form of gladiatorial games were not only common but THE
social event. And the army had a punishment known as decimation (every 10th of
a unit was selected by lot and killed). So, all in all a society with very
little regard for human life, never mind the life of an animal...

[0]: [https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-evolution-human-
origins...](https://www.ancient-origins.net/news-evolution-human-origins/life-
expectancy-myth-and-why-many-ancient-humans-lived-long-077889)

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felipelemos
50 years old is still a very low number for a life expectancy.

~~~
ams6110
It's old enough to raise the next generation to self-sufficient adulthood.
That's all that's really necessary for a population to survive and grow.

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CurlyJefferson
I find it interesting to read various vegetarian-related quotes. One begins to
see how much a part of the history of human thought it really is. Here's a
collection I found with a quick search: [http://notable-
quotes.com/v/vegetarianism_quotes.html](http://notable-
quotes.com/v/vegetarianism_quotes.html)

I was pleasantly surprised by some of the names I came across - Leo Tolstoy,
for instance.

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agumonkey
archive: [https://archive.fo/LiDep](https://archive.fo/LiDep)

text-only cache:
[https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http:/...](https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2010/08/the-
hidden-history-of-greco-roman-vegetarianism/&num=1&strip=1&vwsrc=0)

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pjc50
Rather one-sided source, perhaps? And their references are literary rather
than historical.

~~~
coldtea
They didn't imply vegetarianism beliefs were widespread to the masses for this
to matter.

They reference what historical figures of literature and philosophy thought
and suggested to others about the subject.

