One of the materials crucial in this field of action was the study of the monthly journal O Vegetariano (1909-1935). The content of this journal (which features utopian manifestos, testimonies from the vegetarian community, medical advice and philosophical theories, among other relevant topics) published for more than two decades, resulted in the publication of three monographs: Os vegetarianos utópicos de há 100 anos. We are particularly grateful to the National Library of Portugal for giving us access to publications pertinent to our study, namely to O Vegetariano.
An index of O vegetariano
The Portuguese Vegetarian Society was founded in 1911. Its monthly periodical, O Vegetariano: Mensário Naturista Ilustrado, directed by Dr. Amílcar De Sousa and published uninterruptedly between 1909 and 1935, had a community of over 3.500 subscribers. All periodical items, besides other related research and outreach outputs, are indexed in this searchable database.
The database was developed during the Alimentopia/Utopian Foodways project . Researchers categorised all journal items items according to broad themes, such as the section of the publication (e.g., cover, article, subscribers correspondence, or the content they address (e.g., naturism or dietary regimes). In the most relevant cases de level of detail is greater, facilitating interdisciplinary approaches to Food Studies, and making it easier for others to navigate through the periodical’s content and think of connections between vegetarianism, society, and utopian ideals.
Visit our database at the CETAPS Repository! https://cetapsrepository.letras.up.pt/id/cetaps/114176
A list of Vegetarianos
This collection lists the subscribers to the O Vegetariano that we have identified with the help of many contributors. Visit the database at https://cetapsrepository.letras.up.pt/id/cetaps/129169
Contribute!
Do you know of any relatives, friends, or acquaintances who followed a vegetarian diet at the beginning of the 20th century?
We’re expanding our database and need your help gathering information about individuals who followed a vegetarian diet. To learn more about the people we’ve already documented, click here to explore our interactive map which illustrates how these early 20th-century vegetarians were spread across the globe!
Here’s how you can get involved:
Stage 1 – Start by asking your family and friends if they know of any relatives who were familiar with the Vegetarian Society of Portugal or the periodical O Vegetariano.
Stage 2 – If you discover someone, go in further! Look for more details, such as their place of birth, occupation, political beliefs, and how long they followed a frugivore diet. It would also be opportune to find out if they owned or wrote any literature on vegetarianism or naturism, such as recipe books, articles, or monographs.
Stage 3 – Once you’ve gathered the information, fill out our form and submit it, along with any relevant photographs, letters, or documents, through our file upload system.
This is a Science with Society project, and we can’t do it without you! Your contribution is invaluable to helping us preserve the history of vegetarianism and frugivorism in Portugal.
Send us your contributions at https://inqueritos.up.pt/6/index.php/336142?lang=en