Mahatma Gandhi chooses vegetarianism after discovering a pamphlet in London

Mahatma Gandhi committed to a vegetarian lifestyle by choice after discovering a pamphlet in a London restaurant while studying law.

In 1888, the 19-year-old Gandhi traveled from India to London to study law. During this period, he struggled with his identity as a vegetarian, feeling pressured by peers who claimed that meat consumption provided the strength necessary for the English to rule over India.

Gandhi even attempted to eat meat to gain strength, but he experienced physical discomfort and psychological distress, including nightmares, which led him to vow to remain a vegetarian during his time in Europe. While living in London on a meager diet of porridge and bread, Gandhi visited the Central Vegetarian Restaurant on Farringdon Street. At this location, he found a copy of a pamphlet titled A Plea for Vegetarianism by Henry Stephens Salt.

The text provided ethical, scientific, and economic arguments for abstaining from meat, which Gandhi purchased for one shilling. This encounter transformed his view of vegetarianism from a familial obligation into a personal conviction. Gandhi began writing for the London Vegetarian Society following this discovery. He used these early writings to explain Indian culture and food to the English public, challenging the colonial narrative that vegetarianism was a sign of weakness.

He argued that Indian vegetarians possessed a different kind of strength, a belief that eventually formed a foundation for his future activism and his efforts toward Indian independence.