Mahatma Gandhi: The Man Who Made Vegetarianism Part of His Faith

Biography

Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) was the leader of India's independence movement, renowned the world over for his campaign of nonviolent non-cooperation.

Vegetarianism and Faith

Gandhi was a vegetarian throughout his life. While studying in London, he encountered writings on vegetarianism that turned it from a mere family custom into a conscious conviction, and he became active in the London Vegetarian Society.

The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism

He linked vegetarianism to nonviolence (ahimsa) and self-restraint, and wrote essays such as "The Moral Basis of Vegetarianism." For Gandhi, how one treated the life on one's plate and how one treated the world were one and the same question.