Sins of the Flesh is a fascinating, ground-breaking history ofethical vegetarianism that will appeal to all readers concerned withhuman-animal relations and the foundations of animal rights.

Unlike previous books on the history of vegetarianism, Sins of theFlesh examines the history of vegetarianism in its ethicaldimensions, from the origins of humanity through to the present. Fullethical consideration for animals resulting in the eschewing of flesharose after the Aristotelian period in Greece and recurred in AncientRome, but then mostly disappeared for centuries. It was not until theturn of the nineteenth century that vegetarian thought was revived andenjoyed some success; it subsequently went into another period ofdecline that lasted through much of the twentieth century. Theauthority-questioning cultural revolution of the 1960s brought a freshresurgence of vegetarian ethics that continues to the present day.