Georges Butaud (6 June 1868 – 26 February 1926) was a French

individualist anarchist Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their Will (philosophy), will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions and ideological systems."What do I mean by individualism? I mean ...

and

veganism Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

activist. He advocated naturist anarchism and founded an early vegan restaurant in Paris.

Biography

Butaud was born on 6 June 1868 in

Marchienne-au-Pont Marchienne-au-Pont ( wa, Mårciene) is a town of Wallonia and a district of the municipality of Charleroi, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It was a commune in its own right before the merger of communes in 1977, when it had a popul ...

, Belgium, to French parents. He founded a vegan colony with Sophie Zaïkowska in Bascon, near

Château-Thierry Château-Thierry () is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne. The origin of the name of the town is unknown. The local tradition att ...

.Lummel, Peter. (2016). ''Food and the City in Europe Since 1800''. Routledge. p. 218. Butaud and Zaïkowska eliminated all

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

products and

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

from their diet and consumed only plant products. He founded ''Le Végétalien'', a vegan journal. The word ''végétalien'' was later termed vegan in English. Butaud with help from

Émile Armand Émile Armand (26 March 1872 – 19 February 1962), pseudonym of Ernest-Lucien Juin Armand, was an influential French individualist anarchist at the beginning of the 20th century and also a dedicated free love/polyamory, intentional community, a ...

founded the ''La Vie Anarchiste'' journal. In the 1920s, he contributed to the journal ''Le Néo-Naturien'', which advocated a return to nature philosophy.Beaudet, Céline. (2006). ''Les milieux libres: vivre en anarchiste à la Belle époque en France''. Editions libertaires. p. 66. Butaud wrote an article in 1922 defending Le végétalisme (veganism). In 1923, Butaud established a vegan restaurant ''Foyer Végétalien'' at Rue Mathis,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

.Legendre, Tony. (2006). ''Expériences de vie communautaire anarchiste en France: le milieu libre de Vaux, Aisne, 1902-1907, et la colonie naturiste et végétalienne de Bascon, Aisne, 1911-1951''. Editions libertaires. p. 52. McKay, Robert; Miller, John. (2017). ''Werewolves, Wolves and the Gothic''. University of Wales Press. p. 181. He also established another restaurant at

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

, in 1924. One could sleep there and conferences were also hosted. Butaud firmly opposed

hunting Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

and linked animal cruelty to the

capitalist Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

economic system that exploited the consumers of animal products.Crossley, Ceri. (2005). ''Consumable Metaphors: Attitudes towards Animals and Vegetarianism in Nineteenth-Century France''. Peter Lang. pp. 276-277. He advocated a fruit and vegetable diet. He believed that humans were meant to be herbivores that share their food sources, thus vegans were bound to be good

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

s. Butaud died on 26 February 1926 in

Ermont Ermont () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department, in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. It has around 28,000 inhabitants, which makes Ermont one of the most important cities in Val d'Oise. Ermont ha ...

, France.

Selected publications

''Les conséquences pratiques du végétalisme intégral sur l'évolution individuelle et sociale par''
(''The practical consequences of integral veganism on individual and social evolution'', 1922) *''L'Individualisme conduit au Robinsonisme: Le Végétalisme permet le communisme'' (1929)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butaud, Georges 1868 births 1926 deaths French anarchists French anti-capitalists French naturists French veganism activists Green anarchists Individualist anarchists Proto-vegans

Biography

Selected publications

See also

References