Margaret Caro (17 December 1848 – 19 May 1938) was a New Zealand dentist, social reformer, lecturer,

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

and writer. In 1881 she was the first woman to be listed on the Dentists' Register of New Zealand. Caro was born in

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. In 1864 she married Dr J.S. Caro and they lived in the South Island. They moved to Napier in 1878 where she practiced dentistry for 25 years. Caro joined the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1888 after going to evangelistic meetings held by A. G. Daniells. She was converted to vegetarianism by Daniells who had preached food reform and the advantages of a vegetarian diet at

Hawke's Bay Region Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

.Amey, Catherine. (2014). ''The Compassionate Contrarians: A History of Vegetarians in Aotearoa New Zealand''. Rebel Press. p. 34, 42, 50. Caro was a former slaughterhouse inspector but became a vegetarianism activist. After 1899, she joined the

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

Vegetarian Society, even though she still lived in Napier. Caro put together weekly vegetarian dinner recipes for the average working man that were published in the ''White Ribbon'' temperance magazine. In 1902, she advocated vegetarianism at the conference of the National Council of Women. Caro's son Edgar was also a vegetarian and was the editor of the ''New Zealand Health Journal''. Caro died in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

in 1938.

Selected publications

*“Man’s Natural Diet” in National Council of the Women of New Zealand, 7th session (May 5–15, 1902) *“Wholesome Food” in ''White Ribbon'' (September, 1902)

References

1848 births 1938 deaths 19th-century dentists 19th-century New Zealand people 20th-century dentists Christian vegetarianism New Zealand activists New Zealand dentists New Zealand Seventh-day Adventists New Zealand vegetarianism activists New Zealand women activists Seventh-day Adventists in health science {{Dentistry-stub