Sophia Zaïkowska (17 May 1874 – 27 February 1939) was a French writer and activist,

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 ...

of Polish descent, nutritionist and early promoter of veganism.

Life

Sophie Zaïkowska was born on 17 May 1874, in

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

(now Vilnius), which was then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

and is now part of Lithuania. Her parents were Vitold Zaïkowska and Anna Czapska. Zaïkowska studied physical and natural sciences in Geneva before moving to France in 1898; she specialized in

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

. Before the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, she contributed to various

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

journals such as ''L'Education libertaire'', ''L'Autarcie'' and in particular ''La Vie anarchiste'', of which she became the editor in 1920. Interested in

Georges Butaud Georges Butaud (6 June 1868 – 26 February 1926) was a French individualist anarchist and veganism activist. He advocated naturist anarchism and founded an early vegan restaurant in Paris. Biography Butaud was born on 6 June 1868 in Marchien ...

's project of creating an anarchist colony, she became his partner and collaborator in 1921 in the journal ''Le Néo-Naturien''. She co-founded with him the free milieus of Vaux, Bascon and Quai de la Pie. The failure of these attempts at establishing colonies did not end her activism. Zaïkowska died in Paris at the

Lariboisière Hospital Lariboisière Hospital (french: Hôpital Lariboisière) is a hospital in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, France. The hospital was one of several built following the second cholera pandemic, which had reached Paris in 1832, and which led to a ...

19th arrondissement of Paris The 19th arrondissement of Paris (''XIXe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, this arrondissement is referred to as ''dix-neuvième''. The arrondissement, known as Butte-Chaumont, ...

in France on 27 February 1939.

Veganism

With her partner she edited the journal ''Le Végétalien'', which she managed from 1926. She was passionate about the ideas of Victor Lorenc, a close friend of the couple, and organized the

vegan 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. Di ...

kitchen in the Rue Mathis in

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 ...

. Zaïkowska wrote the article on végétalien (veganism) for

Sébastien Faure Sébastien Faure (6 January 1858 – 14 July 1942) was a French anarchist, freethought and secularist activist and a principal proponent of synthesis anarchism. Biography Before becoming a free-thinker, Faure was a seminarist. He engaged ...

's ''Anarchist Encyclopedia''. With Georges Butaud, she founded a vegan colony 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 ...

. Zaïkowska and Butaud 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.Baubérot, Arnaud. (2004). ''Histoire du naturisme: Le mythe du retour à la nature''. Presses universitaires de Rennes. p. 211.

Selected publications

Her writings include: *''A Study On Work'' (with G. Butaud, 1912) *''Victor Lorenc'' (1929) *''Life and Death of Georges Butaud'' (1929) *''Végétalien'' (encyclopedia article, 1934) Some of her texts were republished in such anthologies as: *''Emilie Lamotte, Jeanne Morand, Sophie Zaïkowska'', L'En-Dehors, Paris, 2005. *''Communautés, naturiens, végétariens, végétaliens et crudivégétaliens dans le mouvement anarchiste français: textes'', Invariance, Paris, 1994.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zaikowska, Sophie 1874 births 1939 deaths French activists French anarchists French libertarians French nutritionists French veganism activists French women activists Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France Individualist anarchists