Jacques Louis Buttner (born 1876) was a French American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and

vegetarianism 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. Vegetarianism may ...

activist.

Biography

Buttner obtained his

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

from Yale Medical School in 1909 and received the Campbell Gold Medal for the highest rank on his examination and the Keese Prize for his thesis. In 1916, Buttner was described by the editor of the ''

Journal of the American Medical Association ''The Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 48 times a year by the American Medical Association. It publishes original research, reviews, and editorials covering all aspects of bio ...

'' as a "recognized representative in the literature of vegetarianism." He argued for vegetarianism from a scientific basis. Buttner practiced medicine in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

. He was a member of the New Haven County Medical Association. In 1923, '' The New International Encyclopedias entry for vegetarianism noted that "Buttner described a vegetarian as one who does not habitually make use of flesh food, in contradistinction to the habitual meat eater."

''A Fleshless Diet''

Buttner is best known for his vegetarian book ''A Fleshless Diet'', published in 1910. It was widely reviewed in medical journals with a mixed response.E. B. (1910)
''A Fleshless Diet: Vegetarianism as a Rational Dietary''
''American Physical Education Review'' 16: 352.Anonymous. (1911)
''A Fleshless Diet: Vegetarianism as a Rational Dietary''
''Journal of the American Medical Association'' 56 (16): 1220.Anonymous. (1910)
''A Fleshless Diet: Vegetarianism as a Rational Dietary''
''The Medical Standard'' 33 (11): 422.L. M. G. (1910)
''A Fleshless Diet: Vegetarianism as a Rational Dietary''
''Yale Medical Journal'' 17: 279-280.Anonymous. (1911)
''A Fleshless Diet: Vegetarianism as a Rational Dietary''
''The American Journal of Clinical Medicine'' 18 (3): 344. Buttner argued that

comparative anatomy Comparative anatomy is the study of similarities and differences in the anatomy of different species. It is closely related to evolutionary biology and phylogeny (the evolution of species). The science began in the classical era, continuing in t ...

and

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 ...

demonstrates that man is suited for a fleshless diet and that meat is dangerous and unnecessary.Anonymous. (1911)
''A Fleshless Diet: Vegetarianism as a Rational Dietary''
''Life and Health: The National Health Magazine'' 26 (2): 123. His recommended diet consisted of

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

s and

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

. Buttner wrote that "It is not illogical for vegetarians to use milk and eggs, as these animal products are distinctly less toxic than meat and also less likely to be disease-laden. They are obtained with a minimum of suffering on the part of the animals which furnish them to us." A review in the ''American Physical Education Review'', praised the book for compiling useful dietetic research but commented that it failed to show scientific discretion in the selected material. A review in the ''Journal of the American Medical Association'' recommended the book as a reference work whether or not one accepts Buttner's conclusions. A review in '' The Medical Standard'', noted that the book was a "piece of special pleading for the propaganda which it is designed to promote ��We may say this, however, for Dr. Buttner, that he has managed to present a much more rational and scientific case in behalf of a vegetable diet than most of those who have heretofore made the attempt." A negative review of the book in ''The Medical Era'' suggested that "Dr Buttner has correlated the usual arguments in favor of a vegetable diet, but has failed to show any scientific basis for the conclusions which he draws."Anonymous. (1912)
''Vegetables vs. Mixed Diets''
''The Medical Era'' 21: 52. A review in the ''Yale Medical Journal'' concluded that "we do not agree that the total abstinence from flesh foods will produce the beneficial results that he maintains." It was positively reviewed in the ''Life and Health'' magazine as "so carefully written that it is worthy of consideration." The ''American Journal of Clinical Medicine'' also positively reviewed the book as a "very reasonable and believable argument against the use of meat."

Selected publications

''A Fleshless Diet: Vegetarianism as a Rational Dietary''
(New York, 1910)
''An Author's Defence of His Book on Vegetarianism''
(''Yale Alumni Weekly'', 1910)
''Vegetarianism''
(''New York Medical Journal'', 1911)
''Vegetarianism''
(''Journal of the American Medical Association'', 1912)
''Correspondence: Early Man and Meat Diet''
(''Journal of the American Medical Association'', 1916)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buttner, J. L. 1876 births 20th-century American physicians American food writers American health and wellness writers American nutritionists American vegetarianism activists Yale School of Medicine alumni Year of death missing

Biography

''A Fleshless Diet''

Selected publications

See also

References