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The Vegetarian Legacy of Benjamin Lay, with the American Vegan Center
May 12, 2023 @ 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Benjamin Lay was scorned and laughed at during his life for his stubborn, relentless advocacy for the abolition of slavery from as early as 1732, and he spent nearly two centuries as a nearly-forgotten footnote to history. Thanks to Marcus Rediker’s 2017 biography The Fearless Benjamin Lay (now optioned for a major motion picture!), more Americans are starting to learn and appreciate how his anti-slavery activism reverberated through U.S. history, up to and beyond the US civil war. But his vegetarianism, which for Lay was cut from the same cloth as his abolitionism, also impacted American history.
We will look at how his influence was borne out in the lives of US vegetarians such as Anthony Benezet, John Woolman, Joshua Evans, Stephen Grellet, Sarah & Angelina Grimke, Bronson Alcott, and Dr. William Alcott, the first president of the American Vegetarian Society.
Vance Lehmkuhl
Vance Lehmkuhl runs the veg history tour program at the American Vegan Center, offering pre-scheduled and custom walking tours around Old City. He is the author of Eating Vegan in Philly (2016) and V for Veg: The Best of Philly’s Vegan Food Column (2016), both from Sullivan Street Press. He spent years as the vegan columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News and, prior to that, as the political cartoonist for Philadelphia City Paper, for which he was named Best of Philly by Philadelphia Magazine. He also founded the eco-pop band Green Beings, whose novelty patter song “Leftovers” has been heard many times on Dr. Demento’s radio show. Vance is passionate about three things: Helping acquaint people with Philadelphia’s amazing veg history; his wife, Cynthia Way; and the symphonies of Joseph Haydn.
About the American Vegan Center
The American Vegan Center opened at 17 N. 2nd St. in late 2021. A project of the American Vegan Society (founded 1960), the Center aims to make finding vegan food and vegan info easier for everyone. Books, magazines, T-shirts, postcards and vegan snack foods are among the in-store offerings. Occasional events such as book-signings, lectures and cooking classes help to educate and entertain. Veg history walking tours of Old City are also offered, bringing to light the rich yet largely unknown veg history of Philadelphia, the city where U.S. vegetarianism began in 1817. In addition to the standard tour, custom tours focusing on one aspect of our history are available. This talk is adapted from one of those tours.