In search of positive value: food as part of medical and ethical Lebensreform in Belgium during the Interbellum

Abstract

Abstract: This article analyses the public discourse about an early vegetarian movement active in Belgium (Antwerp) during the interwar period (1923-1939). It investigates the societal background of the vegetarian institute \u201cHygi\uebnisch Gesticht Van den Broeck\u201d and identifies Alo\uefs Van Son as the main driver and architect of a radical Lebensreform. Through an in-depth reading of the main periodical of the movement, Terug ter Orde (Back to Order), it is argued that the early Antwerp vegetarians developed an extensive, religiously inspired critique of the modern food system and proposed a coherent alternative regarding the production, distribution and consumption of food. Although the social impact of the movement remained limited and mainly attracted people from well-to-do Flemish cultural circles, some of its ideas regarding industrial food reform are still remarkably relevant