Did you know that Chicago became an epicenter for vegetarianism in the late 1800s? This question open the display of the National Vegetarian Museum exhibit currently touring the Chicago region. Did you also know that it happened at the 1893 World’s Fair?

In early June of 1893, vegetarians from around the world gathered in Chicago, “hog butcher for the world,” as part of the World’s Congress program of the Columbian Exposition. “Fresh countenances and sturdy frames characterized most of the vegetarians who met in a World’s Congress,” reported the Chicago Daily Tribune (“Live on Vegetables” June 6, 1893) “Some of the disciples of fruits and plants had passed the four score and ten mark, but their hale and hearty bearing testified to the merits of their doctrine.”

The Vegetarian Federal Union exhibit at the 1893 World’s Fair. [Image from Forward, Charles W. Fifty Years of Food Reform: a History of the Vegetarian Movement in England. Ideal Pub. Union, 1898.]

The exhibit is currently on display at the Lincoln Park Public Library (1150 W. Fullerton Avenue, Chicago) through June 25, before moving to the Henry E. Legler Regional Branch of the Chicago Public Library (115 S Pulaski Road) for the month of July. Previous exhibit sites included the Northtown Public Library in April, the Evanston Public Library in March, and the Indian Prairie Public Library in Darien, IL, in February.

The National Vegetarian Museum display

If, instead, you prefer meat in your diet, the check out the connection between hot dogs and the 1893 World’s Fair at the Vienna Beef History Museum that just opened down the road.