The vegetarians who would banish all meat from our diet must not infer
from the remarks just quoted that Dr. Wiley endorses their doctrine.
He is an epicure as well as a man of science, and no epicure will ever
advocate exclusive vegetarianism. While conceding that man "cannot be
nourished by meat alone," but that he "can live and flourish without
meat," he holds that he "is an omnivorous animal both by evolution and
necessarily by heredity"; and he has written much, and _con amore_,
about the pleasures of the table provided by meats cooked in savory
ways.
It is needless to dwell on the fact that most persons find meats more
appetizing and digestible than any other foods, and that it would
therefore be ridiculous as well as harmful to banish them from our
tables.
The chief argument against vegetarianism is that it would deprive
us of thousands of the delicious plain or combination Flavors which
make our food appetizing and digestible; and this argument is so
irrefutable, so crushing, that not another word need be wasted on
the subject. The _Flavor Test_ settles it for all time, as it does
everything relating to food.