![]() ![]() He was certainly mindful, but never rigid about his diet. Thoreau experimented with vegetarianism as a more ethical way of living, Walls explains. "Sorry, not quite," says Laura Dassow Walls, author of the new biography Henry David Thoreau: A Life. What follows is the truth about five dietary myths, plus a celebratory recipe for a Thoreauvian punch. No, if my crash course taught me anything, it's this Thoreau-ism: "Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth." What I learned about the proto-ecologist's plant-based diet could be the next, new diet book, but, well, been there, done that. Then, after a quick tour of Wikipedia and CliffsNotes, I consulted biographers past and present, visited the family farm and immersed myself in Walden – Thoreau's first-hand account of his two-year staycation in Concord's exurban wilderness. To get the real skinny on Thoreau's eating habits, I did a little research. In fact, my informal poll of locals reveals that it's the rare person who knows what the 19th-century naturalist grew at Walden Pond, let alone how he survived.Īpparently, even as the town celebrates Thoreau's bicentennial birthday bash, the truth about his diet is as elusive as any celebrity's. There's no shortage of myths about Henry David Thoreau, even in this American literary superhero's hometown of Concord, Mass. ![]() Did Thoreau steal pies off neighbors' windowsills? The myth persists. ![]()
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