The prominent poet of English Romanticism was one of the most important pioneers of vegetarian cuisine.

Percy Bysshe Shelley, a prominent English Romantic poet, was notable for his vegetarian lifestyle and advocacy for plant-based diets in the early 1800s. Born in 1792, he faced expulsion from Oxford due to his atheistic views and later eloped with Harriet Westbrook, with whom he adopted a meat-free diet. Shelley’s dietary choices were influenced by ethical considerations and he argued for the benefits of vegetarianism in his writings, linking it to health, environmental sustainability, and social justice. Despite some inconsistencies in his eating habits, his commitment to vegetarianism influenced others, including playwright George Bernard Shaw, who referred to it as 'Shelleyism.'