Minta Beach

Minta Asha Philips Beach (1875 – 11 April 1961) known as Mrs. David Beach was an American suffragette, long distance walker and music teacher who campaigned for vegetarianism.

Long distance walk

In April 1912, Beach embarked on a long-distance walk from New York City to Chicago to prove that hard labour could be performed on a raw vegetarian diet and that women had the stamina to complete such a feat. Beach received coaching lessons from Edward Payson Weston. For example, on May 1 she consumed an orange, two grated apples, raw ground wheat and a glass of milk for lunch and a lettuce salad, glass of milk mixed with two eggs and juice of a lemon for dinner. By May 3, Beach had removed dairy products and eggs from her diet. She commented that "I have not missed milk or eggs in the least". She arrived in Chicago on May 28 with her husband awaiting her. Beach managed the Little School of Applied Music in New York City which moved to the Berkshires in 1937. She had a summer home at Windsor.

She died at Sheffield, Massachusetts in 1961, aged 86.

Selected publications

Gallery