People often ask who started the carnivore diet, expecting a single founder with a single book. The real story is a long chain of physicians, explorers and, more recently, social media figures who each promoted some version of eating mostly or only animal foods. Here is what is well documented, with claims attributed carefully.
Quick Answer
No one person started it. Meat-heavy diets were promoted by writers and physicians in the 1800s, tested in a 1928 to 1929 hospital study of the explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson, and then spread widely around 2018 by Shawn Baker and Mikhaila and Jordan Peterson. The modern carnivore diet is a recent label for an old idea.
Key Takeaways
- Nineteenth-century figures such as Bernard Moncriff, Arnaldo Cantani and James Salisbury promoted animal-only eating.
- Stefansson and a companion ate only meat for about a year under medical observation at Bellevue Hospital, with results published in 1929.
- Walter Voegtlin wrote a 1975 book arguing humans are mainly carnivorous, a claim current evidence does not support.
- The modern movement took off around 2018 through social media, with the lion diet and Shawn Baker as the best-known faces.
- Popularity and a good origin story are not evidence of safety or benefit.
Why There Is No Single Founder
Animal foods have always been central to some human diets, especially in cold regions where plants are scarce. What changed over time was the idea of choosing a meat-only diet on purpose, as a health strategy. That idea appears in medical writing and popular advice again and again, which is why historians usually describe a lineage, not an inventor.
For a definition of today’s version, see what the carnivore diet is.
Early Advocates in the 1800s
According to a history summarized on Wikipedia, a German writer named Bernard Moncriff published The Philosophy of the Stomach in 1856 and described living a year on beef and milk. In the 1870s, the Italian physician Arnaldo Cantani reportedly prescribed an exclusively animal diet to people with diabetes, long before insulin was available.
In the 1880s, the American doctor James Salisbury advocated 2 to 4 pounds of lean beef and several pints of hot water a day for weeks. His plan became known as the Salisbury diet or the meat and hot water diet. These were individual medical opinions, not controlled trials.
Stefansson and the Bellevue Study
Vilhjalmur Stefansson was an Arctic explorer who argued that people could live healthily on an Inuit-style diet of animal foods. In 1928 he and a companion agreed to a monitored all-meat year in New York. Physician Clarence Lieb reported the results in JAMA in 1929.
- Both men lived on meat only, with checkups at Bellevue Hospital.
- Lean meat alone made Stefansson ill with diarrhea, which resolved when fat was added.
- Kidney tests were reportedly normal and blood pressure stayed low.
- Basal metabolism ran 10 to 20 percent below standard, and gut bacteria became less diverse.
The study had two participants, so it cannot tell us what would happen in a general population. It was also reportedly supported by meat industry money, and the Arctic physiologist Kåre Rodahl later pointed out that Inuit also ate entrails and some plant foods. The lean meat finding connects to rabbit starvation.
Walter Voegtlin and the 1970s
Walter Voegtlin, an American gastroenterologist, self-published The Stone Age Diet in 1975. He argued that humans are predominantly carnivorous and urged a diet of fat and protein with few carbohydrates. His own appendix allowed some cooked vegetables, fruit and dairy, so even this early book was not strictly meat-only.
Critics note that his view of humans as meat eaters until about 10,000 years ago is not supported by current evidence, and some Paleo leaders have distanced themselves from his politics. It is a fair reminder to separate a popular idea from its messenger.
Who Started the Carnivore Diet in the Modern Era?
The modern wave is usually traced to 2018. Former orthopedic surgeon Shawn Baker promoted a meat-only approach on social media and later wrote The Carnivore Diet. Mikhaila Peterson began eating only meat in 2018 for health problems that included arthritis and depression, and blogged about the strict lion diet. Her father, Jordan Peterson, became a vocal adherent.
More recently, Paul Saladino popularized a looser animal-based pattern that adds fruit, honey and raw dairy. Learn the differences in the lion diet and the animal-based diet.
| Era | Figure | What they promoted |
|---|---|---|
| 1856 | Bernard Moncriff | A year on beef and milk |
| 1870s | Arnaldo Cantani | Animal-only diet for diabetes |
| 1880s | James Salisbury | Lean beef and hot water |
| 1928 to 1929 | Vilhjalmur Stefansson | All-meat year under observation |
| 1975 | Walter Voegtlin | The Stone Age Diet |
| 2018 onward | Shawn Baker, the Petersons | Social media carnivore movement |
What the Origin Story Does Not Prove
A long history shows that people have been drawn to animal-only eating for generations, not that it is safe or beneficial. A 2026 scoping review found just nine human studies of the carnivore diet, mostly small and uncontrolled, and concluded that long-term adherence cannot be recommended. Most claims of benefit are self-reported.
See ten carnivore diet myths checked against the evidence and whether the carnivore diet is healthy.
Who Started the Carnivore Diet: The Short Version
Asking who started the carnivore diet leads to a lineage, not a founder, running from Salisbury and Stefansson to the social media era. Knowing who started the carnivore diet is useful history, but it says nothing about long-term safety.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Shawn Baker invent the carnivore diet?
No. He helped popularize it around 2018, but meat-only diets were promoted well before then by writers, physicians and explorers.
What was the Stefansson experiment?
Vilhjalmur Stefansson and a companion ate only meat for about a year under medical observation at Bellevue Hospital. Results were published in 1929 and involved just two men.
Is the carnivore diet an ancient way of eating?
Some groups relied heavily on animal foods, but anthropologists describe ancestral diets as varied. The modern label and deliberate meat-only approach are recent.
What is the lion diet?
It is the strictest version, limited to ruminant meat, salt and water. Mikhaila Peterson helped make it widely known.
Is there good evidence the carnivore diet works?
Not yet. Evidence is limited to small studies and self-reported surveys, and experts do not recommend it long term.
Conclusion
The carnivore diet has no single founder, only a series of advocates across 170 years. Their stories are interesting, but science needs larger, longer and controlled studies. If you are curious about the diet, speak with a doctor or dietitian first.
Medical note
This article is for general education and is not medical advice. Talk with a doctor or registered dietitian before making major diet changes, especially if you have a health condition, take medication, or are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Keep Reading
- What Is the Carnivore Diet?: The basics of how it works.
- What Is the Lion Diet?: The strictest version explained.
- Carnivore Diet Myths: Ten claims checked against evidence.
- Is the Carnivore Diet Healthy?: Benefits and risks side by side.
Sources
- Carnivore diet (Wikipedia overview and history): Early advocates and modern popularizers
- Lieb 1929: Effects on Human Beings of a Twelve Months Exclusive Meat Diet: Report on the Stefansson study
- Vilhjalmur Stefansson (Wikipedia): Background and Bellevue study context
- Walter L. Voegtlin (Wikipedia): The Stone Age Diet, 1975
- Mikhaila Peterson (Wikipedia): Start of the lion diet in 2018
- Carnivore Diet: A Scoping Review of the Current Evidence: Nine human studies, long-term use not recommended
