“Bernarr Macfadden has shown how it is possible to provide palatable food based upon natural products […]. I believe that the food which is served today in his Penny restaurants will be the basis of epicurean meals in the smartest banquet halls of the 21st century.”
Over eight decades after his passing, as our society transitions from the industrial age to the wireless, digital age, the brilliance of one scientist refuses to dim, but rather shines even more brightly. People have been fascinated by his ingenuity, vision, and advanced understanding of the universe’s physical and metaphysical laws. His name is Nikola Tesla, born to a Serbian family on July 10, 1856, in the village of Smiljan, modern-day Croatia.
Celebrated as “The Man Who Invented the 20th Century,” “The Master of Lightning,” “The Wizard of Electricity,” or “The Man Out of Time,” Nikola Tesla (vegetarian) remains one of history’s most brilliant and forward-looking minds. His groundbreaking experiments and visionary ideas have inspired and continue to inspire generations of scientists, engineers, and inventors.
He famously invented the alternating current polyphase system and the induction motor, which enabled the efficient electrification as well as the widespread illumination of the world, and powered the mechanization of the Second Industrial Age. He’s credited with hundreds of inventions, most notably the modern radio (predating Guglielmo Marconi), observing X-rays (before Wilhelm Röntgen), radar (some 40 years prior to its WWII use), robotics, remote control, electric vehicles and more.
He also postulated the existence of cosmic rays before the work of Victor Hess and Theodor Wulf.
Tesla’s Magnifying Transmitter, a massive wireless transmission station also known as Wardenclyffe Tower, or Tesla Tower, was intended for the wireless transmission of free energy, images, text, and speech in a secure and individualized manner. This concept was a precursor to the principles underlying the internet by nearly a century.
Nikola Tesla was endowed with many talents. He spoke multiple languages, read numerous scripts, and had a remarkable memory supported by vivid mental imagery. His sensory acuity was so keen that at one time he could hear the ticking of a watch three rooms away. Even more astonishing was his ability to construct complete machines entirely within his mind. In his autobiography, My Inventions, Tesla described this method:
“My method is different. I do not rush into actual work. When I get an idea, I start at once building it up in my imagination. I change the construction, make improvements, and operate the device in my mind. […] In this way I am able to rapidly develop and perfect a conception without touching anything.”
This mental visualization method enabled Nikola Tesla to develop inventions with extraordinary speed and virtually no failures upon physical construction, as his mental simulations proved highly precise.
Over the course of his life, he obtained more than 300 patents worldwide, though some sources estimate his total innovations, including unpatented ones, reached approximately 800. In recognition of his contributions to electromagnetism, the SI unit of magnetic flux density was named in his honor: the tesla.
Nikola Tesla was so far ahead of his time that many of his concepts remain difficult to realize even today. He envisioned illuminating the oceans, photographing thoughts, contacting alien life, harnessing cosmic energy, controlling the weather, and building a ring around the equator for rapid travel.
However, during Tesla’s lifetime, many of his inventions were ignored, forgotten or even suppressed by the authorities at the time. He died alone and impoverished in a New York hotel room in 1943.
Our Most Beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai (vegan) expressed Her admiration for this genius.
“When Tesla was living, he was a genius. How do you say ‘genius’? (‘Tien-cai.’) ‘Tien-cai,’ right! He invented a lot of things. If we had adopted his inventions, our world would be up to the level of many other advanced planets by now. But as it is, we’re still behind. We still have to use a lot of external wiring and cables. What Tesla invented uses free energy and free electricity. But he was facing competition because wired electricity had already been invented, so they suppressed his inventions. His life was endangered, and he and his whole family had to move and hide themselves away. And he couldn’t reveal publicly a lot of his inventions. Many of them disappeared. Now, slowly a few are being rediscovered, but none are 100% his invention. Otherwise, we would have completely free energy today. We could use all the energy for free, all wireless, nothing complicated. Tesla was from Croatia. Good looking. He was an extraordinary man. He moved to the U.S. and became a citizen.
After he made those inventions, his life became endangered. The Tesla car was also from one of his inventions, but maybe many of his original inventions are not available. That’s why this kind of car is named ‘Tesla,’ to honor his name. I love this car so much. It has to be plugged into a power source to charge. Is this one powered by electricity or gas? (Electricity.) Electricity? The one I rode in today also runs by electricity? (Yes.) Yes? (Yes.) OK, that’s right. It’s a very ‘green’ car, as green as bananas or apples. It’s very eye-catching.
I wanted to support this new technology and I like him so much. It’s such a pity that we have so much jealousy in this world, much more than the desire to contribute service. Otherwise, our world could be much more advanced.”
Today, let’s examine the legacy of the visionary scientist, Nikola Telsa, to gain clarity and direction for the future we’re heading toward. He once famously said, “The present is theirs; the future, for which I really worked, is mine.” What future did he see for humanity? First of all, he believed in a future that’s plant-based.
Nikola Tesla was a vegetarian. In a 1900 article titled “The Problem of Increasing Human Energy” published in The Century Magazine, he clearly argued that the veg diet would be an optimal choice on many levels for the human race as a whole:
“[…] vegetarianism is a commendable departure from the established barbarous habit. That we can subsist on plant food and perform our work even to advantage is not a theory, but a well-demonstrated fact. Many races living almost exclusively on vegetables are of superior physique and strength.”
“There is no doubt that some plant food, such as oatmeal, is more economical than meat, and superior to it in regard to both mechanical and mental performance. Such food, moreover, taxes our digestive organs decidedly less, and, in making us more contented and sociable, produces an amount of good difficult to estimate.”
“How to provide good and plentiful food is, therefore, a most important question of the day. On the general principles the raising of cattle as a means of providing food is objectionable, because, in the sense interpreted above, it must undoubtedly tend to the addition of mass of a ‘smaller velocity.’ It is certainly preferable to raise vegetables […]”
“In view of these facts, every effort should be made to stop the wanton and cruel slaughter of animals, which must be destructive to our morals. To free ourselves from animal instincts and appetites, which keep us down, we should begin at the very root from which we spring: we should effect a radical reform in the character of the food.”
In a 1935 passage, Tesla predicted a major cultural shift that would make vegetarianism highly fashionable a century later. He foresaw that the wholesome, plant-based meals served in Bernarr Macfadden’s restaurants would one day become the standard for elite dining. Bernarr Macfadden (vegetarian) was a pioneering vegetarian bodybuilder, health advocate, and entrepreneur. During the Great Depression, Mr. Macfadden opened the Penny Cafeteria to serve vegetarian meals to people in need at one cent per dish, and established other franchises over the years as well. Tesla said,
“Bernarr Macfadden has shown how it is possible to provide palatable food based upon natural products […]. I believe that the food which is served today in his Penny restaurants will be the basis of epicurean meals in the smartest banquet halls of the 21st century.”
When Tesla made this statement in 1935, the idea was radical. Fine dining of the era was characterized by heavy animal-people flesh and elaborate preparations. The suggestion that simple, natural, vegetarian foods would define high cuisine in the future seemed implausible. Yet Tesla’s prediction has been strikingly fulfilled.
In the 21st century, many of the world’s acclaimed restaurants, including those appearing on top restaurant lists and receiving major culinary awards, now center their menus on simple, natural, plant-based ingredients.
- L’Arpège in Paris, France, a three-Michelin-starred restaurant since 1996, switched to an almost entirely vegan menu in 2025.
- Geranium in Copenhagen, Denmark, is three-Michelin-starred and the winner of the 2022 World’s 50 Best Restaurants. Since 2022, the restaurant has removed all land animal-people meat from its menu to focus on vegetables and grains.
- Since 2018, Atelier Crenn in San Francisco, USA, has eliminated land animal-people meat in favor of garden-grown produce and sustainable ingredients.
- Spirit Elephant, a high-end vegan restaurant in an upscale suburb of Chicago, USA, opened in 2020. Its slogan? Eat Plants, Feel Beautiful. It’s the winner of the 2021 Winnetka Green Award and the 2023 Chicago Tribune Reader’s Choice Food Award for Best Plant-Based Menu.
- Inspired by Supreme Master Ching Hai (vegan), the Vegetarian House is an organic vegan restaurant located in downtown San Jose, USA. The restaurant opened in 1994 with the vision of a world where all beings, humans and animal-people alike could live together in peace, love and harmony.
ETC…
Cool vegan cuisines and ventures have become hot topics in the 21st century, frequently making headline news. In the “smartest banquet halls of the 21st century,” as Tesla predicted, people get together to celebrate with delicious vegan feasts.
The banquet is incredible! There are so many fantastic vegan foods here, everything from vegan chicken products to sushi. It goes to show that we can enjoy fantastic food without harming animals or the environment or our health. It’s incredible.
One World and Loving Hut did the catering tonight, the food is always right on. So that’s another way of getting the message out there, because we’re showing that food can be delicious, and you can have all your same favorite foods, it’s really easy to switch them and make them vegan. So you have no excuse!
For the last month since I’ve been here, I have been 100% vegan. And you know what? I’m energetic. And I have lost nothing by not eating meat products. It’s actually pretty good. No headaches, no anything. Not an upset stomach.
I am the co-chair of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development’s Education Caucus, and we have a climate change delegation here. And we’re working on a well-prepared society.
This event helped raise my awareness. It was delicious, tasty and very, very delicious. This was superb. Whoever the chef was, brilliant work! Brilliant work. The presentation, the colors, but the food itself was incredibly tasty. The program is incredible. It’s fantastic.
Be Veg, Go Green, 2 Save the Planet!
ETC…
This global shift toward plant-centered haute cuisine precisely mirrors what Nikola Tesla envisioned. What an exciting trend! In the next episode, we’ll share more insights into the future from this scientific genius, known as the Man Out of Time.
