The term vegetable as an adjective to describe a person was first used in the seventeenth century. But, these early uses of the word were to describe someone who lived an uneventful life without intellectual or social activity. It wasn't until the mid-twentieth century that vegetable emerged as a term used to describe individuals who are deemed to not be able to perform a nondisabled level of mental or physical activity.

History of the Term "Vegetable"

Schalk contends that despite the limited use of the term vegetable its repeated us draws into question the Panthers' intentions and rhetoric around disability politics. 

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Across the twenty two articles published in the Black Panther about psychosurgery between June 1971 and October 1977 the term vegetable is used seven times. Four of these seven times refer to Lou Byers. Two of these four times were in the first article published by Lou Byers which was a reprint of an article published in the Black Thought so not written by Black Panther authors.

Use of the Term Vegetable in the Black Panther

Schalk, Sami. Black Disability Politics, New York, USA: Duke University Press, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781478027003

Black Disability Politics

Why the Black Panther's Use of Vegetable Matters

The initail use of vegetable in the Black Panther was in an article stating that psychosurgery would send people "back into society as vegetables." The wording was used to note how the government would save money by sending people back into society rather than paying to incarcerate them.

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