Charles Walter Forward (19 August 1863 – 9 June 1934) was an English activist, writer, and editor, notable for his advocacy of animal rights and vegetarianism.

Forward made significant contributions to the vegetarian movement and is best known for his 1898 work, Fifty Years of Food Reform, which was the first book to document its history.

[5] Forward was heavily involved in vegetarian journalism, serving as the editor of the Herald of Health and founding the Hygienic/Vegetarian Review.

[7] Forward's first published work was The Manual of Vegetarianism: A Complete Guide to Food Reform, which he co-authored with R. E. O'Callaghan in 1890.

[11] During World War I, he was associated with the Blue Cross Mission and was a delegate at the International Vegetarian Union in Stockholm.

He gave lectures for the London Vegetarian Society and the National Food Reform Demonstration Council and worked at the Ebury Street Nature Cure Clinic.

[4]: 42–43 His other journalistic ventures included The Bohemian (1887) and, in 1929, the quarterly New Life, announced in the Danielite Star, which focused on health and nature cure and was described as a "capital little magazine".

Similar to Robert Bell and Douglas Macmillan he held the view that meat eating was a major cause of cancer.