"Meat-eating will eventually be done away. The flesh of animals will not longer compose a part of our diet, and we shall look upon a butcher’s shop with disgust. Again and again I have been shown that God is bringing His people back to His original design, that is, not to subsist upon the flesh of dead animals. He would have us teach people a better way."
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No. All flesh food—meat—is to be avoided, as attested to in the Scriptures and the writings of Mrs. White. Granted, flesh food was allowed for a time, but it was not in God's original diet, nor part of the ideal diet followed by Daniel and his friends, and it use has been strongly discouraged since at least 1884, and will not be eaten by those waiting for Jesus to return. Here are some brief sample quotes. There are many more further down the page:
• 1884: "Meat-eating will eventually be done away. The flesh of animals will not longer compose a part of our diet, and we shall look upon a butcher’s shop with disgust. Again and again I have been shown that God is bringing His people back to His original design, that is, not to subsist upon the flesh of dead animals. He would have us teach people a better way."—Ellen White, {Lt 3, 1884, par. 6}
• 1890: "Again and again I have been shown that God is trying to lead us back, step by step, to his original design,—that man should subsist upon the natural products of the earth. Among those who are waiting for the coming of the Lord, meat-eating will eventually be done away; flesh will cease to form a part of their diet. We should ever keep this end in view, and endeavor to work steadily toward it. I cannot think that in the practice of flesh-eating we are in harmony with the light which God has been pleased to give us."—Ellen White, Christian Temperance (EGW) and Bible Hygiene (James White) 119.1 [1890]
• 1896: "The whole animal creation is more or less diseased. Diseased meat is not rare, but common. Every phase of disease is brought into the human system through subsisting upon the flesh of dead animals. The feebleness and weakness consequent upon change from a meat diet will soon be overcome, and physicians ought to understand that they should not make the stimulus of meat eating essential for health and strength. All who leave it alone intelligently, after becoming accustomed to the change, will have health of sinews and muscles."—Ellen White,{Lt 54, 1896, par. 17}
• 1898: "Disease is contracted by the use of meat. The diseased flesh of these dead carcasses is sold in the market places, and disease among men is the sure result. {Lt 59, 1898, par. 10} The Lord would bring His people into a position where they will not touch nor taste the flesh of dead animals. ... There is no safety in eating of the flesh of the dead animals, and in a short time the milk of the cows will also be excluded from the diet of God’s commandment-keeping people. In a short time it will not be safe to use anything that comes from the animal creation."—Ellen White, {Lt 59, 1898, par. 11}
There is much written in the Scriptures regarding God's dietary intentions for humankind. Beginning with the original plant-based diet that brought such longevity in the early chapters of Genesis, God later allowed flesh foods after the flood, though the Bible clearly establishes that "unclean" meat is forbidden (Lev. 11:2-23). In spite of allowing meat after the flood, we learn from Daniel and his friends, that God's original ideal original diet was still favored by those who have walked closely with God. Since 1884—perhaps earlier, I have not done an exhaustive study—God's Sabbath-keeping people have been strongly admonished to abandon meat and exclusively eat a plant-based diet. In the information that follows you will find some of the Scriptures on the subject, as well as quotations listed chronologically that provide guidance on this important subject.
God's gave the following original diet.
Genesis 1:29 (NKJV) "And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food."
Herbs were added after the fall.
Genesis 3:18 (NKJV) "And you shall eat the herb of the field."
Clean meat was added after the flood, but eating the blood of animals was forbidden. [The significance of clean animals versus unclean animals was seen in the numbers of animals of the various kinds taken into the ark.]
Genesis 7:2-3 (NKJV) "You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; 3 also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth."
Genesis 9:3-4 (NKJV) 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.
Blood and fat were prohibited. [These prohibitions are ignored for the most part in our day.]
Leviticus 3:17 “It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations, throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.”
Leviticus 7:22, 23, 25-27. “It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations, throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.” [Leviticus 3:17.] “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, of sheep, or of goat.” “For whosoever eateth the fat of the beasts, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people. Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.”
"Leviticus 7:26-27 (NKJV) "Moreover you shall not eat any blood in any of your dwellings, whether of bird or beast. 27 Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.”
Blood was prohibited in the early church.
"Acts 15:28-29 (NKJV) "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well."
A full list of clean and unclean animals is found in Leviticus 11.
Leviticus 11:2-23 (NKJV) 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, saying, These are the animals which you may eat among all the animals that are on the earth: 3 Among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud—that you may eat. 4 Nevertheless these you shall not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have cloven hooves: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; 5 the rock hyrax, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; 6 the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; 7 and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you. 8 Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. They are unclean to you. 9 These you may eat of all that are in the water: whatever in the water has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers—that you may eat. 10 But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are an abomination to you. 11 They shall be an abomination to you; you shall not eat their flesh, but you shall regard their carcasses as an abomination. 12 Whatever in the water does not have fins or scales—that shall be an abomination to you. 13 And these you shall regard as an abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, 14 the kite, and the falcon after its kind; 15 every raven after its kind, 16 the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after its kind; 17 the little owl, the fisher owl, and the screech owl; 18 the white owl, the jackdaw, and the carrion vulture; 19 the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat. 20 ‘All flying insects that creep on all fours shall be an abomination to you. 21 Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth. 22 These you may eat: the locust after its kind, the destroying locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind. 23 But all other flying insects which have four feet shall be an abomination to you."
Eating meat brought God's judgments.
Numbers 11:4-6 (NKJV) "Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat? 5 We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; 6 but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!” ... Numbers 11:31-33 (NKJV) 31 Now a wind went out from the LORD, and it brought quail from the sea and left them fluttering near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about two cubits above the surface of the ground. 32 And the people stayed up all that day, all night, and all the next day, and gathered the quail (he who gathered least gathered ten homers); and they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. 33 But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was aroused against the people, and the LORD struck the people with a very great plague."
Psalms 78:18 (NKJV) 18 "And they tested God in their heart
By asking for the food of their fancy." ... "Psalms 106:14-15 (NKJV) 14 But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness, And tested God in the desert. 15 And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul."
Isaiah 66:16-17 (NKJV) 16 For by fire and by His sword The LORD will judge all flesh; And the slain of the LORD shall be many. 17 “Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves, To go to the gardens After an idol in the midst, Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse, Shall be consumed together,” says the LORD."
In eating we must ever remember we are temples of the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 6:19 "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?"
We are also admonished to give our bodies as living sacrifices.
Romans 12:1-2 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your [b]reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
"The fact that meat is largely diseased should lead us to make strenuous efforts to discontinue its use entirely. My position now is to let meat altogether alone."
Ellen White also spoke much on the meat question, pointing out that those waiting for Jesus to come will no longer use meat prior to His coming. I chose to list the quotations in chronological order to facilitate evaluating whether there is any progression in her messages. The following is one of the strings used in seeking quotations on the topic: [("flesh foods" | meat) (diseas* | "no excuse" | discard)]
"Now as to my own experience: Meat seldom appears on my table, for weeks at a time I would not taste it, and after my appetite had been trained, I grew stronger and could do better work. When I came to the Retreat, I determined not to taste meat, but I could get scarcely anything else to eat, and therefore ate a little meat. It caused unnatural action of the heart. I knew it was not the right kind of food. I wanted to keep house by myself, but this was overruled. If I could have done as I wished, I should have remained at the institution several weeks longer. The use of meat, while at the Retreat awakened the old appetite, and after I returned home, it clamored for indulgence. Then I resolved to change entirely, and not under any circumstances eat meat and thus encourage this appetite. Not a morsel of meat or butter has been on my table since I returned. We have milk, fruit, grains, and vegetables. For a time I lost all desire for food. Like the children of Israel, I hankered after flesh meats. But I firmly refused to have meat bought or cooked. I was weak and trembling, as every one who subsists on meat will be when deprived of the stimulus. But now my appetite has returned, I enjoy bread and fruit, my head is generally clear, and my strength firmer. I have none of the goneness so common with meat eaters. I have had my lesson, and, I hope, learned it well. {Lt 2, 1884, par. 6} ... You may think you cannot work without meat, I thought so once, but I know that in His original plan, God did not provide for the flesh of dead animals to compose the diet for man. It is a gross, perverted taste that will accept such food. To think of dead flesh rotting in the stomach is revolting. Then, the fact that meat is largely diseased should lead us to make strenuous efforts to discontinue its use entirely. My position now is to let meat altogether alone. It will be hard for some to do this, as hard as for the rum drinker to forsake his dram; but they will be better for the change."—Ellen White {Lt 2, 1884, par. 9}
"Meat-eating will eventually be done away. The flesh of animals will not longer compose a part of our diet, and we shall look upon a butcher’s shop with disgust. Again and again I have been shown that God is bringing His people back to His original design, that is, not to subsist upon the flesh of dead animals. He would have us teach people a better way. {Lt 3, 1884, par. 6} We are built up from that which we eat. Shall we strengthen the animal passions by eating animal food? In the place of educating the taste to love this gross diet, it is high time that we were educating ourselves to subsist upon fruits, grains, and vegetables. This is the work of all who are connected with our institutions. Use less and less meat, until it is not used at all. If meat is discarded, if the taste is not educated in that direction, [and] if a liking for fruits and grains is encouraged, it will soon be as God in the beginning designed it should be. No meat will be used by His people."—Ellen White {Lt 3, 1884, par. 7}
"Among those who are waiting for the coming of the Lord, meat-eating will eventually be done away; flesh will cease to form a part of their diet. We should ever keep this end in view, and endeavor to work steadily toward it."
[This is similar to what is found in the letter 3, 1884.]
"Again and again I have been shown that God is trying to lead us back, step by step, to his original design,—that man should subsist upon the natural products of the earth. Among those who are waiting for the coming of the Lord, meat-eating will eventually be done away; flesh will cease to form a part of their diet. We should ever keep this end in view, and endeavor to work steadily toward it. I cannot think that in the practice of flesh-eating we are in harmony with the light which God has been pleased to give us. All who are connected with our health institutions especially should be educating themselves to subsist on fruits, grains, and vegetables. If we move from principle in these things, if we as Christian reformers educate our own taste, and bring our diet to God’s plan, then we may exert an influence upon others in this matter, which will be pleasing to God."—Ellen White, Christian Temperance (EGW) and Bible Hygiene (James White) 119.1 [1890]
"John separated himself from his friends, and from the luxuries of life, dwelling alone in the wilderness, and subsisting upon a purely vegetable diet. .... His diet also, of locusts and wild honey, was a rebuke to the gluttony that everywhere prevailed. {CTBH 38.5} ... John the Baptist went forth in the spirit and power of Elijah, to prepare the way of the Lord, and to turn the people to the wisdom of the just. He was a representative of those living in the last days, to whom God has intrusted sacred truths to present before the people, to prepare the way for the second appearing of Christ. And the same principles of temperance which John practiced should be observed by those who in our day are to warn the world of the coming of the Son of man."—Ellen White {CTBH 39.1} 1890]
"I feel sincere pity for families who have newly come to the faith, and who are so pressed with poverty that they know not from whence their next meal is coming. It is not my duty to discourse to them on healthful eating. There is a time to speak, and a time to keep silent. The opportunity furnished by circumstances of this order is an opportunity to speak words that will encourage and bless, rather than condemn and reprove."
"I have been passing through an experience in this country that is similar to the experience I had in new fields in America. I have seen families whose circumstances would not permit them to furnish their table with healthful food. Unbelieving neighbors have sent them in portions of meat from animals recently killed. They have made soup of the meat, and supplied their large families of children with meals of bread and soup. It was not my duty, nor did I think it was the duty of any one else, to lecture them upon the evils of meat eating. I feel sincere pity for families who have newly come to the faith, and who are so pressed with poverty that they know not from whence their next meal is coming. It is not my duty to discourse to them on healthful eating. There is a time to speak, and a time to keep silent. The opportunity furnished by circumstances of this order is an opportunity to speak words that will encourage and bless, rather than condemn and reprove. Those who have lived upon a meat diet all their life do not see the evil of continuing the practice, and they must be treated tenderly."—Ellen White, Lt 76, 1895
"The Lord has spoken plainly in regard to the deleterious effects of a meat diet and its influence upon children. Whenever I have seen children feeding upon flesh meats, since the light was given me from heaven, I have felt that if the parents only knew what they were doing, they would fast and pray for moral courage, and God-given wisdom and grace to do right. All who feel their need of His Spirit to educate and discipline self, and to properly train their children, will deny self, and take up the cross and follow Jesus."—Ellen White {Lt73-1896.}
"The whole animal creation is more or less diseased. Diseased meat is not rare, but common."
"Eating of the flesh of dead animals is deleterious to the health of the body, and all who use a meat diet are increasing their animal passions and are lessening their susceptibility of the soul to realize the force of truth and the necessity of its being brought into their practical life. This meat eating question needs to be guarded. When one changes from the stimulating diet of meat eating to the fruit and vegetable diet, there will always be at first a sense of weakness and of lack of vitality, and many urge this as an argument for the necessity of a meat diet. But this result is the very argument that should be used in discarding a meat diet. {Lt 54, 1896, par. 13} The change should not be urged to be made abruptly, especially for those who are taxed with continuous labor. Let the conscience be educated, the will energized, and the change can be made much more readily and willingly. {Lt 54, 1896, par. 14}. The consumptives who are going steadily down to the grave should not make particular changes in this respect, but care should be exercised to obtain the meat of healthy animals as can be found. {Lt 54, 1896, par. 15}. Persons with tumors running their life away should not be burdened with the question as to whether they should leave meat eating or not. Be careful to make no stringent resolutions in regard to this matter. It will not help the case to force changes, but will do injury to the non-meat-eating principles. Give lectures in the parlor. Educate the mind, but force no one, for such reformation made under a pressure is worthless, and will surely go back to [a] meat-eating diet. Enlighten the mind that God would be pleased to have the body free from disease. The greatest cause of disease is in the food taken into the system in large meat eating. When you remove the meat from the table, you have a work to do to substitute articles of food tasteful and appetizing in fruits and grains. Meat will soon be forgotten in arousing the conscience and the determined will brought into action. There is to be no forcing the mind, but educating it to view the subject from a right standpoint. {Lt 54, 1896, par. 16}. There needs to be presented to all students and physicians, and by them to others, that the whole animal creation is more or less diseased. Diseased meat is not rare, but common. Every phase of disease is brought into the human system through subsisting upon the flesh of dead animals. The feebleness and weakness consequent upon change from a meat diet will soon be overcome, and physicians ought to understand that they should not make the stimulus of meat eating essential for health and strength. All who leave it alone intelligently, after becoming accustomed to the change, will have health of sinews and muscles."—Ellen White {Lt 54, 1896, par. 17}
"We are seeking in every way to recommend by precept and example the disuse of animal flesh. From the light the Lord has been pleased to give me, the flesh of dead animals is not the proper food for human beings to eat and we are composed of that which we eat. While boarding with Brother and Sister Belden they had not a flesh meat diet, and boarding with you, the flesh meat diet is arousing the appetite for that class of food which is not best for us to eat. We are not to sanction by precept and example the flesh meat diet. Please do not encourage the workers henceforth to board with you if you set this class of food before them. As a family you are of nervous temperament, and such a diet will to be the best for physical, mental, or moral healthfulness. We are so sorry you placed meat before the workers, for this is one part of their education—to refrain from flesh meat diet. Animals are diseased, terribly diseased, and why take the flesh of dead animals into your blood? God help you is my prayer."—Ellen White, {Lt163-1896.}
"We are living in critical times. Disease of every stripe and type is afflicting the human family, and it is largely the result of subsisting upon the diseased flesh of dead animals. Some who have had the consequences of a meat diet set before them do not change. Why? Because they have educated their tastes to enjoy the flesh of dead animals, and that taste must be indulged at any cost. And instead of preparing the meat in the least objectionable way, many choose the way that is most objectionable. The meat is served, reeking with fat, because it suits the perverted taste. Both the blood and the fat of animals are consumed as a luxury. But the Lord gave special directions that these should not be eaten. Why? Because their use would make a diseased current of blood in the human system. The disregard of the Lord’s special directions has brought a variety of difficulties and diseases upon human beings. {Lt 102, 1896, par. 12} Jesus, speaking from the cloudy pillar, gave special directions to the children of Israel, saying, “It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations, throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood.” [Leviticus 3:17.] “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Ye shall eat no manner of fat, of ox, of sheep, or of goat.” “For whosoever eateth the fat of the beasts, of which men offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people. Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings. Whatsoever soul it be that eateth any manner of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people.” [Leviticus 3:17; 7:22, 23, 25-27.]—Ellen White {Lt 102, 1896, par. 13}
"The meat diet is the serious question. Shall human beings live on the flesh of dead animals? The answer, from the light that God has given is, No; decidedly no. Health reform institutions should educate on this question. Physicians who claim to understand the human organism ought not to encourage their patients to subsist on the flesh of dead animals. They should point out the increase of disease in the animal kingdom. The testimony of examiners is that very few animals are free from disease, and that the practice of eating largely of meat is contracting diseases of all kinds—cancers, tumors, scrofula, tuberculosis, and numbers of other like affections. If man will subsist on the food that God has so abundantly provided, without having it first pass into the animal organism and become sinew and muscle, and then take it second hand by eating of the corpse, his health would be much better insured."—Ellen White, {Ms3-1897.}
"In the afternoon Brother and Sister Hughes called upon me, and we had a long conversation in regard to the meat diet question. Oh, that we may in all things eat and drink to the glory of God. We need a strictly hygienic diet. The eating of the flesh of dead animals is repulsive to me. The animal creation is largely diseased and meat eaters eating the flesh of dead animals cannot avoid eating meat that is more or less diseased. {Ms175-1897.}. Many who ought to know better will say, “Oh, I cannot live without meat. I feel so weak and gone if I do not have meat; I have no strength.” Thus argues the tea and liquor drinker. Some have undertaken to live without meat but have devised nothing to supply its place, and finding themselves weak have supposed it was subsisting upon the flesh of dead animals that gave them strength, and therefore returned to their meat-eating diet. All who will learn how to cook properly will soon find they can live without meat entirely. Good sweet bread, fruit, and vegetables, supply all the necessities the system requires. I have a large family of workers and all are in good health, but none taste of meat."—Ellen White, {Ms175-1897.}
"The Lord would bring His people into a position where they will not touch nor taste the flesh of dead animals."
"I present the Word of the Lord God of Israel, because of transgression, the curse of God has come upon the earth itself, upon the cattle, and upon all flesh. Human beings are suffering result of their own course of action in departing from the commandments of God. The beasts also suffer under the curse. {Lt 59, 1898, par. 9} Meat eating should not come into prescriptions for any invalids from any physician from among those who understand these things. Disease in cattle is making meat eating a dangerous matter. The Lord’s curse is upon the earth, upon man, upon beasts, upon the fish in the sea; and as transgression becomes almost universal, the curse will be permitted to become as broad and as deep as the transgression. Disease is contracted by the use of meat. The diseased flesh of these dead carcasses is sold in the market places, and disease among men is the sure result. {Lt 59, 1898, par. 10} The Lord would bring His people into a position where they will not touch nor taste the flesh of dead animals. Then let not these things be prescribed by any physician who has a knowledge of the truth for this time. There is no safety in eating of the flesh of the dead animals, and in a short time the milk of the cows will also be excluded from the diet of God’s commandment-keeping people. In a short time it will not be safe to use anything that comes from the animal creation. Those who take God at His Word, and obey His commandments with a whole heart, will be blessed. He will be their shield of protection. But the Lord will not be trifled with. Distrust, disobedience, and alienation from God’s will and way will place the sinner in a position where the Lord cannot give him His divine favor." {Lt 59, 1898, par. 11} ... Again I will refer to the diet question. We cannot now do as we have ventured to do in the past in regard to meat eating. It has always been a curse to the human family, but now it is made particularly so in the curse which God has pronounced upon the herds of the field because of man’s transgression and sin. The disease upon animals is becoming more and more common, and our only safety is in leaving meat entirely alone. {Lt 59, 1898, par. 15}. The most aggravated diseases are now prevalent, and the very last thing that physicians who are enlightened should do is to advise patients to eat meat. It is in eating meat so largely in this country that men and women are becoming demoralized, their blood corrupted, and disease planted in the system. Because of meat eating many die, and they do not understand the cause. If the truth were known, it would bear testimony it was the flesh of animals that has passed through death. The thought of feeding on dead flesh is repulsive, but there is something besides this. In eating this we partake of diseased dead flesh, and this sows its seed of corruption in the human organism. {Lt 59, 1898, par. 16} I write to you, my brother, that the giving of prescriptions for the eating of the flesh of animals may no more be practiced in our sanitarium. There is no excuse for this. There is no safety in the after influence and results upon the human mind. Let us be health reformers in every sense of the term. Let us make known in our institutions that there is no longer a meat table, even for the boarders; and then the education given upon the discarding of a meat diet will not be only saying but doing. If patronage is less, so let it be. The principles will be of far greater value when they are understood, when it is known that the life of no living thing shall be taken to sustain the life of a Christian."—Ellen White, {Lt 59, 1898, par. 17}
There are many now under the shadow of death who have prepared to do a work for the Master, but who have not felt that a sacred obligation rested upon them to observe the laws of health. The laws of the physical system are indeed the laws of God. There are many who have limited themselves to a diet that cannot sustain them in health. In the efforts made to discard a meat diet, there has not been sufficient care taken to provide nourishing food to take the place of meat. It is really contrary to health reform to cut off the great variety of dishes, and then go to the opposite extreme, taking no pains to understand that the living machinery must be fed in order to work, and reducing the quantity and quality of the food to a low degree. Instead of health reform, this is health deform. After some have made the change in their diet, they have not considered that they must have tact and ingenuity to prepare their food in the most healthful manner. Brother Pallant, your stomach is in such a condition that you must give yourself into skillful hands. You must have proper food prepared for you, without having to give particular thought to it yourself. ... Your whole system will become deranged if you have to take charge of your own diet. This continual mental anxiety is a tax you must not bear. If any physician prescribes meat for you, say, No; the flesh of dead animals shall not compose my diet. Flesh meat is not necessary for the health and strength of mind or body. If the Lord had not furnished all that is essential in the vegetable world, there would be an excuse for meat-eating; but animals are now so diseased that it is now really dangerous, it is unclean, to eat meat. Flesh meat formed no part of the food provided for man in the beginning. It was after the transgression and fall, when death was to be man’s portion, that God permitted that long-lived race to eat the flesh of clean animals."—Ellen White, {Lt 101, 1898, par. 9}
"Therefore light must be given as to the best methods of introducing health reform. Meat is the greatest disease breeder that can be introduced into the human system. But you cannot teach health reform unless you present the most inexpensive methods of living. The enemy must have no advantage in any line. The Lord can only bless those who are keeping every precept He has given in relation to this life."—Ellen White, {Ms105-1898.}
"We are to take our position firmly in regard to the light given us that the consumption of the dead flesh of animals is counterworking the restoring of the sick to health. It is not a safe and wholesome diet. Lectures in the parlor will present the right principles and instruct the patients that we have a non-meat diet. We will not tempt them with animal flesh, because the flesh of dead animals is not healthful, but the cause of many diseases; and having established a sanitarium we do not present that which we know to produce the very afflictions many of them are suffering under and for which they come to the sanitarium to receive treatment. However great the goodness of God and however abundant His promises to any people, continued transgression of the laws of God in our nature brings disease. Therefore we cannot present meat before the patients."—Ellen White {Ms 184, 1898, par. 37}
"You ask in regard to meat eating. I will say that it is quite true that nearly all animal flesh is diseased. Many people are eating meat filled with consumptive and cancerous germs. At the present day animals are suffering from all kinds of deadly diseases. {Lt83-1901.}. The Lord has been teaching His people that it is for their spiritual and physical good to abstain from flesh eating. There is no need to eat the flesh of dead animals. {Lt83-1901.}. After the curse was pronounced upon the human family, God permitted man to eat flesh meat. This He did that life might be shortened. The punishment of death has been pronounced upon the race, and the permission to eat flesh meat was one of the means used by God to inflict this punishment.—Ellen White, {Lt83-1901.}
"It would be well for us to do less cooking and to eat more fruit in its natural state. Let us eat freely of fresh grapes, apples, peaches, oranges, blackberries, and all other kinds of fruit which can be obtained. Let these be prepared for winter use by canning, always using glass instead of tin. {Lt14-1901.} Dr. Rand, educate yourself to discard all flesh meat. Soon butter will never be recommended, and milk will be entirely discarded; for disease in animals is increasing in proportion to the increase of wickedness among men. Soon there will be no safety in using eggs, milk, cream, or butter. {Lt14-1901.} God will give His people ability and tact to prepare wholesome food without these things. Let our people in Australia discard all unwholesome recipes and learn how to live healthfully in accordance with the directions God has given. Let them impart this knowledge as they would Bible instruction. Let them preserve the health and increase the strength by avoiding the large amount of cooking which has filled the world with chronic invalids. We are coming to the time when recipes for cooking will not be needed, for God’s people will learn that the food God gave Adam in his sinless state is the best for keeping the body in a sinless state.—Ellen White, {Lt14-1901.}
"Greater reforms should be seen among the people who claim to be looking for the soon appearing of Christ. Should Seventh-day Adventists practice what they profess to believe, what a surprise it would be to the world! If they were sincere health-reformers, they would indeed be a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. They would show a far greater zeal for the salvation of those who are ignorant of the truth. {Ms 86, 1901, par. 17}. Health reform is to do among our people a work which it has not yet done. There are those who ought to be awake to the danger of meat-eating, but who are still eating the flesh of animals, thus endangering physical, mental, and spiritual health. Many who are now only half-converted on the question of meat-eating will go from God’s people and walk no more with them."—Ellen White {Ms 86, 1901, par. 18}
"Let our ministers and canvassers step under the banner of strict temperance. Never be ashamed to say, “No, thank you; I do not eat meat. I have conscientious scruples against eating the flesh of dead animals.” If tea is offered, refuse it, giving your reason for so doing. Explain that it is harmful, and though stimulating for a time, the stimulus soon wears off, and a corresponding depression is felt. Intoxicating drink, tobacco, meat, tea, and coffee injure the digestive organs and weaken the brain power. Their use brings disease, disqualifying the user for the work God expects him to do."—Ellen White, {Ms113-1901.}
"The Lord does not now work to bring many souls into the truth, because of the church members who have never been converted and those who were once converted but who have backslidden. What influence would these unconsecrated members have on new converts? Would they not make of no effect the God-given message which His people are to bear?"
"The subject of health reform has been presented in the churches; but the light has not been heartily received. The selfish, health-destroying indulgences of men and women have counteracted the influence of the message that is to prepare a people for the great day of God. If the churches expect strength, they must live the truth which God has given them. If the members of our churches disregard the light on this subject, they will reap the sure result in both spiritual and physical degeneracy. And the influence of these older church members will leaven those newly come to the faith. The Lord does not now work to bring many souls into the truth, because of the church members who have never been converted and those who were once converted but who have backslidden. What influence would these unconsecrated members have on new converts? Would they not make of no effect the God-given message which His people are to bear? {6T 370.3}
Let all examine their own practices to see if they are not indulging in that which is a positive injury to them. Let them dispense with every unhealthful gratification in eating and drinking. Some go to distant countries to seek a better climate; but wherever they may be, the stomach creates for them a malarious atmosphere. They bring upon themselves suffering that no one can alleviate. Let them bring their daily practice into harmony with nature’s laws; and by doing as well as believing, an atmosphere may be created about both soul and body that will be a savor of life unto life. {6T 371.1}
Brethren, we are far behind. Many of the things which the church should do in order to be a living church are not done. Through the indulgence of perverted appetite many place themselves in such a condition of health that there is a constant warring against the soul’s highest interests. The truth, though presented in clear lines, is not accepted. I wish to set this matter before every member of our churches. Our habits must be brought into conformity to the will of God. We are assured, “It is God which worketh in you,” but man must do his part in controlling appetite and passion. The religious life requires the action of mind and heart in harmony with the divine forces. No man can of himself work out his own salvation, and God cannot do this work for him without his co-operation. But when man works earnestly, God works with him, giving him power to become a son of God."—Ellen White {6T 371.2}
"To many in different places the Lord will give intelligence in regard to health foods. He can spread a table in the wilderness. Health foods should be prepared by our churches who are trying to practice the principles of health reform. But as surely as they should do this, some would say that they were infringing on their rights. But who gave them wisdom to prepare these foods? The God of heaven. That same God will give wisdom to His people in the different countries to use the productions of these countries in preparing health foods. In simple, inexpensive ways, our people are to experiment with the fruits and grains and roots in the country in which they live. In the different countries, inexpensive health foods are to be manufactured for the benefit of the poor <and for the benefit of the families of our own people.> {Ms156-1901.28}. The message God has given me is that His people in foreign lands are not to depend for their supply of health foods on the importation of health foods from America. The freight and the duty make the cost of these foods so high that the poor, who are just as precious in the sight of God as the wealthy, cannot have the advantage of them. {Ms156-1901.29}. Health foods are God’s productions, and He will teach His people in missionary fields so to combine the productions of the earth that simple, inexpensive, wholesome foods will be provided. If they will seek wisdom from God, He will teach them how to plan and devise <to utilize these productions>. I am instructed to say, “Forbid them not.” {Ms156-1901.30} ... When the message comes to those who have not heard the truth for this time, they see that a great reformation must take place in their diet. They see that they must put away flesh food, because it creates an appetite for liquor and fills the system with disease. By meat-eating, the physical, mental, and moral powers are weakened. Man is built up from that which he eats. Animal passions bear sway as the result of meat-eating, tobacco-using, and liquor-drinking. The Lord will give His people wisdom to prepare from that which the earth yields, foods that will take the place of flesh meat. Simple combinations of nuts and grains and fruits, manufactured with taste and skill, will commend themselves to unbelievers. But as a usual thing, too many nuts are used in the combinations made.—Ellen White, {Ms156-1901.35}
"Let all who advocate health reform strive earnestly to make it all that they claim it is. Let them discard everything that is detrimental to health. Tea, coffee, and flesh meat should not be used. Place in the Lord’s treasury the amount that the use of these things would cost you. Let those who have neglected this good work repent of their backslidings. All who live in these last days need to be fully established in the principles of health reform. They need to recognize that the medical missionary work is ordained of God. Because the avenues of the soul have been sealed by the tyrant Prejudice, many are painfully ignorant of the principles of healthful living. In their religious life they have become sour and uncongenial. May God forgive them.—Ellen White, {Lt177-1901.}
"It has been clearly presented to me that God’s people are to take a firm stand against meat-eating. Would God for thirty years give His people the message that if they desire to have pure blood and clear minds, they must give up the use of flesh meat, if He did not want them to heed this message? By the use of flesh meat the animal nature is strengthened and the spiritual nature weakened. Such men as you, who are engaged in the most solemn and important work ever entrusted to human beings, need to give special heed to what they eat. {Lt48-1902.18} Remember that when you eat flesh meat, you are but eating grains and vegetables secondhand; for the animal receives from these things the nutrition that makes it grow and prepares it for market. The life that was in the grains and vegetables passes into the animal, and becomes part of its life, and then human beings eat the animal. Why are they so willing to eat their food secondhand? {Lt48-1902.19} In the beginning, fruit was pronounced by God as “good for food.” [Genesis 2:9.] The permission to eat flesh meat was a consequence of the fall. Not till after the flood was man given permission to eat the flesh of animals. Why then need we eat flesh meat? Few who eat this know how full it is of disease. Flesh meat never was the best food, and now it is cursed by disease. {Lt48-1902.20} The thought of killing animals to be eaten is in itself revolting. If man’s natural sense had not been perverted by this indulgence of appetite, human beings would not think of eating the flesh of animals. {Lt48-1902.21} We have been given the work of advancing health reform. The Lord desires His people to be in harmony with another. As you must know, we shall not leave the position in which, for the last thirty-five years, the Lord has been bidding us stand. Beware how you place yourself in opposition to the work of health reform. It will go forward; for it is the Lord’s means of lessening the suffering in our world, and of purifying His people."—Ellen White {Lt48-1902.22}
"Many to whom precious light has been given desire to return to the flesh-pots of Egypt. Many who are supported by the tithe from God’s storehouse are by self-indulgence poisoning the life-giving current flowing through their veins. Disregarding the light and the warnings that God has given during the past twenty-five or thirty years, some continue to gratify their desire for flesh meat. {Ms 24, 1902, par. 9}
We are not to make the use of flesh meat a test. But we may and should consider the influence that professed believers who use flesh meat have over our churches. Those who use flesh meat disregard all the warnings that God has given concerning this question. They have no evidence that they are walking in safe paths. They have not the slightest excuse for eating the flesh of dead animals. God’s curse is resting upon the animal creation. Many times when meat is eaten, it decays in the stomach and creates disease. Cancers, tumors, and pulmonary diseases are largely caused by meat eating. {Ms 24, 1902, par. 10} As God’s messengers, shall we not bear a decided testimony against the indulgence of perverted appetite? Will those who claim to be ministers of the gospel, proclaiming the most solemn truth ever given to mortals, make the stomach a cesspool? God has provided an abundance of fruits and grains which may be healthfully prepared and used in proper quantities. Why, then, do men continue to choose flesh meat? Can we possibly have confidence in ministers who, at tables where flesh meat is served, join with others in eating it?"—Ellen White {Ms 24, 1902, par. 11}.
The parents who know the truth in regard to the indulgence of appetite should not permit their children to eat to excess or to eat flesh meat or other foods that excite the passions. Man is built up from what he eats. The use of flesh meat strengthens the lower propensities and excites them to increased activity. Parents should discard everything that endangers the moral and the physical health of their children. They should not place flesh meat on the table. And if they allow their children to eat meat and freely use butter and eggs, disease in some form will surely result impairing the health of mind and body. Thus spirituality is weakened and often destroyed.—Ellen White, {Ms24-1902.12}
"The Lord has skill and understanding for all who will use their ability in striving to learn how to combine the products of the earth so as to make simple, easily prepared health foods, which will take the place of flesh meat, so that people will have no excuse for eating flesh meat."—Ellen White {Ms 42, 1902, par. 3}
"When will those who know the truth take their stand on the side of right principles for time and for eternity? When will they be true to the principles of health reform? When will they learn that it is dangerous to use flesh meat? I am instructed to say that if meat eating ever were safe, it is not safe now. Diseased animals are taken to the large cities, and to the villages, and sold for food. Many of these poor creatures would have died of disease in a very short time, if they had not been slaughtered; yet the carcasses of these diseased animals are prepared for the market, and people eat freely of this poisonous food. Such a diet contaminates the blood and stimulates the lower passions."—Ellen White {Ms 133, 1902, par. 29}
"I have been plainly instructed by the Lord that flesh meat should not be placed before the patients in our sanitarium dining rooms. Light was given me that the patients could have flesh meat, if, after hearing the parlor lectures, they still urged us to give it to them; but that, in such cases, it must be eaten in their own rooms. All the helpers are to discard flesh meat. But, as stated before, if, after knowing that the flesh of animals cannot be placed on the dining-room tables, a few patients urge that they must have meat, cheerfully give it to them in their rooms."—Ellen White, {Lt45-1903.7}
"If things were as they should be in the households that make up our churches, we might do double service for the Lord. The light given me is that a most decided message must be borne in regard to health reform. Those who use flesh meat strengthen the lower propensities and prepare the way for disease to fasten upon them. There are those among Seventh-day Adventists who will not heed the light given them in regard to this matter. They make flesh meat a part of their diet. Disease comes upon them. Sick and suffering as a result of their own wrong course, they ask for the prayers of the servants of God. But how can the Lord work in their behalf when they are not willing to do His will, when they refuse to heed His instruction in regard to health reform? {Lt200-1903.5}. For thirty years the light on health reform has been coming to the people of God, but many have made it a matter of jest. They have continued to use tea, coffee, spices, and flesh meat. Their bodies are full of disease. How can we, I ask, present such ones to the Lord for healing?—Ellen White, {Lt200-1903.6}
"If patients come who are so dependent on a diet of flesh meat that they think that [they] cannot live without it, we shall try to make them look at the matter from an intelligent point of view. And if they will not do this, if they are determined to use that which destroys health, we shall not refuse to provide it for them, if they are willing to eat it in their rooms and willing to risk the consequences. But they must take upon themselves the responsibility of their action. We shall not sanction their course. We dare not dishonor our stewardship by sanctioning the use of that which taints the blood and brings disease. We should be unfaithful to our Master if we did that which we know He does not approve."—Ellen White, {Ms3a-1903.5}
"You and your wife have been lax in regard to the principles of health reform. You have said that your wife thinks she could not live if she did not eat meat, and you I fear take it for granted that she must have it. I have met cases before where it was said that the blood was turning to water, and where physicians have said that meat must be made the principle article of diet. But my message to such has been, Let meat alone, and the health will change for the better. Accustom yourselves to a fruit and vegetable diet, and receive the message that the Lord has given to His people on health reform. {Lt214-1904.2}. The sickness of your wife is a sickness caused in part by her diet. The use of flesh meats is largely responsible for her ill health. If she would take up the work God has appointed her to do, if she would be truly converted and adopt a healthful diet, subsisting on simple foods for one year, she would find her health improving. By the exercise of faith and prayer, she would have strength to overcome her desire for that which is injuring her. {Lt214-1904.3}. As a physician it is your duty to understand the evils of a flesh-meat diet; as Christians it is your privilege to bring your desires and appetites under the purifying, refining influence of the Spirit of God. Those who make their diet of fruits and grains and vegetables are much more susceptible to religious influences than are those who indulge their desires for flesh meat. I have no recommendation to give in the line of eating the flesh of dead animals. {Lt214-1904.4}. I am instructed to say to you that your indulgence in meat-eating is educating your children to form wrong habits of living, and it is inconsistent with the principles for the promulgation of which our sanitariums are established. In our sanitariums an example of meat-eating should not be given by those who stand as the representatives of health-reform principles. Fruit and grains, if carefully prepared, will be found to be more palatable than meat. Our health institutions are to be an educating power in the world, teaching men and women to discard those habits and practices which tend to keep them in sickness and wrongdoing.—Ellen White, {Lt214-1904.5}
"I found Dr. Hare’s wife in Washington in the same condition that Dr. Margaret’s sister is in. They said she was unable to eat anything but meat and that her blood was turning to water. But the light given me was: her impression that she must live on meat was not correct. I was instructed that she was placing herself mentally in a position in which she should not be. If she would discard the use of meat for one year, the unfavorable position in which she now is would be changed, and there would be an opportunity for healthy action to take place in her system. She could, if she overcame her meat eating, be in a much better condition and live to glorify God."—Ellen White, {Lt231-1905.4}
"Wherever the truth is presented, the people are to be taught how to prepare food in a simple yet appetizing way. They are to be shown that a nourishing diet can be provided without the use of flesh meat. But in this work no extravagant display is to be made."—Ellen White, {Ms42-1905.1}
"The quality of your blood is determined by the food. Let flesh meat alone; for it is injuring your health, exerting a damaging influence upon the life current. Pledge yourselves to a six-months’ trial. You need the nourishment that may be obtained from plain, simple food. {Lt 208, 1905, par. 7} I have had an experience in these things, and it is in view of the light given me by God that I say, Let flesh meat alone. Its use gives unnatural speed of action to the heart, which often takes the form of palpitation. When I used flesh meat, I had frequent fainting fits, and it became more and more difficult to revive me. When light was given me regarding this, I at once stopped using flesh meat. I had never enjoyed bread as an article of diet, but I was resolved to follow the instruction given. I discarded butter and lived chiefly on bread and fruit. I did not relish my food, but I did not go back; for the light given me was that animal food is a cause of disease. {Lt 208, 1905, par. 8} ... I write this for your benefit. If you use flesh meat, how can you, as physicians, warn your patients against its injurious effects? {Lt 208, 1905, par. 19} Sister Hare, when you use flesh meat as an article of diet, you run the risk of indulging appetite at the expense of brain, nerve, and muscle. {Lt 208, 1905, par. 20} Show yourself a temperate woman and intelligent on the subject of health reform. Try going without flesh meat for six months, and see if a change for the better does not take place. I ask you to do this at once. Let your imagination be sanctified. Let your mind and conscience be awakened, your whole being aroused.—Ellen White {Lt 208, 1905, par. 21}
"The Lord designs that our sanitariums shall educate the people how to cook healthfully and how to eat healthfully. It is a mistake to prepare a large number of foods for one meal; a few kinds, carefully prepared, and served in an appetizing way, is all that is needed. You need no flesh foods; flesh foods are not the best for the human stomach. Often the animals sold for the market are diseased. {Lt 363, 1907, par. 5} In a letter that came to me, the question was asked if it was true that Sister White ate chicken broth at the first camp-meeting held in Australia. It is true that I did so. I had been very sick with a severe attack of inflammatory rheumatism and was just recovering. I had no appetite for food of any kind. Some of our good sisters, thinking to do me a kindness, sent me a bowl of chicken broth. I took a few spoonfuls, but had no appetite for it, and sent it back to the one who had sent it to me, saying I did not wish any flesh meats prepared for me. When the second dish was brought to me, I returned it untasted. From this circumstance it was reported widely that I had eaten flesh foods at the time of the first camp-meeting in Australia. It was told me that the matter was reported in Washington. {Lt 363, 1907, par. 6} I will tell you how we dealt with this matter of meat eating in Australia: {Lt 363, 1907, par. 7} Sara McEnterfer, who had been my nurse up to the time of my sailing from America for Australia, did not accompany us, as she was taken sick. After she was somewhat recovered, she served in the sanitarium, getting a further experience in how to care for the sick. When, later, she joined us in Australia, in Cooranbong, where we settled, she had plenty of opportunity to exercise her skill in caring for the sick and injured. ...{Lt 363, 1907, par. 8} On one occasion Sara was called to a family at Dora Creek, where every member of the household was sick. The father belonged to a highly respectable family, but he had taken to drink, and his wife and children were in great want. At this time of sickness there was nothing in the house suitable to eat. And they refused to eat anything that we took them. They had been accustomed to having meat. We felt that something must be done. I said to Sara, Take chickens, from my place, and prepare them some broth. So Sara treated them for their illness and fed them with this broth. They soon recovered. {Lt 363, 1907, par. 9} Now this is the course we pursued. We did not say to the people, You must not eat meat, although we did not use flesh foods ourselves. When we thought it essential for that family in their time of sickness, we gave them what we felt they needed. There are occasions when we must meet the people where they are. {Lt 363, 1907, par. 10} ... We have neither meat nor butter on our table, and we have but two meals a day. If any of my workers desire a simple meal in the evening, I do not have anything to say against it.—Ellen White {Lt 363, 1907, par. 13}
"Those who have received instruction regarding the evils of the use of flesh meats, tea and coffee, and rich and unhealthful food preparations, and who are determined to make a covenant with God by sacrifice will not continue to indulge their appetites for foods which they know to be unhealthful. God demands that the appetites be cleansed, and self-denial be practiced in regard to those things which are not good. This is a work that will have to be done before His people can stand before Him a perfected people. "{Lt162-1908.6} The Lord has given clear light regarding the nature of the food that is to compose our diet; He has instructed us concerning the effect of unhealthful food upon the disposition and character. Shall we respond to the counsels and cautions given? Who among our brethren will sign a pledge to dispense with flesh meats, tea, and coffee, and all injurious foods, and become health reformers in the fullest sense of the term?"—Ellen White {Lt162-1908.7}
"Flesh foods are injurious to the physical well-being, and we should learn to do without them. Those who are in a position where it is possible to secure a vegetarian diet, but who choose to follow their own preferences in this matter, eating and drinking as they please, will gradually grow careless of the instruction the Lord has given regarding other phases of the present truth and will lose their perception of what is truth; they will surely reap as they have sown."
"Keep out every question that is not of vital interest to the saving of souls. Other questions will be thrust in that will set minds upon a train that will give the enemies of our faith great rejoicing, and those who are wise need to keep before the people the great issues that determine the soul’s salvation. Let every soul connected with the work in your conference take time to pray to the Lord; and if they individually desire to have physical health, let them discard all meat eating and tea drinking and eat simple food of a kind to strengthen the physical and mental powers.—Ellen White, {Ms129-1908.6}
[Communicated initially in a talk on backsliding in health reform at the sanitarium in California in 1908]
"Flesh foods are injurious to the physical well-being, and we should learn to do without them. Those who are in a position where it is possible to secure a vegetarian diet, but who choose to follow their own preferences in this matter, eating and drinking as they please, will gradually grow careless of the instruction the Lord has given regarding other phases of the present truth and will lose their perception of what is truth; they will surely reap as they have sown. {9T 156.3}
I have been instructed that the students in our schools are not to be served with flesh foods or with food preparations that are known to be unhealthful. Nothing that will serve to encourage a desire for stimulants should be placed on the tables. I appeal to old and young and to middle-aged. Deny your appetite of those things that are doing you injury. Serve the Lord by sacrifice. {9T 157.1} ... There are many who feel that they cannot get along without flesh food; but if these would place themselves on the Lord’s side, resolutely resolved to walk in the way of His guidance, they would receive strength and wisdom as did Daniel and his fellows. They would find that the Lord would give them sound judgment. ... {9T 157.4} Seventh-day Adventists are handling momentous truths. More than forty years ago the Lord gave us special light on health reform, but how are we walking in that light? How many have refused to live in harmony with the counsels of God! As a people, we should make advancement proportionate to the light received. It is our duty to understand and respect the principles of health reform. On the subject of temperance we should be in advance of all other people; and yet there are among us well-instructed members of the church, and even ministers of the gospel, who have little respect for the light that God has given upon this subject. They eat as they please and work as they please.—Ellen White {9T 158.1}
We do not mark out any precise line to be followed in diet; but we do say that in countries where there are fruits, grains, and nuts in abundance, flesh meat is not the right food for God’s people. I have been instructed that flesh meat has a tendency to animalize the nature, to rob men and women of that love and sympathy which they should feel for every one, and to give the lower passions control over the higher powers of the being. If meat eating was ever healthful, it is not safe now. Cancers, tumors, and pulmonary diseases are largely caused by meat eating.—Ellen White, {Ms37-1909.23}
To find these quotes, use the "legacy" site and enter the following in the search box exactly as you see it: ("flesh foods" | meat) (diseas* | "no excuse" | discard)
Within the first parentheses I am asking for any quotations that have either the phrase "flesh foods" or meat. The straight line is the "or" command. In the next parentheses I am seeking any form of words formed after diseas (disease or diseases) or the phrase "no exuse" or the word discard. With the "or" command you can have any combination of the ones in the same parentheses.
Some of the quotes I found by adding reform to the above string.
The Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy are clear on the meat question: We should not be using meat; there is NO EXCUSE for using meat. The original diet was free of meat. Meat was later allowed after the flood, however neither fat nor blood was to be used. Animals being under the curse of God, and suffering from disease, are no longer fit to eat. God has been accordingly restoring His people to a meat-free diet, similar to what Daniel and his friends enjoyed. By the close of time, God's commandment-keeping people will have put meat aside. Adopting health reform is also a key aspect of perfecting our characters. Physicians and pastors should be leaders in this regard. For those who have always eaten meat, or for whom no alternative seems available as a result of lack of funds or challenges in their geographic area, gentleness and timing are exceedingly important and consideration should be given for the things going on. Unfortunately individuals who should know better continue to use meat and hinder God's ability to bring others into the truth. I am aware that there are those who advocate for the use of meat and that government guidelines in the United States surprisingly speak otherwise after many years of cautions. We accordingly need to inform ourselves, consider the Scriptures and the admonishments given by Mrs. White, and go forward as led by God.
A significant take away of what I read, is the call for simple recipes to be developed and generously shared that provide plant-based nutrition that makes up for any dificiencies that migth come from no longer using meat.
You can find Recipes For Easily Cooking Nutritious Substitutes For A Meat-free Diet at this link.
Contact us if you have questions about finding substitutes
An entire edition was devoted to the anti-meat issue in 1922 and is worthy of careful consideration.
This excellent article from 1898 clear states that meat should not be the diet of God's commandment-keeping people.
This letter, written to Brother and Sister Hare in 1905 gives many practical suggestions on overcoming a meat diet.
Several articles were written by Ellen White on God giving wisdom to individuals make healthful alternatives to meat. Note the following: "The Lord has skill and understanding for all who will use their ability in striving to learn how to combine the productions of the earth so as to make simple, easily prepared, healthful foods, which will take the place of flesh meat, so that people will have no excuse for eating flesh meat. Those who are given a knowledge of how to prepare such foods must use their knowledge unselfishly. They are to help their poor brethren. They are to be producers as well as consumers."
This page is the result of my preparation for a weekend seminar at the Thomsonville (3ABN) SDA Church. You will find additional articles worth reading.
On this page you will find many recipes for making healthful, plant-based, food that brings the nutritioun needed for a healthy diet.