The attitude of dietetic professionals towards vegetarian diets has changed in recent years. Compared to the 1980 position statement of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) which raised doubts about the adequacy and benefit of vegetarian eating, the most recent ADA position paper on vegetarian diets, published in 2009, views vegetarian diets more positively.

– “The Contribution of Dietary Studies in Seventh-day Adventists to Vegetarian Nutrition,” Ella H. Haddad of Loma Linda University, Vegetarian Nutrition Dietary Practice Group Newsletter, Volume XIX, Number 4, 2011

1980 paper title: “Position Paper on the Vegetarian Approach to Eating”

Contributors: Lydia Sonnenberg (vegetarian Seventh-day Adventist) and most likely Kathleen Keen Zolber (vegetarian Seventh-day Adventist) and U.D. Register (vegetarian Seventh-day Adventist)

Position statement: “The American Dietetic Association affirms that a well planned diet, consisting of a variety of largely unrefined plant foods supplemented with some milk and eggs (lacto-ovo vegetarian diet) meets all known nutrient needs. Furthermore, a total plant dietary can be made adequate by careful planning, giving proper attention to specific nutrients which may be in a less available form or in lower concentration or absent in plant foods.”

In 1980, The American Dietetic Association published “Position Paper on the Vegetarian Approach to Eating.” However, according to a note in the most recent American Dietetic Association position paper on a vegetarian diet, published in 2009, the ADA’s true position on a well-planned vegetarian diet arrived seven years later, just before the second vegetarian position paper was published in 1988:

American Dietetic Association (ADA) position adopted by the House of Delegates Leadership Team on October 18, 1987, and reaffirmed on September 12, 1992; September 6, 1996; June 22, 2000; and June 11, 2006.

Perhaps the 1980 paper is mostly forgotten now because it didn’t endorse vegetarianism as whole-heartedly as it could have. That’s because it advocates “protein combining” –- making sure that you eat a combination of plant foods that provide all essential proteins at every meal –- and it said vegetarianism could be risky for babies and pregnant women.

Nevertheless, the 1980 paper was mostly positive about vegetarianism and even veganism, and it provided an important groundwork for the later ADA vegetarian position papers, which is why I thought it was worth investigating who authored it. 

What others said about the 1980 paper

Here’s how the Chicago Sun-Times summarized the 1980 paper at the time:

A position paper in the current issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association asserts that a diet consisting of largely unrefined plant foods supplemented with milk and eggs “meets all known nutrient needs.” …

While the association did not attempt to rate the various types of vegetarian diets – some, for instance, permit dairy products, while others do not – it offered some tips. Among them: Reduce substantially all high-calorie, low-nutrient density foods; replace meat with protein from legumes, seeds and nuts; keep careful watch on the intake of non-fat and low-fat milk products; increase intake of whole grain breads and cereals, if needed, to meet energy requirements, and eat a variety of fruits and vegetables.

For a total vegetarian diet, the association advised: Increase the consumption of leavened breads, cereals, legumes, nuts and seeds to maintain energy intake, and vary the combinations for protein purposes; increase quantities of foods that supply nutrients ordinarily found in milk products; provide vitamin D through exposure to sunlight daily, and obtain other needed vitamins through supplements or fortified foods.

– “AMA [sic] supports vegetarian diet – with an ‘if’,” Chicago Suntimes, July 1980

The History of Miso quoted a section of the 1980 paper titled “Vegetarianism—Past and Present”:

The American Dietetic Association recognizes that most of mankind for much of human history has subsisted on near-vegetarian diets. The vast majority of the population of the world today continues to eat vegetarian or semi-vegetarian diets for economic, philosophical, religious, cultural, or other reasons. The matter of motivation is crucial, because it affects the diet adopted, adherence to it, and other characteristics of life style.

–History of Miso, Soybean Jiang (China), Jang (Korea) and Tauco/Taotjo (Indonesia) (200 BC – 2009): Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook, p. 697

And after the 1988 paper came out, Vegetarian Times writer Drew DeSilver looked back with ambivalence at its predecessor:

In a 1975 Position paper on “food and nutrition information,” the [American Dietetic Association] stated that “the careful selection of foods for vegetarians can ensure adequate nutrition for adults.” The emphasis was on “careful” and “adults”: The ADA maintained that vegetarian adults should take pains to eat complementary proteins (that is, juggle grains, beans and other plant foods so that a meal’s amino acid makeup mimicked that of meat), but it did not endorse vegetarianism for children. In fact, the association said infants and children younger than age 5 probably would not get enough protein on a ‘pure vegetarian diet.’ Even with protein complementing, the ADA concluded, ‘the quality of vegetable protein is less than animal protein.’ Protein, you see, was quite a big deal in 1975, and the ADA’s message was clear: If you insisted on not eating meat, you could do so safely, but you’d better make sure you painstakingly planned your meals.

But even as the ADA position paper was landing in dietitians’ mailboxes, research was underway that would disprove it. For example, a 1976 nutritional review noted that several studies of British vegetarians and vegans had found no widespread nutritional deficiencies, except possibly a marginal deficiency of B12. A 1978 Swedish study of vegetarian women and a control group found no significant differences in nutrient intake. A 1979 study of vitamin B6 status among Seventh-day Adventist vegetarians and nonvegetarians also found no nutritional differences. (Vegetarians owe a lot to the Seventh-day Adventists, by the way. About 50 percent of the denomination are lacto-ovo-vegetarians, and over the years they’ve proven to be a dependable subject pool for researchers. Much of what we know about the health benefits of vegetarianism comes from Adventist studies.) It appeared that when vegetarians suffered from nutrient deficiencies, such ailments were usually the result of some unusual factor—a rice-only diet, for example, or lack of exposure to sunlight in the case of Vitamin D deficiency—rather than the vegetarian diet itself.

The good nutritional news continued in the 1980s, beginning with a new ADA position paper that was surprisingly supportive of vegetarianism (although it stuck to its protein-complementing line). The 1980 paper stated that “a growing body of scientific evidence supports a positive relationship between the consumption of a plant-based diet and the prevention of certain diseases,” including coronary heart disease, osteoporosis, and gastrointestinal and reproductive cancers.

– “Vegetarians Under the Microscope: Medical Research 1974-1990,” Drew DeSilver, Vegetarian Times, December 1990, p. 55-56

How do I know who wrote it?

There are no authors or reviewers listed on the 1980 paper, and records at the American Dietetic Association (now Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics) don’t stretch back that far, leaving the 1980 paper effectively anonymous. However, I found this through a search on Adventist Archives:

Lydia Sonnenberg, associate professor of nutrition in the [Loma Linda] School of Health, has been asked to chair a committee that will write a position paper on “The Vegetarian Approach to Eating” for the American Dietetics Association.

– “Adventist Review,” Aug. 2, 1979, p. 22

That’s the only reference I could find for anyone who was involved with the 1980 “Position Paper on the Vegetarian Approach to Eating.” However, I think Sonnenberg almost certainly picked Kathleen Keen Zolber and U.D. Register -– fellow vegetarian Adventist dietitians – to work with her on it. Here’s why:

* Starting in the early 1950s, Sonnenberg and Register were on the consulting staff of the Nutrition Research Laboratory together.

* In 1972, U.D. Register and Kathleen Zolber were responsible for an audio recording called Vegetarianism, created for the American Dietetic Association. For many American dietitians in the early 1970s, listening to this tape for their continuing education requirements constituted their first introduction to vegetarianism.

* Mainstream dietitians’ second official exposure to vegetarianism might have come in 1973. That’s when the American Dietetic Association published Food for Us All: The Vegetarian Diet, a book or pamphlet by Zolber and Sonnenberg that was intended to educate more dietitians about vegetarianism.

* The 1980 veg position paper advocated protein combining, to the later chagrin of vegetarians and vegans. A year before Sonnenberg was assigned control over this paper, Sonnenberg and Register collaborated on an article for Adventist publications called “Proteins: The Body Builders,” in which they advocated protein combining:

It’s the Combination That Counts

The quality or biological value of a single protein cell is only a part of the story. It is the combined nutritive value of all the proteins in a meal that is really important.

It is a well-known scientific fact that animal foods adequately supplement plant proteins. Thus the practice of adding milk to breakfast cereal is an example of an excellent combination. What is not so generally known is the very good supplementation that occurs among the various kinds of plant proteins.

In general, legumes and vegetables are low in sulphur amino acids, and cereals are low in lysine. But legumes and vegetables are generally good sources of lysine, so they will nicely supplement cereal proteins. ….

A great deal of investigation supports the relationship existing between proteins from various food sources. Simply speaking, a combination of proteins from two or more sources when eaten together is usually better than one of them alone.

– “Proteins: The Body Builders,” Lydia Sonnenberg and U.D. Register, Herald of Health, Aug. 1978, p. 9

* Sonnenberg, Zolber and Register collaborated on It’s Your World Vegetarian Cookbook, published in 1980, and Sonnenberg and Register worked on Everyday Nutrition for Your Family together.

* In 1980, Sonnenberg was listed as an author on only two scientific nutrition papers. One was called “The vegetarian diet. Scientific and practical considerations,” and was for the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in 1973. The other was “Safe vegetarian diets for children” for the Pediatric Clinics of North America in 1977. Register co-authored both of them with her.

* Zolber was “Member-at-Large” on the ADA’s Board of Directors in 1979 and 1980, the years when the position paper was researched and then published.

* Zolber was the only ADA official quoted in the newspaper articles covering the 1980 vegetarian position paper. The Chicago AP reported:

The American Dietetic Association has given its blessing to vegetarian diets, as long as they are planned cautiously to meet all nutritional needs.

A position paper in the July issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association says a person can get needed protein without meat, poultry or fish, providing their diet is planned well.

However, the paper says, a vegetarian diet may be risky for some, including infants, small children and pregnant women.

The paper, which expands on the association’s previous cautious approval of vegetarian diets, says dietitians have “neither the moral nor the ethical right to interfere with the food choices of their clients.”

The publishing of the paper, the association said, comes at a time when vegetarian diets and other alternative lifestyles are more popular than ever.

Some health professionals sometimes “see (the vegetarian diet) as more restrictive than a well-balanced diet,” said Kathleen Zolber, director of nutritional services at the medical center at California’s Loma Linda University.

Grains and legumes are considered the major sources of protein for vegetarians.

The dietetic association, which consists of 41,000 dietitians, also says that “a growing body of scientific evidence supports a positive relationship” between vegetarian diets and prevention of certain diseases.

The paper cites a study of Seventh-Day Adventists, who do not eat meat, fish or poultry, who had significantly lower death rates due to coronary heart disease. The journal recommends further study of the link of vegetarian diets and prevention of diseases.

– “Dietitians Give Blessing to Vegetarian Diet,” Chicago AP, Ocala Star-Banner, July 11, 7A, 1980

* Zolber and U.D. Register were both reviewers for the 1988 revision of this position paper.

* In 1981, the year after the position paper came out, The American Dietetic Association published The Vegetarian Diet: Food For Us All: Study Kit, which was written by the trio of Sonnenberg, Zolber and Register.

So I’m going to look at all three of them in this entry. Anyone who doubts that Zolber and Register were involved with this one can mentally transpose their sections from here to the 1988 entry, since they were listed as reviewers on the ADA’s 1988 paper.

LYDIA SONNENBERG: Leader of the ADA’s 1980 Vegetarian Position Paper Committee

Lydia Sonnenberg was one of the few Seventh-day Adventist dietitians who served as President of the Seventh-day Adventist Dietetic Association more than once (in 1958 and 1962). She was a professor of nutrition at the Adventist-run College of Medical Evangelists/Loma Linda University, as well as the director of their School of Dietetics. Loma Linda University now awards a scholarship in her name: “The Lydia Sonnenberg Scholarship Award is presented annually to selected junior students. Selection is based on academic performance, as well as demonstrated skill and interest in publishing nutrition information for the public.”

Sonnenberg wrote It’s Your World Vegetarian Cookbook with Ferm Calkins and Ulma Doyle Register, published in 1980 by the Review and Herald Publication Association, and edited Everyday Nutrition for Your Family, published by the Seventh-day Adventist Dietetic Association. In 1983, the Seventh-day Adventist Dietetic Association gave Sonnenberg the Distinguished Service Award.

Like many Seventh-day Adventist dietitians, Sonnenberg saw Adventist prophet Ellen G. White – an advocate of vegetarianism – as a source of divine nutritional wisdom. 

Lydia Sonnenberg on nutrition and the role of the Seventh-day Adventist dietitian

"To make plain natural law, and urge the obedience of it, is the work that accompanies the third angel’s message, to prepare a people for the coming of the Lord.” Vol. 3, p. 161. In these few words [Ellen G. White’s] the Spirit of Prophecy sets forth the principles and objectives of healthful living.

There is a special reason given for the place and purpose of this health program in the third angel’s message: “God’s people are not prepared for the loud cry of the third angel. They have a work to do for themselves which they should not leave for God to do for them. He has left this work for them to do… . In order to be fitted for translation, the people of God must know themselves. They must understand in regard to their own physical frames… .” [Ellen G. White’s] Counsels on Diet and Foods, pp. 32, 33. This indicates the necessity of a study of those subjects which would give a practical knowledge of how to live in order to secure the maximum in physical health, mental attainment and spiritual welfare. Nutrition is but one of the many environmental factors involved in the maintenance of health. It is, however, a basic one for human experience and scientific research have fully substantiated the fact that our daily diet has a powerful influence over the life we live.

Many years ago this concept was revealed to the servant of the Lord: “There are but few as yet who are aroused sufficiently to understand how much their habits of diet have to do with their health, their characters, their usefulness in this world, and their eternal destiny. I saw that it is the duty of those who have received light from Heaven, and have realized the benefit of walking in it, to manifest a greater interest for those who are still suffering for want of knowledge. Sabbath-keepers who are looking for the soon appearing of their Saviour should be the last to manifest a lack of interest in this great work of [health] reform."—Testimonies, Vol. 1, pp. 488, 489.

The challenge comes first to us individually to live in harmony with all God’s physical laws governing our bodies. However, our obligation does not end with our individual response to this matter. "Wherever the truth is carried, the people should be given instruction in regard to the preparation of healthful foods… . Present before the people the need of resisting the temptations to indulge appetite. This is where many are failing. Explain how closely body and mind are related and show the need of keeping both in the very best condition."—Medical Ministry, pp. 262, 263.

Is it not time that each of our churches becomes a small lighthouse from which the light of healthful living may be shed abroad in the church and in the community? As we all respond to this challenge, we shall see the earth lighted with our glorious message of healthful living, as it accompanies the proclamation of the third angel’s message. We will see this phase of our teaching open the way for our other doctrines.

The words from Holy Writ give serious import to this program of healthful living: "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17.

—LYDIA M. SONNENBERG, Director,
School of Dietetics, College of Medical Evangelists.

– “Nutrition Education for Church and Community,” Lydia Sonnenberg, The Church Officers’ Gazette, May, 1950 p. 25-26

* * *

Three students of the School of Dietetics at the College of Medical Evangelists received scholarships totaling $325, according to a recent announcement by Miss Lydia Sonnenberg, school director. …

Scholarships were granted on the basis of scholarship, Christian character, evidence of leadership and adaptability to the profession.

“By granting scholarships,” stated Miss Sonnenberg, “the school aims to attract capable young men and women into the profession who will become thoroughly trained as dietitians. They will have important places to fill not only in the treatment of disease, but also in educating the public in the principles of good nutrition.

"The purpose of the School of Dietetics and its scholarship program is to give its students not only a scientific training in the field of nutrition and dietetics but also to teach them the principles of Christian living which will enable them to attain the best in life while serving mankind.”

– “School of Dietetics, C.M.E.” Pacific Union Recorder, May 29, 1950, p. 5-6

* * *

In his writings [the apostle] Paul has not left us without admonition regarding the care of these sacred temples [our bodies], for he writes, “Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit.” And again, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” If one were to search through all the annals of history, undoubtedly one would not find a nobler example of acknowledgment of this divine precept, and its attendant blessings, than is recorded concerning Daniel and his companions.

The story is well known: About six hundred years before the time of Christ the mighty armies of Nebuchadnezzar were besieging Jerusalem. When the city fell the king commanded that certain royal young men of the Hebrews should be chosen for training as courtiers in the magnificent palace of the great monarch. They were to receive a very special type of education and were to be given a daily portion of the king’s food and of the wine which he drank. Thus living a carefully prescribed life, it was presumed that after three years they would have the proper training to stand before the great ruler of Babylon.

A part of the regime did not please Daniel, and he “purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat.” But the prince of the eunuchs, who was charged to carry out the king’s program, objected saying, “I fear my lord the king.” Daniel, however, suggested a reasonable course of action: “Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king’s meat.” This appealed to the eunuch, and so the experiment was begun, with the startling result that at the end of the ten days “their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king’s meat.” Consequently, they were given the simple, health-giving diet to which they were accustomed. At the end of their probationary period the king himself examined these four Hebrew boys, and they passed with a mark ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers in his kingdom.

Thus there was established in the long-ago the principles of healthful living, including careful attention to diet, which are now fully substantiated by science and human experience. It is not surprising that the specialized profession of dietetics, which has come into being in these modern days, should recognize the validity of the premises established centuries ago. Daniel and his companions, in effect, carried out one of our earliest nutritional experiments, and today the fact is basic that health of body, mind, and spirit is to a large extent dependent upon our daily diet.

Today, then, the Seventh-day Adventist dietitian has a wonderful heritage. She counts as her professional ancestry such worthies as Daniel, Florence Nightingale, and Ellen G. White, for they each recognized the place of a proper dietary in relation to man’s total well-being. She has in a very special and definite way inherited the concept that the dietitian not only ministers to the needs of a physically hungry world but must give of the bread of life to fill a vast inarticulate soul-hunger which she finds everywhere about her.

The Seventh-day Adventist dietitian has a challenging responsibility. She has a glorious message of healthful living to proclaim. This third angel’s message must be skillfully woven into her activities, and it matters not the place—whether it be the patient’s bedside, the neighbor’s hearth, or the evangelist’s pulpit. To the dietitian has been entrusted the wonderful opportunity of bringing health and healing through the medium of God’s natural remedies—the fruits, grains, nuts, and other bounties supplied from the hand of our Creator. Divine inspiration has penned these words [by Ellen G. White]: “The one who understands the art of properly preparing food, and who uses this knowledge, is worthy of higher commendation than those engaged in any other line of work. This talent should be regarded as equal in value to ten talents; for its right use has much to do with keeping the human organism in health. Because so inseparably connected with life and health, it is the most valuable of all gifts.”

What a marvelous privilege the dietitian has—to use in the service of mankind and to the glory of God one of the most valuable of all gifts! What nobler task than to teach others how to care for God’s great masterpiece—the living temple in which He chooses to dwell. The need is great. Listen: “There are but few as yet who are aroused sufficiently to understand how much their habits of diet have to do with their health, their characters, their usefulness in this world, and their eternal destiny.”

– “Ye Are the Temple,” Lydia M. Sonnenberg, The Youth’s Instructor, May 29, 1951, p. 9 & 21-22

* * *

Food and diet are as old as man. When God placed Adam and Eve in the garden He said, “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.” Gen. 1:29.

Man must eat to live, and what he eats will affect in a high degree his ability to keep well, to work, to be happy, and to live long. But the Christian has more than an interest in the maintenance of a high level of physical health merely for personal well-being. He recognizes the body as being the fleshly temple where the Holy Spirit dwells. 

– “The Challenge of Better Nutrition,“ Lydia Sonnenberg, Review and Herald, Mar. 19, 1953, p. 5

* * *

Dr. H. C. Sherman, an eminent nutrition authority, states:

"When grain products, vegetables, fruits and milk have all been given their full places in the diet, the result is a food supply and dietary of such excellence that the extent to which meats, fats and sweets are added is of relatively little consequence in normal nutrition.” —Essentials of Nutrition, p. 334.

How close the harmony between this statement and those of Ellen G. White. In writing of the proper dietary, Sister White stated:

“Fruits, grains, and vegetables, prepared in a simple way, free from spice and grease of all kinds, make, with milk or cream, the most healthful diet."— Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 92.

"Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by our Creator. These foods, prepared in as simple and natural a manner as possible, are the most healthful and nourishing.” —Ibid., p. 81.

– “Conserving Our Minerals and Vitamins” by Lydia Sonnenberg, Review and Herald, July 2, 1953, p. 6-7

* * *

The new Nutrition Research Laboratory at La Sierra, California, is about to be opened to definite research work. Already a well-qualified group of technical experts on nutrition have been placed on the consultive staff of the laboratory. These include … Miss Lydia Sonnenberg, M.A.; Mervyn Hardinge, M.D., Ph.D.; U. D. Register, Ph.D.; …

We can always be sure that thorough scientific research will support and not contradict Inspiration. To research workers it is of the greatest encouragement to embark upon problems that Inspiration has foretold would be accomplished. The assurance that the Lord will give wisdom to those who study to find suitable substitutes for meat, eggs, and milk in the diet is a great stimulus. The Lord always has something better than that which He would have us discard.

– “The New Nutrition Research Laboratory” by Harry W. Miller, Review and Herald, Aug. 20, 1953, p. 18

* * *

The White Memorial Hospital cafeteria was the setting for the second semi-annual banquet for the Seventh-day Adventist Dietetic Association, Tuesday evening, January 27. One hundred twenty members and friends gathered for the occasion. President Lydia Sonnenberg welcomed and introduced the guests and officers of the organization.

Elder W. R. Beach, vice-president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, was the main speaker of the evening. He told the group of the attention being given to Seventh-day Adventists, and their health message, by prominent workers in the field of nutrition and research. He mentioned Dr. Clive McCay specifically, and his evaluation of the writings of Ellen G. White on food and health. …

President-elect, Paul Damazo, summarized what has been accomplished in the four years since the association was organized, and briefly surveyed the plans and projects scheduled for the near future. He mentioned specifically two pamphlets that have been prepared during the past year, “What About Meat?” and “What Shall We Drink?” He told how these pamphlets are being well received by the patients of the Glendale Sanitarium, and are answering a real need. The pamphlets, which will be used by other institutions, are prepared in such a way that they can be used for community nutrition classes and health talks given in connection with evangelistic meetings.

– “Dietetic Association Holds Meeting,” The Record, March 25, 1959, Vol. 58, No. 12, p. 3

* * *

[This book] is based upon the most up-to-date, scientific knowledge available at the present time. And yet as you read its pages you will see that the principles of diet and health given to the Church decades ago by Ellen G. White are still basic.

– Everyday Nutrition for Your Family, edited by Lydia Sonnenberg, published by the Seventh-day Adventist Dietetic Association, 1961, Preface

* * *

It is rather common knowledge that Seventh-day Adventists are dedicated to the health principles which they profess. There is real conviction that those practices which are inimical to health, which contribute to disease, and which are known to shorten life do not glorify God. The Biblical admonition that the Christian glorify God in his body is fundamental in the health instructions and practices of Seventh-day Adventists. It is difficult to worship God or serve God in a body that is less than its optimum of health. We are told that the mind is the only avenue through which God can communicate His will to man. A healthy mind is dependent upon a healthy body. Thus we see the importance of a healthy body for a clear, keen intellect and a consistent and dynamic Christian life. Perhaps no single area of our health teachings is of greater significance than that of nutrition. For a consistent balance in our attitudes in matters of diet we draw from the counsel found in Ellen G. White’s highly esteemed volume, Ministry of Healing…

– Everyday Nutrition for Your Family, edited by Lydia Sonnenberg, published by the Seventh-day Adventist Dietetic Association, 1961, p. 14

* * *

Among the many kinds of diets eaten by mankind, two basic types exist – vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Vegetarian diets are of two kinds, the ‘pure’ vegetarian in which only plant foods are used, and the lacto-ovo-vegtarian in which milk and eggs, natural foods of animal origin, are included. The non-vegetarian or omnivorous diet also uses the flesh of animals, never designed by nature for food. Contrary to Western opinion, vast populations of the earth have lived for centuries on diets generally considered vegetarian, containing little or no foods of animal origin. Indeed, the inspired record of man’s original diet shows it to have consisted entirely of the products of plants – seeds, fleshy fruits and nuts (Gen. 1:29). 

– Everyday Nutrition for Your Family, edited by Lydia Sonnenberg, published by the Seventh-day Adventist Dietetic Association, 1961, p. 130

* * *

[Ellen G. White’s] Counsels on Diet and Foods should be our textbook to obtain better health for our families.

– Everyday Nutrition for Your Family, edited by Lydia Sonnenberg, published by the Seventh-day Adventist Dietetic Association, 1961, p. 141

* * *

The incoming president [of the Seventh-day Adventist Dietetic Association], Lydia Sonnenberg, discussed plans and projects for the coming year. The convention closed on a note of thankfulness for the Lord’s guidance in the past, and a dedication to faithful service for Him during the months that lie ahead.

– “SDA Dietetic Association in Annual Convention,” Review and Herald, Dec. 13, 1962, p. 19.

Many years ago, Ellen G. White wrote: “Pure air, sunlight, abstemiousness, rest, exercise, proper diet, the use of water, trust in divine power— these are the true remedies.” —The Ministry of Healing, p. 127. These principles represent a way of life that modern scientific investigation is more and more establishing as a preventive program against this country’s leading cause of death.

– “What About Cholesterol? An instructor in the school of dietetics at Loma Linda University answers a major question of current interest,” Lydia Sonnenberg, Review and Herald, Feb. 7, 1963, p. 8

* * *

The laws governing the continual, rapid, and orderly formation of the hundreds of complex proteins in the body are indeed outstanding evidences of God’s sustaining control in our life processes. …

We marvel at the Creator’s handiwork when we realize that from such a limited assortment of amino acids, substances are made with such a multiplicity and diversity of functions!

– “Protein-That Vital Ingredient” by Lydia Sonnenberg, The Ministry, Sept. 1974, p. 39

KATHLEEN KEEN ZOLBER: Probable Contributor to the ADA’s 1980 Vegetarian Position Paper, and Reviewer for the ADA’s 1988 Vegetarian Position Paper

Kathleen Keen Zolber was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Dietetic Association and contributed to at least one of their publications. She taught in the Loma Linda University School of Public Health’s dietetic internship program, was the first director of Loma Linda’s Coordinated Program in Dietetics and was director of Nutritional Services of the Loma Linda Medical Center. Loma Linda University offers “The Kathleen Keen Zolber Scholarship Award,” which goes to “selected juniors in recognition of scholarship and promise of outstanding professional achievement.”

At the American Dietetic Association, Zolber served on the Dietetic Internship Board, the Commission on Evaluation of Dietetic Education and the Board of Directors as Member at Large. She was also Commission Chairman for the Evaluation of Dietetic Education, Evaluator for Pilot Testing the Standards of Education and Site Visitor for the Accreditation Commission.

She was a member of the Committee to Advise Implementation of Study Commission Recommendations for ADA, the Publications Advisory Committee of the Journal of The American Dietetic Association, the Dietetic Internship Council and the Coordinating Cabinet. Zolber was the Area I Coordinator for the ADA Foundation from 1983 to 1988. She was on the local Legislation Committee and the Scholarship and Awards Committee for the California Dietetic Association, and Chairman of the Administration Committee for the Inland District Dietetic Association. She launched the ADA Foundation capital campaign to purchase a building and establish the National Center for Nutrition and Dietetics, which was a major reason the American Dietetic Association later gave her an award.

Zolber was elected president of the American Dietetic Association in 1982 – a major victory for Adventists who believed in the Holy nature of Ellen G. White’s visions:

The book [Health to the People: Stories of Public Health, Preventive and Lifestyle Medicine, and Medical Evangelism Training and Outreach, Loma Linda, California, 1905-2005] recounts many exciting ways God has blessed this first church operated School of Public Health. Founded in 1905, [Loma Linda University], initially called the College of Evangelists, began by developing health education training of medical evangelists. In 1922, the School of Nutrition and Dietetics was established and went through twenty years of disappointment in its many efforts to get approval of the American Dietetic Association (ADA). The ADA finally recognized the benefits of plant based diets and Loma Linda was fully vindicated when its vegetarian Professor of Nutrition, Katherine Zolber, was elected president of the ADA and was given the Cypher Award, ADA’s highest.

– “Dysinger’s Health to the People now available”

Along with most likely collaborating on the 1980 “Position Paper on the Vegetarian Approach to Eating,” Zolber was a reviewer for 1988’s “American Dietetic Association Position Paper on a Vegetarian Diet.” When she won Adventist Woman of the Year in 1985, The Association of Adventist Women wrote: “Kathleen exemplifies the kind of contribution a professional can make by being capable in her field and true to principle.”

And The Adventist Woman added:

As an educator, researcher, scholar, manager, and leader, Kathleen Zolber has influenced her profession and supported her church in a life-long career in nutrition and dietetics. … As a committed Seventh-day Adventist, Dr. Zolber finds time to work in her local church. She belongs to the 5,000-member Loma Linda University church where she chairs the Finance Committee. … Her faith and values as an Adventist Christian have permeated her professional life. Her professional expertise has enriched her service to her church.

— “1985 Women of the Year: Nutritionist, Bible worker, and missionary honored in New Orleans for lives of service.” The Adventist Woman, July/Aug., 1985, p. 5

Click for more on Kathleen Keen Zolber.

U.D. REGISTER: Probable Contributor to the ADA’s 1980 Vegetarian Position Paper, and Reviewer for the ADA’s 1988 Vegetarian Position Paper

U.D. Register was an Adventist biochemist who chaired the Department of Nutrition at Loma Linda University’s School of Public Health. His particular interest of study was testing the visions of Adventist Prophet Ellen G. White in order to prove them correct. One of these studies – which showed that coffee, spices and poor nutrition drove rats to alcoholism – was published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in 1972.

Register often spoke about “Nutritional Prophetic Fulfillments,” referring to parallels between the findings of nutritional science and the teachings of Ellen White. Since White said God told her that a diet without animal flesh was the healthiest for humankind, Register helped with the first serious studies looking at the adequacy of protein on a vegetarian diet, and is credited with convincing the American Dietetic Association to accept vegetarianism. He was the California Nutrition Council’s third president, and in 1974, wrote the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council’s statement on vegetarian diets. Register was a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Dietetic Association and worked on at least two of their publications.

U.D. Register on nutrition and the role of the Seventh-day Adventist dietitian

At the Loma Linda University School of Health we take Mrs. White’s counsels as leads, studying health problems in relation to her teachings. If you have this combination of science, the Scriptures and her writings you have a firm foundation on which to build good health physically, mentally, and spiritually.

– “Eat Right, Feel Right,” Interview with U.D. Register, Review and Herald, Aug. 29, 1974, p. 5

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“By the way, my name is U. D. Register, from Madison, Wisconsin. This ‘Operations Telephone’ fits right into the program we’re following of 'Operations Doorbell!’ We’re successfully using a 'Public Opinion Religious Survey.’ … In the course of asking them ten questions we are able to find out their spiritual attitude. The questions lead very nicely into our introduction of the 20th Century Bible Course card and the radio log for the Voice of Prophecy. We have just returned from visiting fifty homes here in this city where we are having this youth’s congress, and we were cordially received. As a result, definite interests were found, and we signed up a number of folk for the Bible course. We also were able to have a word of prayer in the majority of the homes.“

– “The Badger State M.V.’s GO Places and DO Things” by J.F. Knipschild, Jr., The Youth’s Instructor, Jan. 17, 1950, p. 12

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Two panels composed of both physicians and ministers centered attention on what the medical-evangelistic team can do to give impetus to the finishing of God’s work. … Physicians told of how they worked to win souls for Christ in their practice of medicine. They described their witness for God in the giving of Bible studies, personal counsel to patients, and prayer with and for those to whom they minister. They further described their use of gospel literature in medical evangelism. Local conference ministers complemented these panel reports, indicating how the pastor and the physician may and do work together to lead men to Christ. …

Outstanding assistance and counsel were given by Mervyn Hardinge, M.D., and U. D. Register, Ph.D., in the field of nutrition. …

"This is a forward step in advancing the work of God,” was the repeated comment as the meeting drew to a close. …

All felt that the meeting’s contribution to a better understanding between minister and physician, dentist, and nurse was obvious. We anticipate real teamwork between the spiritual leaders and the medical profession after so stimulating a period together.

– “Health Evangelism: A Medical Evangelism Experiment” by Raymond H. Libby, The Ministry, June, 1956, p. 37

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The outstanding feature of the week will be three meetings at which Dr. U. D. Register, biochemist, from the College of Medical Evangelists, will be the guest speaker. Dr. Register’s reports of recent scientific research verifying Spirit of Prophecy counsel in the field of nutrition will be of interest to all who are trying to live healthfully for more efficient service.

Dr. Register will speak in Columbia Auditorium on the following dates:
Sabbath morning church service, 11 o'clock, November 10.
Sunday joint worship, 6:30 p.m.
Monday chapel period, 9:20 a.m.

“Health Week on WWC Campus,” Lucille Jones, North Pacific Union Gleaner, Nov. 5, 1956, p. 8

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“The time will come when we may have to discard some of the articles of diet we now use, such as milk and cream and eggs; but my message is that you must not bring yourself to a time of trouble beforehand, and thus afflict yourself with death. Wait till the Lord prepares the way before you."—[Ellen G. White’s] Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 206, compare pp. 208, 210.

These counsels have been given concerning the possible danger of dispensing with milk in the diet, not because of the protein factor, but probably because of the lack of vitamin B12 in plant foods, which could be supplied by an average daily intake of one glass of milk or soybean milk containing vitamin B12.

To sum up the matter: today it can be scientifically demonstrated that the lacto-vegetarian diet is wholly adequate. In the light of this, the counsel given to us long ago takes on new force and value: "Fruits, grains, and vegetables, prepared in a simple way, free from spice and grease of all kinds, make, with milk or cream, the most healthful diet. They impart nourishment to the body, and give a power of endurance and vigor of intellect that are not produced by a stimulating diet.” — Counsels on Health, p. 115.

– “Are Nonflesh Proteins Adequate?” by U.D. Register, Review and Herald, Aug. 7, 1958, p. 19

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Carolina Adventists will be privileged to attend a series of health lectures by Dr. U. D. Register, instructor in the department of biochemistry at the College of Medical Evangelists, at this year’s camp meeting. …

He will point out the fact that Seventh-day Adventists have been 50 years ahead of the advancement of nutritional science through the inspired instruction of Mrs. E. G. White on diet and foods. “Science has now verified statements in nutrition made over 50 years ago through the Spirit of Prophecy,” he said.

– “Carolina Camp Meeting,” George V. Yost, Southern Tidings, May 10, 1961, p. 5

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Dr. U. D. Register, professor of biochemistry of Loma Linda University, will present a series of health messages at the Missouri Camp Meeting, June 27-30. … In his research, Dr. Register has made painstaking efforts to gather modern scientific proof that the health plan presented in the Spirit of Prophecy is the only safe one to follow. He also has made careful survey to discover the relationship between successful spiritual life and health habits.

In the summer of 1961 he read a series of papers at a world meeting of biochemists in Moscow.

We are sure that our people will find this portion of our camp meeting especially rewarding in its relationship to our overall spiritual needs.

– “Health Lectures at Camp Meeting,” H. C. Klement, Central Union Reaper, May 1, 1962, p. 6

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Recent evidence that places improper diet as a cause of juvenile delinquency and supports an 1884 Ellen G. White statement will be presented at the School of Nutrition and Dietetics Alumni homecoming, April 14-16, states Ardis S. Beckner, president of the alumni association.

U. D. Register, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry, will discuss recent findings in this field as part of his hour of worship presentation at the University Church, April 15. His topic is “Nutritional Prophetic Fulfillments.”

– “Annual Nutrition and Dietetics Homecoming Slated April 14-16,” Scope, Mar. 15, 1967, p. 1

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Using [Adventist prophet Ellen G. White’s] inspired writings as a basis, U.D. Register, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry of the School of Health of Loma Linda University, A Seventh-day Adventist institution near Redlands, California, and a team of co-workers conducted a series of fascinating experiments, aimed at finding scientific confirmation for Spirit of Prophecy statements. In the final analysis it proved that experimental rats which were fed meals common to many Americans developed an abnormal taste for alcohol when coffee and spices were added to their diet. Presenting the results of their research project at the fifty-first annual meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology in Chicago (1967), Dr. Register pointed out that ‘persons who drink a lot of coffee, live on nutritionally poor diets and use a lot of spices may be driving themselves to alcoholic drink. In the University laboratory, where rats were fed pellets of a popular U.S. diet consisting of doughnuts and coffee for breakfast, sweet rolls and coffee for the 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. breaks, hot dogs with mustard and relish, a soft drink with apple pie and coffee for lunch, spaghetti and meatballs, French bread, green beans, chopped salad, chocolate cake and coffee for dinner and were given a choice of water or a solution of ten percent alcohol to drink,” he explained, “the rats chose to drink about five times more alcohol than a group of rats on a milk-vegetable control diet.” …

Said Ellen White in 1905:

”By the use of rich, unhealthful food the digestive organs are weakened and a desire is created for food that is still more stimulating. Thus the appetite is educated to crave continually something stronger. The demand for stimulants becomes more frequent and more difficult to resist. The system becomes more or less filled with poison and the more debilitated it becomes, the greater is the desire for these things. One step in the wrong direction prepares the way for another. Many who would not be guilty of placing on their table wine or liquor of any kind will load their table with food which creates such a thirst for strong drink that to resist temptation is almost impossible. Wrong habits of eating and drinking destroy the health and prepare the way for drunkenness.”

It took science exactly sixty-two years to catch up.

– Ellen G. White, Prophet of Destiny, Rene Noorbergen, p. 102–104

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Americans on their typically poor diet of coffee and lots of highly-spiced food are driving themselves to drink, Dr. U. D. Register told a group of scientists in Chicago recently.

At the fifty-first Annual Meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, attended by more than 20,000, Doctor Register, biochemist at Loma Linda University’s School of Medicine, presented the results of animal studies in progress under the auspices of the Pacific Union Conference, the Lassen Foundation, and Loma Linda Foods. …

The team of scientists conducting the study include U. D. Register, Sylvia R. Marsh, C. E. Thurston, M. D. Horning, J. E. Crowder, and M. G. Hardinge. Their interest in such a study was based on statements from [Ellen G. White’s] Counsels on Diet and Foods such as these:

“Many who would not be guilty of placing on their tables wine or liquor of any kind will load their tables with food which creates such a thirst for strong drink that to resist the temptation is almost impossible."—p. 123. "By the use of tea and coffee, an appetite is formed for tobacco, and this encourages the appetite for liquors."—p. 233. "The appetite for liquor is encouraged by the preparation of food with condiments and spices."—p. 339 and 340.

Results thus far, based on animal studies, give scientific support to such statements.

– “Recent Animal Studies Support Spirit of Prophecy Statements,” Dr. Claude E. Thurston, Pacific Union Recorder, May 15, 1967, p. 1

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In a long-term study of the effect that diet may have on the consumption of alcohol, nutritionists in the School of Public Health are now acquiring data on why about 80 percent of the laboratory rats to which they fed a so-called "teen-age diet” became heavy drinkers. …

About 20 percent of the rats on the inadequate (teen-age) diet for some genetic reason did not become drunkards. But the Loma Linda investigators reported this minority was later trained to drink even more heavily than the rest when the plain alcoholic beverage the other rats were willing to drink was sweetened and diluted–this changing it into a kind of cocktail for them. 

– “Rats become drunkards: Nutritionists study food-alcohol relationship,” University Scope, Apr. 16, 1970, p. 5

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Bolstering confidence in counsel given almost one hundred years ago through the Spirit of Prophecy, Loma Linda has been running experiments which substantiate this advice. Dr. Register told of the results of feeding rats on a diet of refined, highly spiced and flesh food as contrasted with a simple, highly-nutritious diet. Liquor was available to both groups of rats, but those on the poor diet consumed much larger quantities of it than those on the nutritious diet. This supports Ellen White’s statement that people are often made drunkards right at the dinner table, and the connection between total physical fitness and moral and mental vigor demonstrates the necessity for fitness in order to comprehend spiritual truths.

– “Angwin Physical Fitness,” Ruth McLin, Pacific Union Recorder, June 21, 1971, p. 8

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Tuesday, November 30, our conference presidents joined me in a day at Loma Linda University as guests of the personnel of the School of Health, Drs. Merritt Horning and Mervyn Hardinge planned a most inspiring and exciting program for us. Those telling of their work were Drs. U. D. Register…and others. …

It is thrilling to note that their findings agree completely with the statements of Ellen G. White made many decades ago.

– “So You Will Know,” Pacific Union Recorder, Dec. 13, 1971, p. 1

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The Seventh-day Adventists, an evangelical Protestant denomination founded in 1863 in Battle Creek, Mich., believe God gave Adam and Eve a diet of fruit, seeds, nuts and vegetables. …

All profits from the [Adventist] food companies go to the support of Seventh-day Adventist schools. In America there are 80 Adventist high schools, 12 colleges and two universities. Loma Linda University in Loma Linda is one of the denomination’s two universities. The other, Andrews University, is in Michigan. …

Working closely to perfect the nutritional content and palatability of Loma Linda Foods are members of the teaching and research staff at nearby Loma Linda University school of medicine.

Dr. Ulma Doyle Register, 51, chairman of the school’s department of nutrition, spends a good deal of his time in research for Loma Linda Foods.

“Vegetarians,” insists Dr. Register, “have fewer common colds, less flu.

"It is our contention vegetarians live longer by cutting down on cholesterol, by not clogging their arteries with animal fats.

"We have research programs under way to determine if cancer is transmitted, as many vegetarians believe, through flesh foods.”

– “Vegetarianism Gains Popularity on Campus,” Charles Hillinger for the Los Angeles Times, Gleaner, Jan. 17, 1972, p. 14-15

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Mr. Bart: Why do you choose to omit meat from your diet?

Dr. Register: For health reasons a lot of Seventh-day Adventists do not use meat. Actually, their diet is something like that of the Jewish people; they can eat beef or lamb or fish with scales just as the Jewish people recommend. However, many do not use meat at all for health reasons, plus the fact that the original diet according to the Genesis record in the Scriptures was a diet without meat.

– “Some things you didn’t want to know about nutrition,”These Times, July 1, 1973, p. 7

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Special guest for the weekend was Dr. U. D. Register, chairman of the School of Nutrition at Loma Linda University. Dr. Register spoke on the theme of diet and health, showing the close relationship between our salvation and our diet. He told how Loma Linda University has developed a scientific study group to investigate and subject to research statements found in the writings of E. G. White, relating to diet and foods. Faith is strengthened as we learn of the scientific reasoning which confirms her counsel and instruction. Sabbath afternoon Dr. Register conducted a question-and-answer hour on the subject.

– ”Successful Family Campout Held,” Wayne Easley, Southwestern Union Record, May 24, 1975, p. 14-15

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Scientists in general, and biochemists in particular, are learning much about growth and life in the physical realm, but in 2 Peter 3:18 we learn of another important aspect of growth:

“Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.”

Growth implies life. There is no real life without Christ.

– “How the Physical Illumines the Spiritual,” U.D. Register, The Ministry, March, 1976, p. 37

Click for more on U.D. Register. 

The next entry in this series will look at the authors and reviewers of the American Dietetic Association’s 1988 paper on a vegetarian diet.