Hi Toonces

Actually Toonces, my husband and I have been attending Adventist churces off and on for several years now. Even though there are a good number that are ovolactovegetarians, there are very few vegans. There are quite a few who still eat meat - most of the preachers in my city do. They call it the clean diet. And there are some who eat and drink anything and everything - and they have been brought up in this church. So dietary practices of this community take place all along the food continuum. It seems that the older the church gets, the more like the world it is becoming.

From what I have learned, the Adventist community was led to begin eating vegetarian from Ellen White, one of the founders of this church. She became vegetarian because of the deterioration of the meat supply. Have you read her Counsels on Diet and Foods? She suggests that one day even the milk and egg supply will be too tainted to provide nourishment.

You are a fountain of knowledge and I love your input on these matters.

One of the arguments that the Adventist vegetarians have made is that when we were given permission to eat meat, the lifespan began rapidly decreasing from 800-900 years down to 200 or less in just a few generations. I am sure you have heard this argument before. Do you think it is valid?

Also, I have read many reports of how studies have been done on Adventists regarding cancer, heart disease, etc., etc., and, in general, this population supposedly lives longer and has better health due to their vegetarian lifestyle. I have also read that the Mormon population usually enjoys a healthier lifestyle than the average American.

Several Adventists have speculated that being healthier and long-lived might be attributable to other factors besides the diet.

I anxiously await your insights into these thoughts.

B