“And God 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.
“The food which God gave Adam in his sinless state is the best for
man’s use as he seeks to regain that sinless state.
“The intelligence displayed by many dumb animals approaches so closely
to human intelligence that it is a mystery.
“The animals see and hear and love and fear and suffer.
“They manifest sympathy and tenderness toward their companions in
suffering.
“They form attachments for man which are not broken without great
suffering to them.
“Think of the cruelty to animals that meat eating involves and its
effect on those who inflict and those who behold it. How it destroys
the tenderness with which we should regard these creatures of God!”
The high price of flesh foods, the knowledge of the waste matter in the
blood of even healthy animals which remains in their flesh after death,
and the well authenticated reports of the increasing prevalence of most
loathsome diseases among them, causes a growing desire among thinking
people to take their food at _first hand_, before it has become a part
of the body of some lower animal.
So, the great food question of the day is--“_What shall we use in the
place of meat?_”
Nuts, legumes (peas, beans, lentils and peanuts) and eggs contain as
do flesh meats, an excess of the proteid or muscle-building elements
(nuts and legumes a much larger proportion than flesh), so we may
combine these with fruits, vegetables and some of the cereals (rice,
for instance) and have a perfect proportion of food elements.
It must be borne in mind, however, that _proteid foods must be used
sparingly_, since an _excess_ of these foods causes _some of the most
serious diseases_.
The _bulk_ of our foods should be made up of fruits and vegetables and
some of the less hearty cereals and breads.