Plant-based Diets and Opportunities for Health Evangelism Among Parents of Seventh-day Adventist School Students

From infancy, children observe their parents. They consistently observe the way their parents communicate, work, eat, and do everyday tasks. Parents play an important role in developing their children’s eating behaviors and perceptions about food since they are responsible for creating the food environment at home, which significantly influences the types of food their children eat. Children’s foundational behaviors around food and nutrition are shaped during the formative years of their lives, which lay the foundation for future eating patterns.¹ During these formative years, children develop eating habits based on their family’s eating patterns, beliefs, and attitudes associated with foods, along with cultural food practices learned from within and outside of the home.² From birth, infants have a behavioral predisposition that allows them to learn how to accept foods given to them. It is documented that rapid physical growth and change occur during the first five years of a child’s life.³

During these years, practiced eating behaviors set the foundation for the development of children’s future eating behaviors and weight status.⁴ On a macro level, for most of human history, individuals’ eating behaviors and the feeding practices of children have developed from the response to the threat of food scarcity.⁵ In developed countries today, children's eating habits are influenced by an abundance of food options, where inexpensive, palatable, and convenient foods are readily available.⁶

Children’s eating behaviors are influenced by a combination of genetic factors, family dynamics, and their surrounding environment. Research indicates that genetic factors such as taste preferences (attraction to high-fat and sweet foods) and aversions (repulsion to bitter and sour foods) can be traced to genetic predispositions and can have a significant influence on appetite traits in children and levels of obesity.⁷ Similarly, the environment plays a crucial role in shaping their eating behaviors.⁸ In some cases, children live in food deserts where access to fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthy nutritious food is severely limited. Due to poverty, the cost of food is often an issue, too. Children in some parts of the world also have limited access to transportation to get to areas where fresh fruits and vegetables are available.⁹ Natural disasters and wars also limit the supply of nutritious food for children in these affected areas. These are challenges some parents may face when deciding how to feed their families, and it can be discouraging when considering plant-based diets. How, then, can schools help to create awareness of the benefits of healthy eating since parents are responsible for providing food for their children, and determining which food will be in their homes? Can helping parents become more aware of the benefits of plant-based diets be a way for schools to engage in health evangelism? Indeed, the foods parents select for their children to eat will have a lifelong influence on their taste preferences, eating behaviors, and development into contributing citizens of this world.¹⁰

Spiritual Emphasis on Parental Influence on Diet

In Proverbs 22:6 (GNT), King Solomon advised parents to teach their children how they should live and that they will remember it all their lives.¹¹ The emphasis on “Teach children how they should live” underscores the role of parents or guardians in actively instructing and guiding their children beyond mere academic education; it includes moral, ethical, and practical teachings about navigating life. The second part of the verse, “And they will remember it all their life,” promises, according to this translation, that the impact of parental teaching will endure. The lessons and values instilled in children during their formative years are expected to stay with them throughout their lives, influencing their decisions and actions even into adulthood.

Parents have a sacred responsibility to cultivate their children’s appetite and positively influence their dietary behaviors. Ellen White wrote in Child Guidance that parents should train their children’s appetites and not permit the consumption of unwholesome foods. She also counseled that this practice cannot be overestimated. This training should begin with the infant in its mother’s arms. Other suggestions include: Children should be given food on a regular schedule and as they grow, less frequently. They should also avoid sweets or foods that are difficult to digest. These dietary principles not only impact overall health but also influence temperament.¹²

Parents should choose the best foods for their families and for this God has provided an original plan for humanity’s diet. This is where Adventist schools can have an impact. Through consistent messaging of carefully crafted nutrition policies, parents of students attending Adventist schools can learn more about the God who created humanity, understands their needs, and appoints a diet best suited to meet those needs—one consisting of grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables. God has provided an abundance of products from the earth, a bountiful variety of food that is palatable to taste and nutritious to our bodies. Fruits, grains, and vegetables prepared simply and appropriately will impart nourishment to the body and give a power of endurance and a vigor of intellect not produced by an overstimulating diet.¹³

How Do Parents Influence Their Children’s Eating Behaviors?

Parents play a crucial role in shaping children’s dietary behaviors, and this is done through the following: role modeling, parental guidance, creating positive food environments, parental education, and nutrition education in schools. This highlights the importance of implementing nutrition education in schools, which will support parents and ensure that the children’s future families eat a balanced and healthy diet. Children observe and imitate their parents’ food choices and eating habits, influencing their preferences and behaviors.¹⁴ Positive food experiences contribute to developing a pattern of lifelong healthful eating habits and prevent eating disorders and obesity. When parents also model healthy eating behaviors to their children, this will encourage them to adopt healthy eating practices .¹⁵ (See Box 1.)

Promoting Plant-based Diets Among Parents

A plant-based diet consists of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, herbs, and spices. In its purest form, no animal products, including red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products, are consumed, and highly processed foods are excluded.¹⁶ In most Seventh-day Adventist schools, the nutrition policy stipulates that only food from plant sources or a plant-based diet, along with specific dairy products, should be prepared, served, and consumed on the school’s campus.

At some Seventh-day Adventist schools, specifically the school where I am employed, most of the parents are not Seventh-day Adventist Christians. This presents opportunities for health evangelism by educating parents about the biblical teachings relating to healthful living, Seventh-day Adventist health beliefs and their biblical foundation, and the school’s nutrition policies. (See Sidebar.) Promoting balanced plant-based diets among parents of students in Seventh-day Adventist schools aligns with the health principles and dietary recommendations commonly emphasized within the Seventh-day Adventist Church and is an important component of evangelism.

1. Adventist health principles. The Seventh-day Adventist Church has a long-standing tradition of promoting health and wellness. While no formal statement mandates following a plant-based diet, Adventists have long emphasized a wholistic approach to health, including “the most healthful diet possible,” as outlined in the church’s Fundamental Belief No. 22.¹⁷

2. Adventist health studies. Research studies, including Adventist Health Studies, have shown health benefits associated with plant-based diets among Adventist populations in the United States and Canada. These benefits include lower rates of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers.¹⁸

3. Longevity and health outcomes. Adventists who participated in the Adventist Health Studies and followed a balanced plant-based diet have been shown to experience longevity and lower rates of age-related diseases. Promoting plant-based eating habits among parents can contribute to better health outcomes for both adults and children within the Seventh-day Adventist community.¹⁹

4. Adventist lifestyle education. Promoting balanced plant-based diets is consistent with the emphasis on lifestyle education within Adventist schools. Encouraging parents to adopt and model a balanced vegetarian diet aligns with the broader Adventist philosophy of healthful living and is an integral component of lifestyle education.

5. Cultural and religious beliefs. Many Seventh-day Adventists are motivated by their religious beliefs to adopt healthful lifestyles, including dietary choices. Plant-based diets are often seen as a way to align with the principles of stewardship emphasized within the Seventh-day Adventist faith.²⁰ This presents schools with an opportunity to share biblical information that supports the benefits and consumption of plant-based diets. Some scriptural references that support a plant-based diet are as follows:

Genesis 1:29 (NIV) – “Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.’”²¹

Psalm 104:14 (NIV) – “He makes grass grow for the cattle,
and plants for people to cultivate—bringing forth food from the earth.”

Ezekiel 47:12 (KJV) – “Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”

Helping Parents Create a Positive Family Food Environment

The family food environment significantly influences children’s dietary behaviors. A positive family food environment, characterized by the presence of healthy food options, fosters healthier eating habits in children, adults, and extended family members and guests.²² Creating a healthy food environment includes the following factors:

Availability of food at home. The types of foods available within the home significantly impact the dietary choices of family members, particularly children. A positive family food environment includes the accessibility of a variety of nutritious foods and limits on the availability of less healthy options.²³

Mealtime routines and frequency. Family mealtime routines, including the frequency of shared meals, contribute to the family food environment. Regular family meals provide opportunities for social interaction and the modeling of healthy eating behaviors.²⁴

Parental feeding practices. The feeding practices of parents, such as monitoring access to certain foods, encouraging healthy choices, and providing positive reinforcement for nutritious eating, contribute to the family food environment.²⁵

Food accessibility and visibility. The physical placement and visibility of foods within the home influence consumption patterns. A family food environment that prioritizes the accessibility of fruits, vegetables, and other nutritious options promotes healthier eating habits.²⁶

Socioeconomic factors. Socioeconomic status can also play a role in the family food environment, affecting the affordability and accessibility of different types of foods. People from lower socioeconomic levels may face challenges in obtaining a diverse range of nutritious foods.²⁷ Understanding the family food environment is essential before schools can develop interventions and educational programs to promote healthier eating habits. These factors contribute to the overall food context within a family and have implications for the nutritional well-being of its members.

Opportunities for Health Evangelism

God has given human beings choices in every aspect of their lives. Hence, parents have a right and responsibility to choose the type of food their children should eat. In addition to providing students with a wholistic education, Seventh-day Adventist educators can also transmit information about the school’s health policy and the church’s health beliefs to students and their parents because they are part of the school community. Teaching people about plant-based diets is one aspect of transmitting information about healthful living.

In June 2023, I surveyed the parents of the junior high school where I teach to determine their views about plant-based meals. (See Box 2.) When I communicated with the parents who completed the survey, some of them indicated an interest in learning how to prepare a variety of nutritious plant-based meals, which the survey identified as one of the challenges. This provides opportunities for health evangelism beyond the school campus.

Parental education and knowledge about nutrition play a significant role in influencing children’s dietary choices and eating behaviors.²⁸ Parents who possess a better understanding of nutrition are more likely to guide their children toward more healthful eating habits.²⁹ Educating children about the importance of various food groups, nutrients, and overall nutritional balance can empower them to make informed and healthier food choices.³⁰ Parents with nutrition knowledge can actively contribute to creating a nutrient-rich home environment. This includes ensuring the availability of a variety of healthful foods, limiting the presence of less-nutritious options, and promoting balanced meals.³¹

Promoting balanced plant-based diets among parents of students in Seventh-day Adventist schools is a comprehensive and culturally relevant strategy to enhance health outcomes within the school’s community and beyond. By aligning with the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s health principles, drawing from research findings, and incorporating health and biblical teachings into evidence-based practice, this initiative seeks to empower parents to nurture a healthful lifestyle for themselves and their children.

Conclusion

A wholistic approach to health, including dietary choices, yields many health benefits. These benefits include lower rates of chronic disease and mortality.³² Encouraging a balanced diet that emphasizes plant-based eating aligns with the broader Adventist philosophy of healthful living and serves as a key component of lifestyle education within Adventist schools. Promoting nutritious plant-based diets among parents not only contributes to improved health outcomes but also reflects values such as stewardship and well-being.³³ Teaching parents about plant-based diets can improve health outcomes among parents, their children, and extended families.

This article has been peer reviewed.

Shondell DeVelde

Shondell De Velde, PhD, teaches social studies, family studies, and history, at Grand Bahama Academy of Seventh-day Adventists (Freeport, Bahamas) and Adjunct Nutrition Instructor at the University of The Bahamas. She holds an MA in Human Services with an emphasis in health and wellness from Liberty University (Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.A.), an MEd in Nutrition Education from Framingham State University (Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S.A.), an MSc in Public Health from the University of South Wales (Newport, United Kingdom), and a PhD in Health Sciences from Liberty University (Lynchburg, Virginia, U.S.A.).