Eugene W. Grosser Director

For more than a century now, Adventists have been engaged in the manufacture and distribution of health foods in support of our emphasis on health of body, mind, and spirit. From modest and tentative beginnings, the scope of this ministry has developed to the point where industries can now be found in more than 25 countries, producing approximately 160,000 tons of product each year.

During this time at least two things have changed. In developed countries consumer ignorance of principles of good nutrition has been replaced with a high level of awareness. Food manufacturers today clamor for the high ground in making nutritional claims for even the most unlikely products.

Consider also the change that has occurred in food marketing. Compared to a time of poor standards in hygiene, workplace safety, and marketing techniques, multinational corporations now dominate in highly competitive markets in which quality, price, and customer service are of paramount importance. Because most of our industries now operate in such markets, it is perhaps not surprising that some change in emphasis has occurred. More and more energy goes into maintaining financial viability. Competitive pressures and the requirement of major retailing chains invite compromise of nutritional standards for financial gain. Our industries have become increasingly important for their contribution to the financial resources of the church.

In this context the International Health Food Association (IHFA) seeks to foster commitment to our health philosophy and continuing financial viability. On August 14, 1996, member companies voted to establish a system of accreditation designed to recognize excellence in performance, while at the same time identifying any negative trends early so as to recommend remedial strategies. Our aim to evaluate all food operations during this current quinquennium has almost been accomplished. This system allows IHFA to advise. Final decision-making is vested in the church jurisdiction that owns any given industry.

We must also ask ourselves whether we are accomplishing all that God intended when, through Ellen G. White, He gave counsels as to the mission of our food ministry. As we have reflected on this question, Ellen White’s frequent repetition of a particular theme has impressed itself upon us. Typical of these statements is one written at Cooranbong, Australia, March 10, 1900: “It is the Lord’s design that the poorest people in every place shall be supplied with inexpensive, healthful foods. In many places industries for the manufacture of these foods are to be established” (Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 125).

Is our food production ministry serving in every place where it could or should be? Are there still places in the world where people would benefit from the provision of “inexpensive, healthful foods?” Does the Lord intend that we do something for the huge population masses that we find in areas such as China, India, and the African continent where malnutrition and poverty may be found?

Motivated by Ellen White’s counsel, IHFA has committed itself, with the support of member companies, to the establishment of a food processing-based humanitarian project in Tanzania, East Africa, where malnutrition and poverty are major social problems. By the time the next General Conference session convenes, we expect to have production under way in a new factory built for the purpose in Arusha, strategically located to serve not only Tanzania but several neighboring countries around Lake Victoria. Simple, inexpensive products of a kind preferred by the indigenous people and fortified with essential vitamins and minerals, which are often missing in the diets of the poor, will be distributed. Subject to the Lord’s leading, our vision is for such projects to be duplicated in many places where a ministry of this kind is desperately needed.

We believe that working to satisfy people’s physical needs, a prominent feature of Jesus’ early ministry, will, with the Master’s blessing, prove to be equally effective today in reaching the poor with the good news of salvation.

In areas as diverse as Korea and Colombia, Argentina and Australia,, Germany and Japan, a workforce of more than 4,000 produces and distributes a range of 2,500 products having a wholesale value of almost US$400 million per year.

From humble beginnings, God has clearly blessed a work that was started as a result of His guidance and that has the potential to do so much more for the poor and malnourished of this world, united as it is with the church’s wider role of preparing people for the Master’s return.