From Soil to Supper: George Washington Carver, Adventists, and the Roots of Plant-Based Eating

Explore how George Washington Carver, Adventist nut meats,
and peanuts helped shape today’s plant-based eating movement.
George Washington Carver in his Lab.(AI image by ChatGPT)
At the dawn of the 20th century, the peanut moved from the margins of Southern agriculture into kitchens and dining tables across America—and a major reason was George Washington Carver, the agricultural scientist affectionately nicknamed “The Peanut Man.” His story, while often mythologized, offers a compelling early chapter in the broader history of plant-based eating. (Wikipedia)

Born into slavery around 1864, Carver became a botanist and teacher at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. There, he worked with farmers whose soils had been exhausted by cotton. By promoting crop rotation with legumes like peanuts and sweet potatoes, he helped rehabilitate the land and introduced crops that were rich in protein and affordable for families who struggled to afford meat. (USDA)

Between 1896 and his death in 1943, Carver published 44 practical bulletins on agriculture and food for farmers. His most famous was How to Grow the Peanut and 105 Ways of Preparing It for Human Consumption (Tuskegee Institute Experimental Station Bulletin 31), first issued in 1916 and reprinted many times. Its recipes ranged from soups and breads to mock meats and desserts; Carver hoped that peanuts would become a nutritional staple in place of expensive animal proteins. (Wikipedia)

Although many of the recipes in 105 Ways were compiled from existing cookbooks and bulletins—Carver acknowledged these sources—his work popularized peanuts as an everyday food with high protein value and broad culinary potential. (Wikipedia)

Peanuts as “Meat” and Protein

Carver’s bulletins explicitly included recipes that treated peanuts as a stand-in for meat: protein-rich soups, peanut sausages, peanut-based sauces, and mock meats made from ground nuts or meals. Contemporary farmers’ bulletins described ways to prepare these foods that would sustain a family without reliance on meat, at a time when meat was a luxury for most rural households. (Ford Library and Museum)

In an era before modern meat analogs, Carver’s work pointed toward protein-forward, plant-based nutrition well before the mainstream rise of vegetarian brands.

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Adventist Roots of Commercial Meat Analogs

At roughly the same time Carver was championing peanuts in the rural South, another movement was shaping vegetarian food in the U.S.: Seventh-day Adventist health reform. Adventists encouraged vegetarian eating as part of their health message beginning in the mid-1800s, later launching commercial products to support plant-based diets. (The Portland Press Herald)

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg—an Adventist physician at the Battle Creek Sanitarium—developed some of the first commercial plant-based meats (like Nuttose and Protose), often based on peanuts and other legumes. (columbiaunion.org)

One of the oldest and best-loved Adventist products was Nuteena, a canned vegetarian meat analogue made from peanut meal, soy, corn, and rice flour. Introduced in 1949 by Loma Linda Foods (a company originally owned by the Seventh-day Adventist Church), Nuteena was used much like plant-based meat loaves today—sliced, crumbled into stews, or served in sandwiches. (Wikipedia)

Those Adventist roots helped bring nut-based protein loaves and meat substitutes into homes decades before the explosion of plant-based meat brands like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods.

Veggie School invites you to look over the following articles and recipes on this site related to Adventists and peanut butter: Holy Spread: Adventists and the Enduring Love of Peanut Butter , and a Recipe for a Nuteena-Like Sandwich Spread

A Link to Today’s Plant-Based Movement

Carver’s advocacy for legumes and Adventist innovation in plant proteins both resonate with today’s plant-based eating trends. Modern consumers seek foods that are:

nutrient-dense and protein-rich without animal products
sustainable and environmentally conscious
flexible and satisfying in familiar meal contexts

Whether it’s a peanut stew inspired by Carver’s bulletins or a modern jackfruit “pulled pork,” the motivation echoes early 20th-century efforts to make plant foods central to everyday nourishment.

Reconstructed Carver-Style Peanut Recipe

Peanut and Sweet Potato Mock “Chicken”

Inspired by Carver’s peanut recipes (Ford Library and Museum)
Serves: 4
Prep + Cook: ~60 minutes
Ingredients
🥜2 large sweet potatoes (about 800 g), peeled and cubed
🥜1½ cups (150 g) roasted peanuts, finely ground
🥜2 tbsp (16 g) whole wheat flour
🥜1 small onion, minced
🥜2 cloves garlic, minced
🥜1 tsp (5 g) salt (adjust to taste)
🥜½ tsp (2 g) black pepper
🥜½ cup (120 ml) vegetable broth or water
🥜1 tbsp (15 ml) oil (optional, for sautéing)
Instructions
Cook the Sweet Potatoes
Place cubed sweet potatoes in boiling water and cook until tender (about 15 minutes). Drain and mash lightly.
Prepare the Peanut Base
In a bowl, combine finely ground peanuts with whole wheat flour, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Combine & Simmer
Stir mashed sweet potatoes into the peanut mixture. Add broth a little at a time, stirring to create a thick, cohesive batter.
Cook the Mixture
Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat (or dry-heat if skipping oil). Spoon the mixture into the pan and cook 5–7 minutes per side, until lightly browned and firm.
Serve
Slice like a cut of meat or crumble into stews and sauces. Garnish with herbs or peanut gravy for extra protein.
Tip: If you want a softer texture, steam rather than fry and serve as a scoopable protein side dish🥜🥜.

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Primary Source Materials You Can Explore

For authentic historical phrasing and context, these are excellent public-domain sources:
Tuskegee Institute Experimental Station Bulletin No. 31 — How to Grow the Peanut and 105 Ways of Preparing It for Human Consumption (written and compiled by George Washington Carver). (Wikipedia)
USDA Farmers’ Bulletins on peanuts and other legumes from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (Wikipedia)
Other Peanut Butter Recipes on Veggie School:
🥜🥜🥜🥜🥜🥜🥜🥜🥜🥜
Whole Wheat Raisin-Peanut Butter Bread Recipe
Holy Spread! Adventists and their Enduring Love of Peanut Butter
Zucchini Brownies
Peanut Hoisin Dipping Sauce for Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls
Vegan Oriental Sauce for Hawaiian Haystacks
Spicy Peanut Suace for over Pho Noodles
Vegan Carob Waffles
Simple Tofu Spread
Peanut Butter-Carob-Date Bars
Peanut Butter-Carob-Energy Balls
Peanut Butter-Carob Muffins
Shirley’s Thai Peanut Sauce
DIY Hoisin Sauce Recipe
Thai Quinoa Salad
Nuteena-like Sandwich Spread
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🥤 Recipe and photos © 2026 Cynthia Zirkwitz | Veggie School
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