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Ellen White’s transition to a vegetarian diet was a progressive experience that spanned several decades. While she received her primary vision on health reform in 1863 and immediately began implementing changes, she acknowledged that she occasionally consumed meat in the following years when traveling or when suitable alternatives were unavailable (MR852 2.4). During this period of development, her diet was characterized as lacto-ovo-vegetarian, incorporating grains, vegetables, nuts, milk, and eggs (CCh 20.6), (CD 6.4). Regarding fish and other seafood, there is evidence that she used these items at certain points in her life before her final commitment to total abstinence from flesh foods. For instance, in 1882, she specifically requested her daughter-in-law to purchase fresh herrings and canned oysters (MR852 2.3).

There is also a recorded instance where, during a period of illness, she was encouraged to try oyster broth for medicinal purposes, though she reportedly refused it after only a couple of spoonfuls (MR852 2.3). A definitive shift occurred in 1894 while she was in Australia. At that time, she made a firm decision to banish meat from her table entirely, a position she maintained for the remainder of her life (CCh 20.6), (MR852 2.6). She emphasized that her health reform was based on personal conviction and natural law rather than a desire to be a mere criterion for others, urging individuals to stand in their own dignity before God regarding their health habits (MR852 3.5).

Ultimately, she viewed the avoidance of flesh meats as a matter of bringing one's habits into conformity with the laws of nature and the Word of God. She taught that as light was given regarding the harmful effects of meat-eating on the mental and physical faculties, it was the duty of the believer to guard their habits strictly (8MR 37),.

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In her analysis of dietary principles, Ellen White categorized fish within the broader classification of animal food and flesh meats. When discussing the historical dietary laws given to the Israelites, she explicitly grouped fish alongside other animals and birds, noting that certain types were pronounced unclean and therefore prohibited (MH 311.3), (CCh 228.4), (CD 374.3). This indicates that she viewed the consumption of fish as the consumption of animal tissue, subject to the same biblical restrictions as other forms of meat. She frequently used the term "flesh meat" or "flesh of dead animals" to describe a diet that she believed was out of harmony with health reform principles (CD 401.1), (TSDF 67.1). Her counsel emphasized that the use of such food has a tendency to "animalize" human nature, potentially allowing lower passions to override higher mental and spiritual powers (5MR 408.1), (TSDF 80.8).

By including fish in the same category as other "beasts slain to be devoured," she identified it as part of the animal kingdom that was increasingly subject to disease (KC 69.4), (PC). Furthermore, she advocated for a transition toward a diet composed of fruits, grains, and nuts as the ideal substitute for all forms of animal food (5MR 408.1), (KC 135.2). In her view, the practice of health reform involved moving away from the "flesh of dead animals" entirely, especially in regions where plant-based alternatives were abundant (TSDF 80.8), (PH031 2.1).

Consequently, while she recognized the biblical distinctions between clean and unclean fish, her broader health message encouraged the eventual elimination of all flesh meats, including fish, from the diet (TSDF 78).

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