Margaret Isely (August 13, 1921 – July 23, 1997) was an American businesswoman, organic food activist, nutritionist, political activist and

peace activist A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peac ...

. She is best known for founding the health food chain Natural Grocers in 1955 along with her husband

Philip Isely Philip Isely (October 16, 1915 – June 26, 2012) was an American peace activist and writer best known for writing numerous books and founding the Global Ratification and Elections Network (GREN) (now known as Earth Federation Movement (EFM)) an ...

. She was co-founder of the Global Ratification and Elections Network (GREN) (now known as Earth Federation Movement (EFM)) and World Constitution and Parliament Association (WCPA) along with her husband

Early life

Born as Margaret Ann Sheesley, on August 13, 1921, she grew up in Colorado. She worked as a waitress. In 1946, while pursuing a business degree at Antioch College, Margaret met Henry Philip Isely, who had previously served prison time as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. They were married in 1948.

Birth of Vitamin Cottage

Margaret's journey into the world of nutrition began while working as an "Acting Dietitian" at the Antioch tea room and exploring the writings (the book ''Let's Get Well'') of influential and controversial nutritionist

Adelle Davis Adelle Davis (25 February 1904 – 31 May 1974) was an American writer and nutritionist, considered "the most famous nutritionist in the early to mid-20th century." She was an advocate for improved health through better nutrition. She wrote an e ...

. Her personal health struggles, including a

chronic infection A chronic condition is a health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects or a disease that comes with time. The term ''chronic'' is often applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three mo ...

following the birth of her second child, led her to question

Western medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practice ...

and seek alternative approaches for healing. Margaret began incorporating an organic diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, naturally raised meat and dairy, and supplements, like fish oil. Embracing this regimen, her health improved significantly. Margaret and her husband, Philip, recognized the potential health benefits of natural eating. They began distributing nutrition books and taking supplement orders door-to-door, laying the foundation for their business. Their dedication and perseverance paid off, and by 1958, they opened their first health food store called the Builder’s Foundation in

Lakewood, Colorado The City of Lakewood is the home rule municipality that is the most populous municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 155,984 at the 2020 U.S. Census making Lakewood the fifth most populous city in Col ...

. In 1963, the Iselys converted a cottage-style house into their new store, inspiring the name change to Vitamin Cottage. Now it is run by the second-generation siblings Zephyr, Kemper, and Heather with more than 160 retail grocery stores in around 20 states of US.

Political career

In 1958, Margaret ran for the State Senate as

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

for the "Conservation of Life". In that same year, Philip Isely founded the World Constitution and Parliament Association (WCPA), a global organization dedicated to peace, justice, and sustainable development. Margaret was actively involved alongside her husband and played a pivotal role in promoting the WCPA's principles and advocating for a

world government World government is the concept of a single political authority with jurisdiction over all humanity. It is conceived in a variety of forms, from tyrannical to democratic, which reflects its wide array of proponents and detractors. A world gove ...

that could address global challenges. She surved as executive member and treasurer of WCPA. Their home was picketed after a local newspaper, the Jefferson Sentinel, accused them of being communists. "One of our neighbors had us investigated because we passed out literature for the Peoples World Parliament," said Margaret, "but the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...

gave us a clean slate as harmless

pacifists Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigne ...

Other

She has served in many food and industery related organizations: * President - Natural Foundation for Nutritional Research * President - Rocky Mountain Nutritional Foods Association * Executive council member -

National Nutritional Foods Association The Natural Products Association or NPA (formerly the NNFA, or the National Nutritional Foods Association) is the largest and oldest nonprofit organization representing the interests of manufacturers and retailers of the natural products industry, ...

. She was inducted into the Natural Products Industry Hall of Legends in 2015.

Death

Margaret Isely died on July 23, 1997.

Legacy

The Margaret Ann Isely Foundation was established by her family and friends to fund projects that were important to Margaret. This included the establishment of a nonprofit

alternative health Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...

clinic in Colorado and a

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'. Ph ...

growing project aimed at mitigating global

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isely, Margaret 1921 births 1997 deaths American businesspeople in retailing American retail chief executives Businesspeople from Colorado Retail company founders 20th-century American businesspeople Women in Colorado politics People from Henry County, Illinois