Mildred Mathilda Lager (December 19, 1900 - January 25, 1960) was an American pioneer of

natural foods Natural food and all-natural food are terms in food labeling and marketing with several definitions, often implying foods that are not manufactured by processing. In some countries like the United Kingdom, the term "natural" is defined and regu ...

and

health food A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy. A health ...

Career

Lager was born in

West Superior, Wisconsin , native_name_lang = oj , nickname = , total_type = , motto = , image_skyline = Tower Avenue.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Downtown Superior , ima ...

, the only child of Gustav Walfred Lager (a station engineer, who was born in Sweden) and Hilda Marie Erickson Lager (also born in Sweden). Gustav came to the United States in 1890 and Hilda in 1881. They were married on October 28, 1899, in Superior, Wisconsin. On October 15, 1933, she founded a health food store named ''The House of Better Living'' at 1207 West Sixth St.,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, California. This store issued a regular newsletter and catalog. Lager was notable for promoting

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu a ...

recipes. Her most well known book ''The Useful Soybean'' received positive reviews.Schneider, B. Aubrey. (1946). ''Reviewed Work: The Useful Soybean. A Plus Factor in Modern Living by Mildred Lager''. ''

The Quarterly Review of Biology ''The Quarterly Review of Biology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of biology. It was established in 1926 by Raymond Pearl. In the 1960s it was purchased by the Stony Brook Foundation when the editor H. Bentley Glass be ...

'' 21 (1): 99. In 2009 she was the subject of a biography, ''Mildred Lager: History of Her Work with Soyfoods and Natural Foods in Los Angeles (1900-1960)''.

Publications

*''Soy Bean Recipes'' (1942) *''The Useful Soybean: A Plus Factor in Modern Living'' (1945) *''Soybean Cookbook'' (1968) ith Dorothea Van Gundy Jones

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lager, Mildred 1900 births 1960 deaths American women nutritionists American nutritionists American people of Swedish descent Diet food advocates People from Superior, Wisconsin Soy researchers