In 1959, Wokes established the Vegetarian Nutritional Research Centre at Stanborough Park, near Watford.[2] Wokes collaborated with the Vegetarian Society to provide nutritional evidence for the benefits of vegetarian diets.[3] The Centre was eventually incorporated into the Vegetarian Society.[4] At the centre he conducted experiments on plant alternatives to cow's milk.[2]
In 1968, Wokes co-founded the journal Plant Foods for Human Nutrition.[2][5] In 1974, it was described as an "international journal devoted to the role of plant foods in human nutrition and designed to discuss methods of dealing with the problem of world food shortage."[6]
Wokes authored over one hundred scientific papers on nutrition, some of which were on Vitamin B12.[2] He was consulted by the war time Minister of Food. In 1941, he authored Food: The Deciding Factor which sold over 50,000 copies and converted many to vegetarianism.[2] In his later life, Wokes became a vegan.[2]
He toured India at the age of 77 and worked with Government officials, Universities and Research Institutes.[2]
Vitamin B12 research
The deficiency of Vitamin B12 which may occur in vegans was first described by Wokes to the International Congress of Nutrition in Amsterdam in 1954.[7] Wokes and the Vegetarian Nutritional Research Centre took interest in studying the health of vegans in India as they were marked with Vitamin B12 deficiency more than vegetarians consuming dairy products.[7] In the 1960s, Wokes found that serum B12 levels in vegans were much lower than the average levels in vegetarians and meat-eaters. He did not oppose Vitamin B12 injections but suggested that a more efficient and inexpensive method for vegans to get Vitamin B12 was from suitable fortified foods.[8]
Selected publications
A Textbook of Applied Biochemistry for Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Students (1937)
^Hilton, Matthew; Crowson, Nick; Mouhot, Jean-François; McKay, James. (2012). A Historical Guide to NGOs in Britain: Charities, Civil Society and the Voluntary Sector Since 1945. Palgrave. p. 242. ISBN978-0-230-30444-4