Hi,

I am required to research a subculture for my anthropology class, and have chosen to delve into raw foods. I am going to spend 10 days eating only raw foods, and am also interviewing the raw foodists I know. However, I dont' know many, and would like your help in filling out a questionnaire. The answers will help me give an accurate account of the raw-food lifestyle, as well as helping to educate me. If you would like to help me out, please answer the following 8 questions, and email the answers back to rawproject at care2.com, or post them in a reply.
Thanks so much!

1. Why have you chosen to eat all/mostly raw foods?
2. How long have you been eating this way?
3. Do you consider yourself to be part of the vegan culture, or something completely separate?
4. Do your friends and family eat raw with you? Do they support you, or nag you about your diet?
5. Do you feel that your raw-food lifestyle plays into your politics, religion, and social beliefs? How about your job?
6. What do you eat in a typical day? (I am not asking for a food journal here. Just tell me if you prefer to eat mostly fruits, mostly vegetables, if you take supplements, if you’re into food combining, etc)
7. Are you part of any other “subculture?” This includes macrobiotics, punk, hippie, liberal, Jewish, etc.
8. Anything else you would like to add about what raw foods means to you?

cool idea for a class project!

1. I have chosen raw foods as a healthy way to loose weight and keep my body in good health.
2. Nearly a month
3.I concider myself a vegan raw foodist.
4. my kids have always eaten raw foods in the summer. It's their choice since cooked foods on hot days upset their stomachs.
5. My raw foods life style sort of playsinto my religion. I'm wiccan.
6. I eat mostly veggies and a few fruits durring the day. A multivitamin and B comlplex suppliment
7.I don't think wiccan's are a subculture, but if they are concidered such,I'm guilty.LOLOL!
8.don't forget to keep a journal and record how different you feel eating clean.

1. Why have you chosen to eat all/mostly raw foods?
because I believe it to be the healthiest way to eat. By eating raw I have eliminated many illnesses that I suffered from whilst eating cooked foods.

2. How long have you been eating this way?
Just over 3 years

3. Do you consider yourself to be part of the vegan culture, or something completely separate?
Yes and no! part of the vegan culture, but also part of the raw culture. For instance, I think I would identify more strongly with somebody who was Raw Vegetarian or Raw Omni, than I would with a cooked vegan.

4. Do your friends and family eat raw with you? Do they support you, or nag you about your diet?
At first my family and friends were not very accepting of the diet. But now that they see the obvious benefits I have experienced, they are supportive, and are trying to incorporate more raw foods into their diets.

5. Do you feel that your raw-food lifestyle plays into your politics, religion, and social beliefs? How about your job?
yes, it has definately influenced my beliefs in all aspects of my life. As regards my job, it has made it a million times easier, as I am a singer and whereas I used to sometimes have to cancel work due to illness, now my voice is so much stronger and I am easily able to work as much as I want to.
I guess in a nutshell, I could say it has empowered me. Being in control of my health makes me feel much more in control of my whole life.

6. What do you eat in a typical day? (I am not asking for a food journal here. Just tell me if you prefer to eat mostly fruits, mostly vegetables, if you take supplements, if you’re into food combining, etc)
Fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouts, all in varying proportions depending on what I feel like. just started trying some supplements (green superfoods). I guess fruit generally makes up the bulk of my diet, calorie-wise. I also drink kombucha tea. I try to practice food combining but usually fail miserably!

7. Are you part of any other “subculture?” This includes macrobiotics, punk, hippie, liberal, Jewish, etc.
Don't think so... my friends think I'm a bit of a hippy, I guess!

8. Anything else you would like to add about what raw foods means to you?
As well as the physical improvements, I have also experienced many mental benefits such as clarity of mind, calmness, much less stress, and generally a more positive attitude to life.

Rawproject, I have recently completed a dissertation on the raw foods diet as a new social movement. I think it may have some useful information for you. Let me know if you'd like to look at it and I will email it to you.

Lisa

rawproject Wrote:
> 1. Why have you chosen to eat all/mostly raw
> foods?

I have been a vegetarian for many years but was still having gastrointestinal problems. My wife's cousin and her husband have been raw for a while and suggested we try it. At first we were quite hesitant (it SOUNDS crazy), but it has solved all of my GI issues, we feel healthy and alive, and we love the way we feel about the food we eat.


> 2. How long have you been eating this way?
100% raw for 4 months.


> 3. Do you consider yourself to be part of the
> vegan culture, or something completely separate?

Definitely a subpart of the vegan culture, though separate in that we do not eat many of the traditional vegan foods such as soy products.

> 4. Do your friends and family eat raw with you?
> Do they support you, or nag you about your diet?
My wife and I are both raw, as are her cousin and her cousin's husband. My parents are completely surprised by this diet, but they also recognize the benefits I have seen while eating raw (namely the solution of years of GI problems). I would say that most people do not nag, but they are baffled by our choice and cannot understand why (or how) anyone would choose to eat this way.

> 5. Do you feel that your raw-food lifestyle plays
> into your politics, religion, and social beliefs?
No. For me these are very separate things.

> How about your job?
He he, I am an attorney in New York City - being raw could not be further removed from my job.

> 6. What do you eat in a typical day? (I am not
> asking for a food journal here. Just tell me if
> you prefer to eat mostly fruits, mostly
> vegetables, if you take supplements, if you’re
> into food combining, etc)
I eat mostly fruits and vegetables with some raw nuts as well. I take a B-12 supplement (a pill) once every two weeks for good measure. I am not into food combining as a science, but I try to get a balance across the spectrum of fruits and vegetables throughout the day, and I try not to mix too many fruits with too many vegetables generally.


> 7. Are you part of any other “subculture?” This
> includes macrobiotics, punk, hippie, liberal,
> Jewish, etc.
I don't know that I would agree with your terminology here. Jewish as a subculture? Liberal as a subculture? (making what, Conservatism the main culture? While Anne Coulter might like that, I would have to think that the general populace would disagree). The only "subculture" I can think of that I belong to (using your rubric) is the married with children subculture!


> 8. Anything else you would like to add about what
> raw foods means to you?
Raw food means making healthy choices for myself and for my life. It means thinking about every single thing I eat and what its effect on my body will be before I eat it. It means keeping myself healthy so that I can enjoy my life and enjoy my children.

Good luck on your project and enjoy your 10 days of raw!

Raw Daddy -- livin' raw and lovin' it

thanks everyone! so far so good! i am hoping to become a fully raw vegan myself some day, and your answers are only helping to convince me. i love hearing about your lifestyles and jobs and everything. it's very helpful!
by the way, my teacher considers a "subculture" to be any group of people with shared beliefs/habits/traditions, which is why I mentioned "liberal" and "Jewish" as examples on my questionnaire. if you disagree, i'm not surprised. that's my teacher's definition, though, so i must go by that for the class.

thanks again for all your help!

do you still need more people to take your survey?

yes, please! The more the merrier!

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1. Why have you chosen to eat all/mostly raw foods?

I - I read a lot of literature talking about the value of raw food, I did a lot of research, reading the Weston Price website and books on juicing and concluded that there was really no point for my to continue cooking.

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2. How long have you been eating this way?

I began in May 2003.

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3. Do you consider yourself to be part of the vegan culture, or something completely separate?

Completely seperate. I'm not completely vegan myself but I support vegans and their goals. I know it takes a lot of commitment for most people and I respect them for their ethical values. Personally I think a lot of PETA type oragnizations do a lot of harm to their causes by being so militant but they stand for a good cause. I think veganism is great.

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4. Do your friends and family eat raw with you? Do they support you, or nag you about your diet?

My parents are not completely supportive. I just moved so actually my one "real life" friend here is supportive. My girlfriend is also (mostly) raw. Other people who I meet at work or causally I don't talk to about my diet.

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5. Do you feel that your raw-food lifestyle plays into your politics, religion, and social beliefs? How about your job?

Yes, definitely! David Jubb talks about "live food for a sustainable future" and I think it's a great messege. By eating raw (and as locally as possible) we are sending a politcal messege (thru the language of poltics which is money). I also buy organic cottons sheets, hemp clothes and thift store items (as opposed to dollar store or WalMart items) when I can. I've been looking into sustainable communities, solar power, natural building, simple living, sutff like that for a long time now. While I'm sitll very much "on the grid" right now in my mind I'm free.

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6. What do you eat in a typical day? (I am not asking for a food journal here. Just tell me if you prefer to eat mostly fruits, mostly vegetables, if you take supplements, if you’re into food combining, etc)

I eat some fruit a few hours after I get up. Not much just a couple of small apples or some cherries (really great cherries out here this time of year). Then around 1 or 2PM I'll have a large meal, some coconut cream (like almond butter but with coconut), a little bit of honey, some raw chocolate nibs, a whole bunch of greens and maybe some maca or bee pollen. That holds me over for a long time (once in awhile until bedtime). If I'm hungry in the evening I'll have a large salad with tomatoes, garlic, onion, raw salt, dulse, olive & flax oil, ground flax, lemon juice and some vitamineral green. I haven't eaten nuts in a while (except coconuts) and I feel better for it. I used to eat an awful lot of nuts. They're the freshest in the fall anyway so now is a good time to take a break. I get almost all of my fresh produce from the local farmer's market.

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7. Are you part of any other “subculture?” This includes macrobiotics, punk, hippie, liberal, Jewish, etc.

Yes! I'm a CivFanatic. [forums.civfanatics.com]. I'm also a chessplayer. I'm a major internet forumer really. I have over 1,000 posts at three different forums and over 100 at a dozen or so. I used to have about 3000 here but then the forum crashed last October. I'm a big fan of subcultures, they're alot of fun. While I mingle in many I am not particualrly attached to any label and I try to see objectively, not getting bogged down by the values and preconcieved notions of any one group (including, perhaps even especially rawfoodists).

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8. Anything else you would like to add about what raw foods means to you?

Yes. Raw food is our bond with the Earth.

Great luck on your paper! How old are you anyway? What's your name? It's refreshing to see people get into this at an early age. I didn't get into it until I was 23 and already had all those years of junk food eating under my belt (so to speak).

Can you post your report when you're done? I'm curious to see it.

1. Why have you chosen to eat all/mostly raw foods?
My partner started to deal with a serious health problem without surgery or medication. The rationale sounded logical, so I followed, and found many health issues, aches and pains have disappeared on raw, and I feel much healthier.

2. How long have you been eating this way?
4 years

3. Do you consider yourself to be part of the vegan culture, or something completely separate?
separate. Vegans can eat a lot of processed, unhealthy food.

4. Do your friends and family eat raw with you? Do they support you, or nag you about your diet?
just my partner. Some people are quite hostile about it. We've grown more isolated.

5. Do you feel that your raw-food lifestyle plays into your politics, religion, and social beliefs? How about your job?
Yes- implimenting simplicity, sustainability, healthiness in many aspects of life

6. What do you eat in a typical day? (I am not asking for a food journal here. Just tell me if you prefer to eat mostly fruits, mostly vegetables, if you take supplements, if you’re into food combining, etc)
mostly green leafy vegetables and sprouts, some sprouted seeds

7. Are you part of any other “subculture?” This includes macrobiotics, punk, hippie, liberal, Jewish, etc.
gay


8. Anything else you would like to add about what raw foods means to you?
amazing health and vitality, but great sadness in seeing how other people would rather die than eat vegetables.

Chickory

1. Why have you chosen to eat all/mostly raw foods?
By accident, actually - I decided to do a 2-week detox diet & the book I picked up at the health food store was a raw food detox. Four days on the diet & I knew I'd never go back to "normal" eating. Still haven't & loving it!

2. How long have you been eating this way?
Two months

3. Do you consider yourself to be part of the vegan culture, or something completely separate?
No, nothing, in fact I have trouble even calling myself a raw foodist. I certainly can't bring myself to utter "raw vegan" - I used to be such a rabid carnivore!

4. Do your friends and family eat raw with you? Do they support you, or nag you about your diet?
No, they're not raw but girls are always trying all sorts of diets anyway so nobody thinks anything of anyone's current diet preference - so I feel supported - everyone's like "oh ok" (I live in NYC though so of course nobody here is shocked about anything). My friends & family are amazed at how good I look though!

5. Do you feel that your raw-food lifestyle plays into your politics, religion, and social beliefs? How about your job?
Yes - I think if everyone was raw, we would live in a different world - this is just based upon the mental changes I noticed in myself.

6. What do you eat in a typical day? (I am not asking for a food journal here. Just tell me if you prefer to eat mostly fruits, mostly vegetables, if you take supplements, if you’re into food combining, etc)
I'm not big on fruit - the sweetness of most fruits grosses me out now (I didn't used to feel that way). So I eat the "vegetable" fruits - peppers, avocados, cucumber, squash. But mostly I love anything leafy green and I love seaweeds also and raw chocolate.

7. Are you part of any other “subculture?” This includes macrobiotics, punk, hippie, liberal, Jewish, etc.
No. Though I am half Jewish and liberal by "middle America" standards. I live in NYC.

8. Anything else you would like to add about what raw foods means to you?
I feel terrific!! That's the best part, hands down. And athletically I seem to be much more powerful.

thanks! it sounds like everyone feels and looks a million times better just by eating raw foods. my mother is skeptical that a diet like this would do much for her since she already eats "healthy" (organic, vegetarian). i believe raw is something altogether different, though i don't really know anyone (personally) who has gone through a radical change via raw foods. it's wonderful to hear your feedback. does anyone feel improved athletically as well? i'm sure you get a ton of questions about protein, etc...

rawproject Wrote:
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> feedback. does anyone feel improved athletically as well?

I can regularly walk 8 to 10 miles a day and think that's quite normal. When other people look at me strange when I say I just walked to so and so then I guess that walking this much must be helped by my diet!

Rob

--
Rob Hull - Funky Raw
My blog: [www.rawrob.com]

re athletic question:
I am a lot more flexible since going raw. And I feel a lot physically stronger.

...still looking for responses if you haven't answered yet.... thanks!

Have you considered asking on this forum : [www.rawfood.com]

You could also try here : [www.rawfoodtalk.com]

as well as here : [www.roaringlionpublishing.com]

Again, good luck!