David Wolfe is not the owner of sunfood.com, it has been taken over by Doug Harbison the son of ex president of Monsanto Earl Harbison. Apparently it was a hidden engineered takeover. Sunfood have 8 law suits against David Wolfe. David has had nothing to do with Sunfood for over a year.

This is very strange as DW used to own NFL with Stephen Arlin and RC Dini. How on earth did the son of monsanto boss get involved. The mind boggles.


I saw this info on this link and the third comment down after the article from someone with info

[rawchefdan.typepad.com]

Doug Harbison is the son of Earl Harbison, former CEO of MONSANTO. His brother owns a plastic bottling manufacturing plant.

Doug engineered a hidden take over of Sunfood and all of its assets, and screwed investors out of several million dollars (and screwed David Wolfe also). But David's name is one of the assets of the company, so they can continue to use his name and he cannot do much about it



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2010 08:02PM by Ariel55.

Wow, that is hard to believe about David Wolfe...

He had to know that the information would leak out eventually & totally screw his credibility...I will no longer make purchases from sunfood, what little I did to begin with...

I wonder what "the story behind the story" is, though...Did David leave voluntarily? was he booted out? What are the 8 lawsuits against him? It all sounds very strange...

I haven't bought Sunfood products in a long while because I was told a couple of years ago by someone at a health food store that the company was in trouble, administration-wise. This person added that he couldn't vouch for Sunfood products' authenticity anymore. Whoa, I thought, someone needs to spend less time in Hawaii and more time with his corporate lawyers. Apparently, that did not come to pass. Let's all support Sunfood's competitors, I say. Thanks for posting, Ariel.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/01/2010 08:56PM by Tamukha.

Yes, very odd and very alarming, although most "natural" food companies are actually owned by big corporations. In other words, they got bought out at some point. Silk is owned by Dean Foods. You can get a list of all these companies and it all is a big bummer. I will say that Eden Foods is one company still owned and operated as is. I try and buy their products whenever possible because I respect that they refuse to sell out. The David Wolfe thing is mind-boggling. It truly makes no sense and is horrific to contemplate if true. I have "Sunfood Success System" and "Eating for Beauty." One thing which turned me off was how heavily he promoted his products. For instance, he's drop Sunfood's brand in his books and I thought that was needless hawking of product and made him a bit suspect in my book. But Monsatan? Dear God, why? The karma of that is incomprehensible!

Not. Surprising. Remember, I worked with them for a time. I don't have a very high opinion.

I have read that eden is one of the few companies that doesn't line it's cans with BPA. They seem like a good sort, those folk. Then again, you just never know... I have been boycotting nestle for years and they own everything. Haagendaas, leg panty hose, loreal, even perier for goodness sake! It's like only 5 big companies run the world. Not my world anymore but you know what I mean.

i had heard about the David wolfe part a few months ago , i didnt realize the guy was attatched to monsanto ...sheesh , nothing is safe anymore i fear

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/02/2010 03:16AM by Jgunn.

Funny to read this as I am just getting in to the raw food thing and just watched some DW talks for the first time the other day and while he is a great speaker, my first thought was that this guy is a fake or a sell out. I don't know if fake is a fair statement because from what little I have read I guess at some point he was huge in the raw food movement but it seems that lately perhaps now that there is money being made by him he just seemed fake in the videos I watched.

@Nubster: I got the vibe in recent videos that he was manic and not in a good way. He just seemed wired; there was a wild look in his eyes. I don't say this to be mean, either. I love the books of his that I own and refer to them at times. But I remember Ani Phyo stating that after she first went raw, she had "too much" energy. She would sleep few hours and it got to the point where she used cooked quinoa to ground herself. I think she is a balanced raw-fooder in that she doesn't use absolutes like Wolfe does. She doesn't make you feel like a failure if you are not 100% raw. Sometimes with Wolfe's philosophy I almost have been left with the feeling that it's all or nothing.

I want to check more out on DW because I get the feeling that there is a lot of great info from him that just needs filtered. I think he may be a case of getting too big for his britches. He started with love and passion and great intentions and now that he has reached a guru status and is "famous" amongst the raw food crowd he is riding that status like a celebrity. Not saying that he does or doesn't deserve he status and popularity. It is just my initial impression from the few videos I have seen of him which appear to be more recent stuff.

I also can see what you are saying too banana. While he looks good and healthy and has a great aura about him...something just seems a bit off.

@Nubster: Another oddity is that he now refers to himself as David "Avocado" Wolfe. Is it just a joke? Who knows, but I have been seeing videos where he's wearing a serape with his hair sticking up. And as I said before, there is a lack of groundedness. And I don't get inspired by that sort of thing. It almost seems like a red flag to me. Energy is one thing but a person who is bouncing off the walls...I dunno.

..."Another oddity is that he now refers to himself as David "Avocado" Wolfe. Is it just a joke?..."

He adopted that moniker because of his great love, nay - addiction to avo's. I have heard him say he eats several per day.

They all need a gimmick, don't they?

Jay Kordich is now the "Juice Daddy"...

DW doesn't really bother me too much, it is simply his style, IMHO.

Matt Monarch has that "wasted/stoned" persona most of the time...I know that turns many folks off.

Brian Clement usually comes across with his very forceful, kinda arrogant style, at least he leaves me with that feeling.

Different strokes for different folks...

I have a couple of books from DW & Steve Arlin that I purchased several years ago, & I know what you mean about hawking their own products in the books...

Bodybuilder Bill Phillips, along with his company EAS almost got in trouble big time years ago for heavily promoting their products in a similar manner. Somehow he slipped through some loopholes & avoided the consequences.

As for DW, I haven't watched enough recent videos to know - is he promoting healthy living/raw food in general now, or is he now a spokesperson for another company?

@Juicerkatz: My take on the 'avocado' nickname is that it seemed a little...silly. And Matt Monarch is from CA, dewd, so he talks like totally gnarly, yew knew? Actually, rather than stoned, I have also vibed on him seeming wired/manic like David. And he is always hawking expensive supplements. I am uber suspicious of that, especially when he's always talking about his spiritual advancements from the lifestyle. But I guess it hasn't affected his desire to make moola!

What I mean to say is that sometimes I have been around raw fooders/New Agers who are a little...spacy. Like too much in the upper chakras (maybe I sound spacy, LOL). People who are not down to Earth...literally, are a bit annoying to me sometimes. Kind of flaky; unfocused. Out in the ether. Or too cerebral...

I briefly worked for them about 10 years ago, I have no idea about him now. I observed him behaving in an hypocritical, aggressive, nsensitive and sexist manner back then. He and his partners seemed to be lacking in a level of integrity that you'd expect from people promoting their kind of message. And I never saw him eat a single avocado (that was his knickname back then too). They were all into juice with jalapenos in it.

Brian Clement does unfortunately come across with forceful arrogance. A shame because he is the most knowledgable in my opinion. He researches the crap out of everything, the man knows his stuff. His retreat has a very high suscess rate with cures. He must be doing something right. And I've heard him recant when new research proved wrong something they previously promoted, that's rare in these gurus.

Gabriel Cousins has a lovely etherial energy but the spirituality of his approach is a little thick. Still, interesting man, great lectures.

Viktorus Kulvinskas, OMG, this man channels some kind of divine energy straight from the heavens. I've never heard a more impassioned speaker in my life. Half the crowd was nearly on their feet shouting out halleluias and waving their hands in the air. I left on a high that lasted for hours. What a gracious person he is.

Coco- that is fascinating-thanks for sharing those insights! I am affirmed because we all have the internal mechanism to discern information presented to us. Many times we either discount it because we over-intellectualize our intuition (tuning into the Higher Self, spirit guides, higher mind, whatever you want to call it) or feel like it's just subjectivity. Sometimes negative feelings ARE triggered by our own prejudices, so it's important to be conscious enough to know the difference. I had a gut instinct that Wolfe, while persuasive and presenting fascinating info, was very aggressive and self-promoting. Full of himself, to be exact. What is funny is that when I first listened to Kulvinskas,he seemed a bit 'out there' and someone made the comment on Youtube that he was rude because he talked very bluntly or in a certain way. So it's cool to know that appearances can be deceiving and he may be a lot different once you get to really know him.

juicerkatz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>
> As for DW, I haven't watched enough recent videos
> to know - is he promoting healthy living/raw food
> in general now, or is he now a spokesperson for
> another company?

From the couple videos I watched he is doing both. He gave a great talk about how he became raw, what raw can do, did his upgrading from good to better to best shpeel, some spiritual stuff...pretty good. But like banana pointed out, he was dressed a little over the top and kinda whacked out. Then the next video he was pushing some Adya Clarity stuff and another potion of some sort...can't remember.

Oh, what I would give for that youtube link of a Monarch video where he talks about hitting on women and different things. He is so uninteresting/unengaging/intelligent to me.

[www.youtube.com]

I'm sorry to anyone who spends 7 min. on this, but you have to see.....

hi utopian life

i would have gone past the 15 seconds i spent watching this

if it had subtitles

not sure what he was trying to say

and i thought i spoke and understood english

maybe there was something wrong with my volume switch

who knows

Wow....

was just starting to like him a little bit, but after 1 1/2 min. of that vid. (sorry couldn't make it the whole way) now I think he is a real dweeb, lol! (Sorry!)

I guess he does have some good relationship info. to dispense tho - after all, it must have worked on Ms. Stokes, right?!?

Another thing; is that his real hair, that huge mane he sports now? How can anyone's hair grow that fast in 1-2 yrs.? Some of the vids. I see dated as recent as '09 has him with his long hair...

@ coco - I can believe what you said about when you worked for the company, the integrity issues and more. I have been involved with many a company on a professional level over the years, & it is amazing to see the "front" that is presented when you really know what is going on behind the scenes...

guess that is why I have such a cynical view of the world anymore...everything is corrupt...

People are just people, fallable and human. It's when one puts an inhuman faith in those with whom one is engaged in a commercial relationship that one sets themself up for a fall. You can't put people up on a pedastal and think they are going to remain there in every aspect of their lives. Just because David Wolfe has been instrumental in spreading information to many people about raw doesn't mean that he is a good person all the rest of the time. When we look to another as a guru it's inevitable that we will eventually be disappointed. Gotta look within for true guidance I think, take what is good from every encounter and leave the garbage behind. I see a lot of hero worship of these raw food dudes and that's the problem right there. Not how dopey surfer dude they are or anything else. They are entitled to be human and do stupid things as much as the rest of us. Fame doesn't preclude anything .

Well said, coco!

Also, in my earlier post, I didn't mean to bash Matt about his appearance or persona - If he is comfortable with who he is, that is great. He is reaching a segment of the population that no one else can, just as DW, Jay & the others.


BTW, if you want "down to earth", look no further than Victoria Boutenko. Haven't met her personally, but I get a good vibe from her vids. - that her & her family are very sincere and they are very easy to listen to.

Utopian Life,

I have always found Matt Monarch's Cali Sloucher persona a tad tough to take; I can't help wondering if there's deep thought goin' on. This video didn't help--as self-indulgent and callow as he seemed in his youth(and as crap as his musical taste was), he really seemed more, I don't know, "with-it" in his pre-raw days? Maybe because he had a demanding job in a high stress city. I am truly glad that things are great for him now, and that he's vital and happy and has filled the void of purposelessness that bothered his younger self[that section of his video archive was actually touching to me]. But I really wish I hadn't watched that.

OMG- I thought that video was gonna be scandalous but what's the big deal with it? He was younger, it was at a time of searching, and he expresses disatisfaction with that life "society sucks," "I have no purpose." In Buddhism they call this dukkha (spelling?), which means 'unsatisfactoriness.' I love that term because it's so perfect to describe what is going on. Does anyone know what he did in NYC? I think he was with MTV but was he on the air or what? Why would they have film of him.

I'm sure many of us have done soul searching in our younger years but were never so pompous to think that making a boring video of ourselves rambling is somehow interesting or will draw people to raw food. If anything, that video is a turnoff, and Matt's face has never looked healthy to me. It's no surprise that Stokes likes him so much - they're a great match for each other with their starvation, half a dehydrated cookie with some greens powder and bee pollen **** diet.

I just heard him say that he wants to take it further and eat even less food in the future. I have read Angela's blog--she appears to be mostly on a liquid diet, from what I can see. I'll give her a break, though, because she has been morbidly obese. Perhaps she is comfortable with this diet because of food addiction in the past, plus assimilating better? If it wouldn't be too personal, I would be curious to know your average food intake in a day. I asked this question before; don't know if you replied. I am just torn because I have a bunch of raw food recipe books and some of them are very nut/seed-heavy. I don't want to make crackers out of sprouted flax and then top it with seed cheeze! I want some nuts and seeds but not too much. So I hear differing advice and am curious what to do.

I eat about 2,500-3,000 calories per day of fresh fruit, greens, and some nonsweet fruits.

I think we will find that those lawsuits were undertaken by Monsanto hags in order to force David into selling. He is probably bound legally against telling the truth to the public. This is just the kind of thing Monsanto will do. Remember they are the "legal" GM-genocide branch of the corporate-military-political-global-elitists.

There is nothing they cannot go if they set there mind to it. I am sure it is a case of Icarus flying too close to the sun. Monsanto had to hit the biggest/brightest of the rawfood warriors.

I see your point but "biggest and brightest"? I don't think so. He's got a big mouth, sure, but so do I .

Lets just say he was instrumental in making raw cool in the 20s/30s crowd...and his information is about 97% correct as far as i can tell, plus he is inspirational and motivational without being dictitorial or punitive.