Hello there,
having read a fair bit about the raw vegan diet, I do think it's ideal- apart from the laking B12 which supposedly is supplemented. (?)
But I am concerned about the cadmium quantity in fruit and veggies. (check it out if you're not yet aware) Cadmium is a heavy metal and found in soil which is of course where all the substance grows. Cadmium is highly toxic and the body releases it through the kidneys which can lead to sever damage. A high consumtion (which is obvious) of cadmium can lead to reduced absorption of calcium, an increased uretic release of calcium which means a serious damage to the bone structure.
how do you guys put up with this? do you weigh out the harmful substances of a raw vegan and a vegetarian (ovo+lacto) diet and conclude that you're better of without animal products?

Whatever toxins exist in our environment or the environment where food grows, gets concentrated the higher up the food chain you go. So if plants pick up some cadmium or whatever heavy metal or toxin, the animal that eat those plants pick up the same toxins, and those toxins exist at a more concentrated level than in the original plants.

So toxins contained in plants is not a reason to not eat plants, since eating animals would give the consumer a more concentrated dosage of the toxic materials.

Right. Most toxins, including heavy metals, seat in the fatty tissues and soft tissues. Plants don't have fatty tissues and soft tissues, so they're very clear by comparison.

Want2know,
Your question prompted me to search the topic. Here is a webpage with some information about Cadmium sources.
[www.cadmium.org]

Here is a statement about cadmium in foodstuffs from that site.
3.3.5 Cadmium Levels in Foodstuffs


Cadmium levels can vary Widely in various types of foodstuffs. Leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach and certain staples such as potatoes and grain foods exhibit relatively high values from 30 to 150 ppb. Peanuts, soybeans and sunflower seeds also exhibit naturally high values of cadmium with seemingly no adverse health effects. Meat and fish normally contain lower cadmium contents, from 5 to 40 ppb. Animal offal such as kidney and liver can exhibit extraordinarily high cadmium values, up to 1,000 ppb, as these are the organs in animals where cadmium concentrates (WHO 1992, ATSDR 1997). The cadmium contents of foodstuffs may vary widely with the agricultural practices utilised in the particular areas such as phosphate fertiliser, sewage sludge and manure application, the types of crops grown, and atmospheric cadmium deposition from natural or anthropogenic sources. Since various studies have shown that man's cadmium intake, as least for non-smokers, comes principally (approximately 95%) from the ingestion of foods rather than from inhalation of cadmium in air, it is the cadmium levels of foods which most affect the general population. There are strong indications that cadmium levels in foodstuffs have substantially decreased during the past several decades due to the progressive control of cadmium emissions to the environment (Van Assche and Ciarletta 1993, Watanabe et al. 1993, Watanabe et al. 1994). Recent studies have further documented that the cadmium content of food crops in Europe and many other countries are now stable and not increasing with time (Chaudri et al. 1995).

Another webpage claims benefits of eating fruits and veggies in lowering levels of cadmium in the blood. Smokers seem to have the highest level of cadmium.
[biochemistry.suite101.com]

thank you very much for your answers! I find them and also the links very helpful!

Mmm...cadmium...

tasty tasty cadmium...lol we had such similar thoughts banana who,lol... I didnt post mine though cause i thought it would be to silly, but since you did already, IO guess if its silly, we will look silly together,LOL