Hello all!

Have you read Carol Alt's raw food book? What do you think about it?

Thank you for your kindness!

love

I apologize for the thread name! I ment book!

Thank you!

love, I haven't read her book. She is not raw vegan. I did read her first book on raw and thought it was inspirational but not developed enough to address the issues that raw foodists have. Part of this may have been due to the fact that she was under a doctor's care while she pursued raw. So, she didn't have to address all the questions one normally comes across when doing it alone.

In my uninformed opinion, I do believe that there are great raw books out there by real raw vegan raw foodists. I've heard good things about "RawVolution" and "Raw" by Juliano. Charlie Trotter while not raw is a chef and his "Raw" cookbook is supposed to be good, too. Rhio's book is supposed to be pretty good, also. Unfortunately, I spent quite a bit of money on raw food books that weren't good.

I almost ordered this today! Glad you mentioned she isnt a raw foodist..

Any recommendations of books that are available in the UK/from UK amazon??

Do you think a regular store would be able to source Alissa or 80-10-10?? just with an isbn?.. am lucky enough to have a battered copy of one atm..but would like to purchase..

is a letdown when you buy books that turn out dissapointing

Hey rawdancer!

My absolute FAVORITE raw cookbook is Raw Food Real World by Matthew Kenney & Sarma Melngailis. They're the chefs who opened Pure Food & Wine in New York City, which is far and away the best raw restaurant I've ever been to - and their book includes many of their menu items. I also like Raw by Juliano, but for me at least, both his book & his restaurant come in a distant second.

Best,
AshCat

rawdancer, You misunderstood me. I said that she wasn't raw vegan. She is a raw meat eater and mostly raw from what I understand from reading her first book on raw.


Ash, I heard that that book was good, too.

I have a really hard time understanding why people who are raw believe we need raw meat.


All the recent info and theories, Essene Gospel of Peace, thriving rawfoodists, etc, show us otherwise, and I haven't read anything about rawfoodist who aren't vegan so I just don't get it.

What's the theory?

aquadecoco,

Perhaps its just that old habits die hard.

Thank you all!

I have not read Carol Alt's book cover to cover, I have just skipped through it a lot. Yes she does eat raw M*** and raw D****. She is a raw foodist though. I think she might eat sprouted grains like Ezekiel bread, and at Hockey games eat popcorn. But other then occasionally eating some kind of cooked food, I think she is raw. I was just wondering what you thought of the book besides that part?

Love and light to all!

there is a raw food book that has recipes that requires no dehydrating and can be made in just a few minutes

and not many ingredients
simple

the best book i found for that was phyllis avery's

Garden of Eden

all of her recipes can be made in 5 minutes or less
requires only a blender ( if even that)

i think the most ingredients she had in any given recipe was 5

some of her recipes had only two or three ingredients

no spices of any type

it was a hygienic recipe book

so the food combining was part of the recipes

they were all combined correctly

i gave that book away though



but that's okay

cuz the recipes were so simple

that i remembered the gist of them

they were basically stuff like

get some fruit A, B C
blend fruits A and B

top with C

get a few veggies
blend
spread it on a romaine lettuce or celery
eat it

stuff like that
i liked it
it was the first and last recipe book i ever purchased

don't have it now
but i think of it with fondness
cute cover too

pretty colors

I bought a raw food book once when I first went raw. It was way over my head for a newbie and I read it and tossed it aside thinking I couldn't possibly make that stuff.

I gradually tried a recipe here and there from all the free recipe links on the internet. I think that was a better way to go for me.

Come to think of it, I just might look for that book now.
It was called "raw" I think it was the Charlie Trotter one.

Wheatgrass, it does a body good!!!

Telo, Charlie Trotter's book is supposed to be excellent. I checked it out of the library when I first went raw but didn't get a chance to glimpse inside. I've heard that like Juliano's book, the book can be used for inspiration.

Being a rawbie who is not vegan, I can tell you why I indulge in raw "meat" from time to time.. Very simply, it gives me an incredible amount of stamina and energy. Please do not bite my head off for this... I have been on this raw journey for about 18months now. For the first 6 months I tried to go vegan, but just didn't feel right... tired, no energy for the activities I like to do.
I just feel better adding a bit of raw meat/sashimi or raw egg yolks once a month or so (of course, only organic); and I would recommend this to anyone who is not feeling their best on this diet. Really, really helps me stay on this journey.

And hey, this raw diet is about feeling good isn't it? I am sure this is probably why Carol Alt indulges in meat too... we just feel so much better with a bit of animal protein included in our diet; in fact, I feel that I have attained my highest level of health ever. (P.S. I was a vegetarian for 12 years before I started this and never felt as good as I do now).

P.S. I have not read the book but I would like to... she looks amazing.

ferg Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> And hey, this raw diet is about feeling good isn't
> it?




Yes, feeling good about your morals and ethics as well as physically.

I can't imagine that any animal wishes to be used for our food anymore than YOU would wish to be used for food, especially if you were bred just for that purpose.

I hope you will transition throught this and find you don't need it anymore.

Cheers, aqua

Oh brother... well I knew there would be one person jumping down my throat and I was right. What does including an organic meat or raw egg yolks in my raw diet from time to time have to do with my ethics or morals?

Aquadecoco, how long have you been vegan? I'm sure at some point in your life you ate meat... did anyone challenge your morals? How many bugs do you eat in your fresh produce? How many bugs are killed while being flushed down the sink when washing frest produce? Are their lives any less important than your's or mine or a cow or a fish?

I was responding to those questioning why raw foodists feel the need to eat animal products from time to time and I answered as honestly as I could. I don't need to hear comments about my morals or ethics. By the way, after 18months I don't feel I am transitioning...I feel like I've found what works best for me.

Caio!

hi ferg,

well done for eliminating factory farmed products, but I think many people (including me) see vegetarianism and veganism as one of the main steps in the raw journey (this is a vegan forum, after all!).

Aside from the important moral issues, meat eating can often be questionable in terms of health (parasites, the type of meat being eaten, whether man can naturally kill the animal without tools i.e. how natural is it to eat red meat, to digest feathers and bones?).

As far as the insect-killing stuff goes, vegans don't deliberately kill or eat insect products (hence us not eating carmine or shellac). Accidently killing a bug has very different implications to paying money for a piece of a slaughtered animal.

why do you think you needed to add meat, i.e. did an iron defiency draw you to it? did you feel you weren't eating enough? were there certain plant foods you were intolerant to? etc?

Did you go from SAD to raw, or from veggie/vegan to raw vegan?

wow ferg,

That was a total setup for aqua by you. You put it out there that you like animal products (which on this vegan board is not an appropriate thing to put into your posts), you get a response, and they you say you're the victim of someone jumping down your throat.

This is a vegan forum, and posts with non-vegan content are typically deleted, and if continued, the authors are banned. Were you not aware of the forum policy when you wrote your offending (not abiding by house rules) material?

I agree Bryan, I think this forum has a good moral code. Thank you.
This forum is a part of a website created by and for Raw vegans.

That reminds me, over time I have been more lax with people eating meat in front of me. I need to speak up and just voice my opinion that that is so gross. I thought of just shutting up and letting them eat it, like no big deal, but I know it is wrong and unhealthy and I need to at least say, " That is so bad for you" otherwise I am saying it is fine. or I show I have no integrity and my lines are fuzzy between right and wrong.

We each kind of have to know where we stand on this. Are we pro or con, I am definitely AGAINST MEAT eating> there fore it is wrong to me. I pronouce it as evil.

She eats popcorn too.





Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 09/05/2007 04:29AM by coconutcream.

Hi ferg,

I was just responding honestly too, to your post.

I don't think I'll cringe like you did and whine about being jumped on - kinda weenie don't you think?


ferg said: What does including an organic meat or raw egg yolks in my raw diet from time to time have to do with my ethics or morals?


You must already know the answer to that. Why would you follow a vegetarian diet for 12 years and are now raw, defending your practice of eating meat, if you didn't feel empathy for slaughtered animals ?

Was it for your health, concern for the environment, making a lighter footprint......?

coconutcream- I know the feeling! Society is becoming more understanding, though, which is good.

Coconutcream , if i might kindly make a suggestion

instead of *telling* people that their food is bad ..*offer* them a better alternative

nobody likes to be *told* anything even if its for their own good ... maybe offer them some of the beautiful food you make and photograph

who could say no ! (to even a little nibble) !

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

Hey y'all, just to explain myself, I was a vegetarian for 12 years for health reasons... my mother died of cancer; she didn't drink or smoke but boy she loved to eat fast food/elaborate dinners/casseroles made from canned soup, you get the picture.. She suffered a long time. I did a lot of research on how diet is linked to disease... but realized that eating all that cooked cheese/grains/ breads/eggs were really detrimental to my health even though I wasn't eating meat...

My brother got me started on raw food, and I couldn't believe the difference in my health... I tried raw vegan and about 6 months later had really strong cravings for meat... so I did not deny myself. Now, I wouldn't have posted anything at all about eating meat, except for there were a few posts questioning why a rawbie would eat raw meat (as that is what Carol Alt includes in her diet also). Well, the question was there and I felt the need to answer it.

I really do appreciate the path all you are on... I think we really are all trying to do our best with this raw food journey; but what works for one person might not work for the next... like the Fruitarian... I am not sure I could do fruits alone for any amount of time... too much fruit makes me spacey. But doesn't it work wonderfully for him? He looks tres hot and the same with Carol Alt... another raw foodist who includes raw meat in her diet. She looks amazing for her age!!! And David Wolfe eats ants for B-12, do you think any less of him because of it? We can still learn a lot from these people by keeping an open mind, even though our raw paths are different at times. And I definately would never just start posting about eating meat, etc., I do respect the board... but like I said before the question was out there and hey, I think its posts like these that add a lot interest to the board...

ferg Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
you make a good point, ferg, there are many current vegans who were not vegans in the past, but are now overly aggro because someone else is not now vegan.

nonetheless, you may want to consider a couple things...

1. how is it possible to "crave" meat? what is the physiological mechanism?
2. investigate what you call "incredible amount of stamina and energy."
proper food does not give one the above. that is a stimulant. food is fuel. replenishment of nervous system provides energy.
3. is it possible that there was a problem with your methodology with your diet which now causes you to conclude that dead animals are necessary? there are many many ways of doing raw wrong which will cause problems.

i'm not judging you or telling you what you should do. but i know many people who "don't feel well" without their daily "meat". and people who blame fruit for feeling spacey...

Hi fresh...

I don't eat meat daily, only occassionally; about once every 6-8 weeks... I guess I could have used a better word than crave... I don't know the physiological mechanism behind this "craving"... I just know that I feel so much better if I include raw meat occassionally and raw egg yolks a little more frequently. To tell the truth, I have been lurking on a lot of 'raw' boards and did get the idea elsewhere; and tried it and it worked for me.

With regards to stamina and energy... I do martial arts and I've felt at times my get up and go, got up and left; just no energy. I notice the difference in my when sparring, energy wise, after including animal products. I can spar against people half my age, beat them and not get tired.

IMO, eating meat daily is definately not healthy, or even once a week, and I admit I'm not sure the effects eating it even once every few months will have... but I find it works for me in moderation..... I think it would be great to do this raw diet without having to incorporate animal products from time to time... however, I am not sure how healthy that is either. Look at David Wolfe, he has resorted to eating ants, LOL!-- so, when a raw guru like David Wolfe is eating ants, the diet must be lacking in something (and I'm sure he takes every supplement out there)... So I am trying to figure what that is. Y'all got me thinking that's for sure. So, input anyone... what is the diet lacking? What is it that has David Wolfe eating ants?


PS... I do eat fruit and lots of it... but notice if I have not had any greens for the day I'm one of those people who do feel very spacey; just not right... I know this is a common complaint among rawbies.

david wolfe is notorious for flipflopping on whats good today...whats good tomorrow .. he did an interview a few years ago shooting down the theory about we (like primates) should eat bugs .. just cuz a guru does it ..doesnt make it right or correct or even healthy hehe .. below doesnt sound like the david wolfe ant eating guru of today does it?

i suspect in a few years when his adrenal system is blown to hell in a hempbasket he will be selling some other ideas .. in the meantime .. take what anybody says with a grain of salt


Bob Avery: But don't all primates eat insects, including all of homo sapiens' progenitors? They are even eaten to this day in many human societies.

David Wolfe: Many primates eat their own feces too. Soon. We'll have people claiming we need to eat our own feces to be healthy! The fact that we are naturally averse to eating bugs speaks strongly. We have a natural biological design for certain types of foods (raw fruits and vegetables). If we want to actualize our true potential we need to obey that design--this is Nature's First Law

Bob Avery: Is there a legitimate place for any animal foods at all in the human dietary--eggs, milk, honey, bee pollen?

Daivd Wolfe: Well, here's the test. What foods are we naturally attracted to? Out in Nature foraging, what do we desire to eat? Bugs? People are averse to eating bugs intuitively and have to actually force themselves to do it. Eggs? Raw eggs taste horrible and why eat them anyway?! Bee pollen? Try and get the bee pollen naturally and see what happens! My answer to the animal food issue is that when you try to eat them naturally, you realize how ridiculous the whole thing is.

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/05/2007 05:26PM by Jgunn.

this is another interview david wolfe did a few years ago (at 3 years raw) .. read what he says .. and pick out the things that you know what he says now .. somewhere down below he talks about the toxicity of eating raw meat .. also heres the link to the article from our archives here [www.living-foods.com]

Interview of David Wolfe, co-author of
Nature's First Law: The Raw Food Diet

by Bob Avery

Q: Who is David Wolfe? How old are you? How were you educated and what do you do for a living?

A: I am co-author of the controversial new book Nature's First Law: The Raw-Food Diet. I have also recorded an audio cassette series entitled "The Systemless System Of Success." I have been around the Sun 27 times! I have degrees in Mechanical and Environmental Engineering and Political Science. I have studied at many different institutions including Oxford University. I concluded my formal education with a law degree from the University of San Diego. I am co-founder of Nature's First Law, a raw-food organization based in San Diego which hosts events and distributes an enormous selection of Raw-Food Diet books, videos, and audio tapes world-wide. I co-founded the group three years ago with my partners Stephen Arlin and RC Dini. Our goal is to bring The Raw-Food Diet to a mass audience. We are currently engaged in a massive multi-media campaign to bring this message to the world. We can be reached in the United States at 1-800-205-2350. I host seminars around the country and my goal is to become the greatest promoter of The Raw Food Diet in the history of the world.

Q: Do you eat 100% raw foods?

A: I've been eating 100% raw plant foods exclusively for about 3 years now. There is a magic to 100% raw which is indescribable. Everything keeps getting better; my life has improved in every way and in every direction many times over. Raw food is FUN! Cooked food is dead, lifeless, and boring. No amount of cooked food is ever benign. Nietzsche said, "God is dead." We say, "Cooked food is poison!"

Q: What inspired you to become a raw-foodist?

A: A 100% Raw-Food Diet is the greatest secret in the world today. What we eat deeply and radically affects the way we think, feel, and behave. It radically affects the entire life process of planet Earth. 90% of the Earth's abundance is being burned up in the kitchen fire. Ann Wigmore did a study which demonstrated that 83% of the food's nutritional value is lost in the process of cooking. That means that 83% of the TIME, LABOR, and RESOURCES which went into creating that food are also destroyed by cooking. This idea affects everything! It affects all agriculture, all politics, all business, all economics, all over the world! The global impact of humanity's eating habits prompted me to dedicate myself to this message of physical and planetary rejuvenation. A 100% raw plant food diet IS the greatest discovery in the history of the world. It is THE path which will lead humanity out of the present chaos into a bountiful future.

I have always been health conscious, being the son of two medical doctors. I saw ill people my whole life and naturally wanted to avoid going down the same path. So, I stopped taking medicine at 10 years old against my parents' wishes, and stopped dairy products at 19. Then I gradually cut out the dead animal muscle (meat) and was a vegan for a time, until exposed to the raw-food idea by reading Bircher-Benner's Nutritional Diseases which we had in my home. After which, I became a raw-foodist overnight.

Q: What is your current height and weight? What changes have you noticed, both subjectively and objectively, pro and con, since before you went raw? Can you give us any data on personal biomarkers, like pulse rate, body temperature, vital lung capacity, various blood parameters pre- and post-raw?

A: I am 6 feet tall, 155 pounds. The changes I've noticed are so intriguing, it is tough to put into words! The only way I can describe it is that a 100% raw plant food diet liberates your natural self, mentally, emotional, spiritually, AND physically. I don't look anything like I used to. I definitely understand now how cooked food blocks natural beauty and hinders the true manifestation of what we can be. I can't say there are any cons to what I have experienced. In terms of biomarkers: I've always had low blood pressure which hasn't changed from before raw to after raw. My body temperature is about 1.8 degrees lower than it used to be! My vital lung capacity has increased dramatically. I really agree with Joe Alexander when he mentions in his book Blatant Raw-Foodist Propaganda that the lungs and digestive organs work in a tandem sort of way. When one is overburdened the other is not able to function properly. I have been doing at least 30 deep breaths every day for about 6 years now and I discovered one day after doing 100% raw-food for a few years, that I was suddenly a diaphragm breather--I had such a tough time with chest breathing and the problem just one day disappeared. I went to have my blood viewed under a microscope/television setup a few months ago, and the guy could not get a sample of blood to drip from my finger.

Q: Do your parents approve of what you are doing? Have you been able to get through to them about the importance of raw foods? Has your example worn off on them at all?

A: They've seen the transformation I have gone through over the past 3-4 years and are now getting the picture. My dad had a heart attack and a stroke a year ago and after coming out of that bought 30 fruit trees which he planted in his yard. So things are definitely changing in the right direction.

Q: How did you arrive at your philosophical selection of the raw-vegan diet as optimal for mankind?

A: The structure and function of humanity's teeth, digestive canal, sense organs, nourishment for the young, children's development, sexual desire, mental set, emotional feelings, as well as the cause and cure of disease and unhappiness all demonstrate that humans are biologically frugivorous (an eater of fruits and vegetables) and are neither carnivorous, herbivorous, nor omnivorous.

It is just simple common sense.

Q: Archeological research indicates that man has been a hunter for perhaps hundreds of thousands of years. Why shouldn't raw animal foods play a role in a raw food diet?

A: It is a well-known fact of biology that environmental toxins accumulate in animals, especially in animal fats. All the toxins being poured into the atmosphere end up being collected in the tissues of animals. Eating those animals, whether they be insect, fish, or mammal will also give you a strong dose of toxins. John Robbins mentioned in Diet For A New America that dead animal muscle (meat) contains ten times the pesticide level an equivalent weight of commercial plant food would contain; dairy products contain four times as much.

Additionally, raw dead flesh is loaded with worms and parasites; even someone who eats McDonald's three times a day knows that!

Eating raw animal foods is not only unnatural, but also quite dangerous in the present world we live in.

Omnivorous feeding patterns discovered in the genus Homo (by nescient researchers in archeological digs) before the discovery of fire in scattered places throughout the world dating back from the 100,000's to millions of years do not signify anything of significance except for the fact that some humans were living in contravention to their natural design, perhaps due to terrestrial disasters, confusion, or unknowable factors. Also, there is no evidence that we modern humans are directly descended from any such Homo progenitors.

Q: No evidence? The M2M's founder, Ward Nicholson, summarized the known widely accepted scientific archeological evidence in favor of such a genealogical linkage in his very well researched and massively footnoted 3-part interview in Chet Day's natural hygiene newsletter Health & Beyond.

The most recent study I've seen on the subject analyzed the DNA of chimpanzees, Neanderthals, and modern humans. The study found (and because this is off the top of my head, the numbers could be slightly off here) 56 differences between chimps and modern humans along a certain segment of DNA, 27 differences between Neanderthals and modern humans, and 8 differences among all modern humans.

The researchers suggested that such a great variation indicated that Neanderthals were a different species and that modern humans are not descended from Neanderthals. And don't share a genetic development into modem humans.

This is just one example of a lack of genealogical linkages between other Homo species (Neanderthal, Erectus, Habilis, Archaic Sapiens, etc.) and modern humans. There are many more.

I would like to point out the evidence which demonstrates modern Homo Sapiens have been around for millions of years and did not appear 100,000 to 200,000 years ago as Ward and many evolutionary scientists are suggesting.

Professor of Geology, Gene Ragazoni discovered in Castenedolo, Italy in 1860 and 1880 the remains of at least four anatomically modern human skeletons in undisturbed Miocene strata. Such formations date back at least 2 million years.

In Buenos Aires, in 1896, below a hardened limestone layer of tasca 35 feet down, dock workers unearthed the crown of an anatomically modern human. The rock formations dated back 1.5 to 2.5 million years ago.

In Trenton, New Jersey, researchers unearthed an anatomically modern Homo Sapiens femur dating back 107,000 years ago.

When the gold rush began in California in the 1860's, miners unearthed inexplicable artifacts. "Inexplicable" because they were so old! In 1877, John H. Neal entered the Montezuma mine shaft in Table mountain in California. He discovered at the leading end of a mine shaft a mortar and pestle layered in the late Miocene formations of gold-bearing gravels. This would indicate the objects could be seven to nine million years old. Miners made similar discoveries at dozens of nearby locations, including Kincaid Flat, Goldspring Gulch, Oregon Bar (in Placer County). These findings were all reported by J.D. White, the State Geologist of California.

Ward's scientific evidence is simply "research"--he has researched other people's theories, concepts, and ideas. I would highly recommend that he and others read Joel Barker's famous book The Business of Paradigms. Barker demonstrates how preconceived ideas can literally blind us to evidence staring us right in the face. I tell my audiences, "They don't believe what they see, rather they see what they already believe!" We may well remember that the Theory of Evolution was formulated before archaeologists began digging into the Earth--thus, the idea of what they should find was already firmly embedded in their minds. It is in this way that much evidence in contravention to the Theory of Evolution has been passed over or ignored by many scientists (but not all!) because it doesn't fit the paradigm!

Q: What is your general opinion of raw animal food consumption and instinctive eating in particular?

A: The raw animal eating fad is the result of people trying to go raw the easy way (the new magic pill). Eating raw animal food instead of cooked food is just replacing one toxic substance for another. If people want to eat animals, they should do it in exactly the same fashion as every other carnivore/omnivore on the planet--freshly killed and raw--if they can. Humans can't and are averse to it by intuitive nature.

Q: But don't all primates eat insects, including all of homo sapiens' progenitors? They are even eaten to this day in many human societies.

A: Many primates eat their own feces too. Soon. We'll have people claiming we need to eat our own feces to be healthy! The fact that we are naturally averse to eating bugs speaks strongly. We have a natural biological design for certain types of foods (raw fruits and vegetables). If we want to actualize our true potential we need to obey that design--this is Nature's First Law.

I believe very strongly in the dictum "Water seeks its own level.²

Oral fixation is the primary problem facing humanity. People cannot or don't want to control what they are putting into their mouths. Raw animal eating is another manifestation of oral fixation. We are currently publishing a book entitled "Primal Mothering In A Modern World" by Hygeia Halfmoon. In the book, Hygeia makes the incredible observation that it is a lack of breast-feeding which is the primary cause of oral fixation later in life!! I believe cooked-food addiction also plays a major role as well.

To overcome oral fixation, one must realize that food is not an end in itself: but a means to an end!!

Q: How do you respond to the charge that the vegan diet is unnatural because there do not exist, nor, it appears, did there ever exist, any predominantly vegan societies?

A: That is an assumption based upon inaccurate data. My mom is from Persia, and in that country they have vegan communities dating back thousands of years. They also have raw-vegan communities with similar traditions. In fact, Farsi (the Persian language) is the only language with a specific word for a rawvegan and every Persian knows what it means! The word is: "Khom Gia Khori."

Q: Hmm, almost looks like three words to one who speaks no Persian. Ward Nicholson and others have determined that flesh-eating is much more common than not throughout man's history and that the proportions in the diet were not insignificant. Doesn't this indicate that we have adapted to such foods? How can this evidence be so easily dismissed?

A: Ward Nicholson has been sold--fruit, stem, and root--on the Theory of Evolution. He has made the enormous assumption (as have many other scientists of this age) that species gradually evolve and adapt, which is not at all supported in the fossil record nor in the experimental laboratory.

Q: Don't you believe in the Theory of Evolution?

A: No. The most obvious refutation of the Theory of Evolution is paleontology itself. Simple probability indicates that fossil records can only be test samples. Each sample, then, should represent a different stage of evolution/adaptation, and there ought to be "transition" types, not particularly of one species or another. Instead, what we find, in the actual fossil record, are genus forms that have not developed themselves on the fitness principle, but appear suddenly and at once in their definite shape; that do not thereafter evolve towards better adaptation, but become rarer or finally disappear, while quite different forms arise again.

The species that we know today are all stable, and no case has ever been observed of a species "adapting" itself to change its anatomy or physiology, which "adaptation" then resulted in more fitness" for the "struggle for existence," and was passed on by heredity, with the result of a new species.

Darwinians cannot get over these facts by bringing in great spaces of time (concepts like "millions of years", for no one has ever discovered any transition types for any organism--only distinct species exist. Nor are the extinct fossil plants and animals any simpler than present forms, although we are told the course of evolution was from simple to complex life-forms. This is crude anthropomorphism--humans are complex, other animals are simple, and they must be tending towards more human-like form and "intelligence," since humans are "higher" biologically.

If the Theory of Evolution were correct, species ought to be fluid at the present time. They should be "adapting" and turning into one another. There should actually be no species, but only a surging mass of individuals, engaged in a race towards complexity," "humanity," and "intelligence." This, of course, is not the case. The "struggle" is quite inconclusive. The lower forms, simpler--less fit?--have not died out, have not yielded to the principle of Darwinian evolution. They remain in the same form they have had for eons. Why do they never "evolve" into something "higher?"

The utilitarian aspect of the Theory of Evolution is also quite subjective. A species without hands has no need of hands. A hand that slowly evolved would be a positive disadvantage over the "millions of years" necessary to perfect the hand. Furthermore, how did this process start? For an organ to be utile, it must be ready; while it is being prepared it is not utile. But if it is not utile, it is not Darwinian, for Darwinism says evolution is utilitarian.

A species appears suddenly, both in fossil-finds, and in the experimental laboratory. Sudden or quantum mutation is a legitimate description of the process, if the idea is free from any mechanical-utility causes, for these latter are only imagined, whereas quantum mutations are a fact.

Origins are forever hidden from us. How we got here or and how Life began is an impenetrable mystery. To concoct outlandish theories saying "this is how we got here" and "this is how we lived in the past" based on 1,000 pieces of a puzzle containing 6 million pieces seems to me to be very naive.

Q: Do you have any peer-reviewed literature on this subject we can sink our teeth into?

A: Initially, I would recommend the book Darwin On Trial by Berkeley law professor Phillip Johnson. Professor Richard Thompson's work, also is very informative. Hugo de Vries' Mutation Theory is another good one.

Q: Are you against science?

The whole field of Darwinism/Evolution is a product of scientific materialism. Scientific materialism has a false assumption at its basis. This assumption is that Life is formed by the outer environment. This generated the sociology of "environment" as determining the character of living beings. And yet, in a purely factual sense, what is Life? Life is the actualization of potential. Potential is actualized in the midst of the outer environment. The environment does not determine the inner potential--it can only help or hinder its expression. Also, the inner potential can actually determine and alter the outer environment!

We are interested in a way to manifest our full potential. And this can be done by obeying the Laws of Nature!! This automatically begins to shape the outer environment to fit the expression of the inner potential.

In my seminars I teach the basic tenet of all success information: In order for your life to change...YOU have to change!

The principle I am describing here is very simple. Life change comes from the inside out. Once you change on the inside, everything changes on the outside.

The Laws of Nature are there and they stay there. Human progress through knowledge has been solely and exclusively a chiselling away at the distinctions which define the Laws of Nature. The greatest insights in history have been by those who revealed a new distinction about Nature (which was actually there all along)!

Q: Have any of these works or findings you cite appeared in peer-reviewed scientific publications?

A: Great question. Of course there is a massive body of evidence to support what I am saying and it appears in peer-reviewed literature. The premier scientific journals Nature and Science and the somewhat more popular Scientific American and England's New Scientist carry articles about the precariousness of dating fossils, the fact that the fossil record runs contrary to the theory of evolution, the lack of transitional forms, and other articles on related topics I have touched upon. The story of the controversy at the British Natural History Museum on this subject found in editorial and correspondence sections of Nature from 1980 to 1982 is very instructive as to the confusion present in scientific evolutionary circles when confronted with the evidence.

The best analysis of scientific data gathered on the fallacy of the theory of evolution is found in Michael Denton's fantastic book entitled Evolution: A Theory In Crisis.

Another great scientific book completely refuting evolution is Dr. Duane Gish's Evolution: The Fossils Still Say No!, which blows apart Gould's "punctuated equilibrium" theory and other attempts to save Darwinism from the fossil facts.

Both of these books and Johnson's Darwin On Trial can be ordered directly from the Institute for Creationist Research (which is far more objective than any Evolutionist Research Facility I've encountered) in my hometown of San Diego. Call them at 619-448-0900. I highly recommend these books to anyone who believes the theory of evolution is a fact.

I would like to add here I don't believe the Earth was created 10,000 years ago. The past history of the Earth is profoundly and deeply mysterious and not one in ten thousand of its secrets has been revealed.

This information about the fallacy of evolution is liberating, for it opens up a whole spectrum of speculation and potential!

Q: Your enthusiasm is infectious! What kind of diet, specifically, do you promote?

A: I promote a modified fruitarian diet of 100% raw plant foods. Fruit is the staple food of humankind. In addition to that we have green-leafy vegetables and herbs as well as occasional nuts and seeds. Wild food is by far the best food. I think it would be great for everyone to seek out and learn about wild foods in their area. One of our best products is a video called "Edible Wild Plants." Check it out! Cultivate a taste for wild food and reconnect yourself with Nature. I love wild food and, if I'm eating food, I strive each day to reach my goal of eating 100% wild food.

Q: That's quite a goal! Isn't something like that only achievable for fortunate folks like yourself who live in lush warm places like San Diego? Where do you go to forage? Is it legal?

A: Actually, San Diego is an arid desert and is not so lush as one might imagine. However, there is plenty of food to forage. I forage in my own backyard and in the canyons near and around my home. I don't know if it is legal or not, but I'd imagine there'll be a law against it soon enough! The wild animals living in every locale survive on wild food and you can too!

Q: What are some examples of wild fruits and herbs that you enjoy?

A: I don't know the names of all the wild foods I eat, but here are a few: dandelion, malva, prickly pear, napolitos, wild mustard greens & flowers, fennel, wild celery, lamb's quarters, lemonade berry, rosemary, wild oats, tumbleweed, etc.

Q: How do you feel about raw grains (soaked and/or sprouted)?

A: Many grains are hybrids and don't survive in Nature. I don't eat raw grains now--except for chewing on wild oat greens in winter time and eating raw corn which is the fruit of the grain plant. I have eaten grain sprouts in the past and I think that good hardy sprouted winter wheatberries would be great to get someone through a tough winter in the northern areas of the United States or the world.

Q: Is there a legitimate place for any animal foods at all in the human dietary--eggs, milk, honey, bee pollen?

A: Well, here's the test. What foods are we naturally attracted to? Out in Nature foraging, what do we desire to eat? Bugs? People are averse to eating bugs intuitively and have to actually force themselves to do it. Eggs? Raw eggs taste horrible and why eat them anyway?! Bee pollen? Try and get the bee pollen naturally and see what happens! My answer to the animal food issue is that when you try to eat them naturally, you realize how ridiculous the whole thing is.

Q: Are sea vegetables important in the human diet?

A: Some long-time raw-foodists include sea vegetables in their diet for their supposedly high-mineral content. And that is great if they feel comfortable doing that. I've eaten sea lettuce naturally in the ocean and it doesn't taste like anything except salt. I personally don't think sea vegetables are important and I rarely eat them.

Q: How much importance do you place on organically grown vs commercially grown foods? Hybrids vs open pollinated?

A: The best foods for you are wild foods. Next best would be homegrown. Organic is great if it has good taste (minerals). Commercially grown raw fruits and vegetables are better than the most organic cooked foods. Hybridized sweet fruits may pose a problem for some people and if they do--don't eat them! I would like to add that the hybridization of natural foods and the fundamental tampering with humanity's food supply does not in any way make humanity not a biological frugivore! Our biological design is still the same.

Q: I'm sure you're aware of the instinctive nutrition philosophy of Guy-Claude Burger and his followers. Do you use this approach--one food at a time selected instinctively by taste and smell until a taste change occurs--in collecting and eating your wild foods?

A: The "taste-change" phenomena definitely occurs when one consumes only one type of food at a time. However, I disagree with the philosophy that the foods which give the strongest taste-change are the most natural or wild foods--which I've read in one book. For example, I've found that pineapple gives the strongest taste change of any fruit and it is a hybrid.

Q: And how many hours a day do you spend eating and looking for food? Do you always "eat out," as it were, or do you bring everything home with you and eat it there?

A: I've toyed with the idea of foraging for wild food and then bringing it home and making a salad with it, but I hardly ever do it. I just eat when I'm out hiking!

Q: How important is diet to health?

A: Very, very important--the most important element of health is diet. Food isn't everything, but it is the foundation upon which everything else is built. Everything that you are right now was once the food that went into your mouth. Other important factors in health are positive thoughts & associations, sunshine on the skin, empowering relationships, exercise in Nature, clean air, unpolluted water, etc.

Q: This sounds a lot like the natural hygiene philosophy. Do you consider yourself a natural hygienist? Do you have any significant philosophical differences with natural hygiene?

A: I did not come to raw-foods through natural hygiene. I agree with natural hygiene's holistic approach to health. On the food issue, I don't agree with natural hygiene's shaky stance for cooked food and their stance against hot peppers, onions, garlic, and herbs. I believe we need to send hot raw plant food through our digestive system to clean it out of parasites every so often. And anyone who has a severe parasite problem (and most people do)--as my partner R.C. Dini had initially--will find onions and garlic invaluable in clearing up that problem.

Those who try to eat wild foods will realize how essential herbs are to our health, especially local indigenous herbs.

Natural hygiene is often a bit less than natural for my taste. but I do totally support what natural hygiene stands for!

Q: When you say you eat occasional nuts and seeds, what quantities roughly are we talking about? Can you categorize your typical consumption in terms of percentages of fruits, veggies, and nuts/seeds by caloric intake? Do you eat sprouts? How do you determine how much of each category to eat, or do you feel it doesn't matter that much?

A: Over a year's average, my diet consists roughly of 80% fruit, 5% nuts/seeds, 15% vegetables. Occasionally I'll eat alfalfa clover, or dandelion sprouts, but very rarely.

I don't really think about what category to eat; I don't think it really matters, just trust your common sense and instinct.

Q: Have these percentages evolved over time?

I eat more wild vegetables (green-leafy foods) now. The first year I went raw I rarely if ever ate nuts/seeds, but I have eaten more since then.

Q: Are you satisfied with your current raw food diet or are there changes you would like to make? (If not satisfied, why?)

A: I am moving in the direction of eating less food. I want to reach a point of fasting two days a week and then to eating only every other day and then to eating almost nothing at all.

In our catalog we now distribute a great book entitled Prana & Immortality by the stunningly beautiful Jasmuheen of Australia, the world's premier breatharian! I've been in regular contact with her and she is quite a phenomenon. She has inspired me to eat less and less!

Q: What kind of exercise do you do and how much? What do you feel is appropriate?

A: My exercise consists mostly of hiking in canyons with my dogs for one to two hours a day. I have a saying: "Walking heals all wounds." I surf in the spring and summer time. I lift weights and rocks occasionally, as well.

Q: A skeptic might say, "Walking wounds all heels." What do you feel is an appropriate amount of sun exposure?

A: The more you can get out into the sun nude everyday, the better! Our thinly-haired, naked bodies, with a mass of capillaries close to the skin indicates we are designed for a life of "Fun in the Sun!" You never feel better than when you have a deep, dark tan (and no tan line!)!

Q: A common problem for people switching to a raw food diet is periodic strong cravings for cooked foods. Did you have any problems transitioning to a raw food diet? If so, how did you deal with them? What advice do you offer to others?

A: Anything cooked is a dead, lifeless substance. No cooked food is benign. Transitioning to The Raw-Food Diet is easy once you are committed. When you go raw, you stop polluting--zero pollution! When people really begin to focus and understand the effects of cooked foods on the Earth and their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual life, they will begin to naturally avoid them--that is what happened to me. I think it is great to narrow down the types of cooked foods you will eat as a first step. Get down to three, then one, then none. Find raw plants foods which replace your cravings for cooked foods. The real keys are FAITH and COMMITMENT. I have an entire audio tape entitled: "100% Raw Diet--How To Do It" containing over 30 strategies which I believe everyone on the "cusp" should listen to!

As Stephen Arlin wrote into our book: "You crave what is in your bloodstream." As long as those cooked food residues are in your blood, you'll crave that food. Once they are gone, the desire for cooked food completely disappears.

Q: Some people develop problems over time on raw vegan diets that cause them either to switch back to some cooked food or add raw animal foods to their diets--problems like loss of strength, slower recovery from wounds or heavy exercise, loss of libido, digestive problems, even hypoglycemia and pernicious anemia. When they switch eating some cooked foods, dairy and/or meat, these problems vanish. What do you think is going on here?

A: 1. Loss of strength is typically a symptom of detoxification. Once one starts eating all raw, the blood pools in the internal organs to heal damage caused by years of unnatural nutrition. This may cause muscular strength to decrease. Time, a consistent raw diet, and consistent exercise will eradicate the problem.

You can build incredible strength on a raw-diet as my partner Stephen Arlin has demonstrated.

2. Slow recovery from wounds or heavy exercise-May be caused by periods of detoxification or by too much sweet, hybridized fruit in the diet and/or a lack of minerals. I have never actually worked with anyone with this type of problem. My own and my partners' experiences have shown us that getting sore muscles and healing slowly are the direct products of eating cooked foods.

3. Loss of libido--This may be a good thing!! It is part of the healing process. Sexual fluids are highly charged--too many secretions of sexual fluids can enervated the body. Time, a consistent raw-diet, and the beauty that both of these bring about in your body will eventually arouse the opposite sex and ignite your own libido once again.

4. Digestive problems--May be caused by too much mixing of raw foods or by a corruption in the digestive tract due to fecal impactions. For this problem I recommend a series of colonics (5 to 10) to clear out the colon of putrefied waste matter and a mono-diet (one type of food per meal).

5. Hypoglycemia--Typically experienced by those who still eat bread, other cooked starches, and even refined sugars. This causes a fluctuation in blood sugar which can never level out properly unless one goes all-raw. I would recommend a diet heavy in green vegetables and low-sugar fruits, at least initially, for anyone who has experienced hypoglycemia. I've worked with several people with severe hypoglycemia causing uncontrollable eating binges who've been able to normalize on the diet I have described.

6. Pernicious anemia--Caused by too much sweet, hybridized fruit in the diet over a long period of time. Consistently add bulk and fiber in the form of green-leafy vegetables to the diet to alleviate this problem. Also, drinking freshly-made green juices will help.

Once any cooked foods or raw or cooked animal products are eaten detoxification immediately stops, so one may suddenly feel "better!" In exactly the same fashion, a cigarette smoker might go without cigarettes and feel terrible (detoxification) and then suddenly feel "better" after lighting up!

Q: Have you experienced any of these problems on the 100% raw vegan diet?

A: No, but I have worked with many people who have. If they would have faith and simply stay the course and follow the Sun, the shadows would fall behind.

Q: Your organization appears to have grown from nothing to something of significance in just a brief period of time. Has your book had a significant impact among SAD eaters? Approximately how many copies have you sold? Are you pleased with your progress so far? Does the raw food movement appear to be growing? What trends do see in progress, and what is your outlook for the next 5-10 years? Are you generally optimistic or pessimistic?

A: We've been out there promoting The Raw-Food Diet for three years, so it hasn't been an overnight success! We used to go to fairs and expos and give out books and information for free. It wasn't until last year, with the release of our book that we began to reach a mass audience with this message. Thousands of our books are out there in the world. We sold out of our first edition in less than six months.

Our book has had significant impact on SAD eaters and we find that SAD eaters are often more amenable to The Raw-Food Diet than vegans and vegetarians who may already be confused and overburdened with "health" information.

The Raw-Food Movement is growing MASSIVELY. In the past 3 years, we have networked together more world-wide raw-food activists than anyone in history. The trend we see is that younger, more dedicated people are getting involved in The Raw-Food Diet. People are tired of confusion and lies and have discovered (as we did several years ago) that The Raw-Food Diet is the key which opens the door to get this world back on track!

Q: Do you see yourself as something of a missionary or evangelist for raw foods?

A: It is my Destiny to bring The Raw-Food Diet to the world. I am an evangelist for the Earth. I am true to the Earth and my own instincts and intuition, which have never led me astray. I inspire people to trust their own inner guidance and believe in their own potential, which is MASSIVE.

Q: Besides your book, what other publicity efforts have you been involved in?

A: We have done national radio, television, public appearances, and special events. We have the most dynamic raw-foods community in the world here in San Diego! I invite all to come be a part of the fun! Please call us at 1-800-205-2350 and request a schedule of raw events.

The Internet has also been a big hit for us. Our Internet web-site is: [www.io-online.com].

Q: Tell us a little about your partners. How old are they, and how did you hook up with them? Have they been 100% raw for a similar amount of time? Are their eating and exercise habits about the same as yours?

A: My partner R.C. Dini (a.k.a. The Raw Courage Vegetable Man) has been around the Sun 30 times. He is my cousin and we've known each other all our lives. He was 290 pounds when I showed him a book on raw foods and he immediately realized the gravity of the situation. In two years he lost 130 pounds; he is now 160 pounds! He tells people, "I went from 290 pounds to Playgirl magazine in two years!" He has many recommendations as a weight loss expert and for more about his personal philosophy and methods, I recommend people should read his book Raw Courage World.

My other partner, Stephen Arlin (a.k.a. Captain Wheatgrass), has been around the Sun 28 times. He and I have been friends since age ten and he's known R.C. since that time too. He's been raw for almost three years. He is our weight gain and strength expert. He's the world's foremost authority on raw-food bodybuilding and on building muscle and strength on The Raw-Food Diet. He has many recommendations as a weight gain expert and for more about his personal philosophy and methods, I recommend people should read his essay "Gaining Weight And Strength On The Raw-Food Diet" or watch his workout video!

Q: Do you and your partners have distinct roles to play in your organization? How is the partnership and interplay among you working out? Do you all pretty much see eye-to-eye on all important matters regarding both health philosophy and business philosophy, or are there some significant differences? How do you decide what types of publicity avenues to pursue or merchandize to carry?

A: We all do everything! I do most of the public speaking. The partnership among us is rawesome. We see eye-to-eye on everything from philosophy to business and always have.

We generally let the publicity develop itself! Raw Courage does most of our television bookings. Captain does much of our Internet work & accounting. I do other forms of publicity. I put together a strategy to get Raw Courage into Playgirl magazine which worked! He is in the September 1997 issue in the Real Men Section!!

Q: Earlier you mentioned controversy. Your co-authored book, Nature's First Law, seems to have created a storm of controversy both in society at large and in the raw food community as well. Some long-time members of the raw foods communities have been quite vocal in denouncing your book as being both over-sensationalized and poorly researched, containing numerous factual errors. Were you surprised by this reaction? How do you respond to these critics?

A: In the first paragraph of our book Nature's First Law The Raw-Food Diet we state. "The truth always has enemies." There are very negative, self-destructive people out there who see our success as their failure--too bad for them. Negative, self-destructive people weave a web of failure which does eventually entrap them.

The vast majority of people in the raw-foods community love our book and are inspired by our dedication to get this information out to a mass audience. I leave it to the readers to judge our book's merits. The laws of Nature are unchanging and thus the insights found in our book are timeless (and much needed for a troubled world). Most long-time raw-foodists and raw-food advocates see our book as doing for The Raw-Foods Movement what John Robbins' book Diet For A New America did for the vegetarian movement.

We advertise our book as creating an unstoppable momentum in every reader. A woman called me the other day just to tell me that it did create an unstoppable momentum for her and her family and that she was impressed that our claim was true!

Q: Some say that the advice in your book is too simplistic, on the order of, "Just eat raw foods and all your health problems will vanish." Yet it has been the experience of many people who have tried raw food diet that health problems have occurred that have caused them to abandon the raw food path. Why do you think this happens, and how does one avoid falling into this trap?

A: None of the important truths of life are complex. Everything is simple. Nutrition is no science and is so basic it is embarrassing. I read a quote once which said, "Life is simple, death is complex." You don't need any special degree or secret knowledge to understand how to eat. Eat for the life-force in food; it's that simple.

Some people try the raw path and come to believe it is too difficult, socially unworkable, impossible, etc. Often they are confused by negative people and information. They don't stay the path through a full-body detoxification. Thus, they go back to cooked foods, they give up!

Included as a fundamental tenet of every religion on the planet and every major success book ever written is the concept of Faith! No great accomplishment is possible without Faith! Only Faith (in yourself, Nature, God, the Creator, etc.) can push you through the lows of detoxification, the peer pressure, and the addictive cravings. What pushed a Walt Disney to continue seeking his dream after two bankruptcies? What pushed Evander Holyfield to knock out Mike Tyson even though every major expert thought he didn't stand a chance? Faith, only Faith!

My goal is to inspire people to commit to returning to a natural diet, to begin the process of revitalizing planet Earth. and to face and conquer their fears. Fear always has been and always will be the great enemy of human potential. We have a saying: Success leaves clues, so does failure. Good results speak loudly. I invite anyone to look at my life and see the success and happiness I enjoy each day. Then they can determine that The Raw-Food Diet is indeed the correct path.

Just because someone tried raw-foods and couldn't maintain it last week or ten weeks ago or ten years ago, does not mean they will fail now! We are here to support and inspire you to reach the next level. As we say in our book Nature's First Law: The Raw-Food Diet, "A raw-foodist is not something you become, it is something you already are!"

Q: Many people are attracted to The Raw-Food Diet for spiritual reasons. What are your thoughts on spiritual ascension and The Raw-Food Diet. Do you think we can ascend and transform into a higher being?

A: I agree we can ascend and be changed to a higher being by: 1. 100% raw plant food diet (which I feel automatically causes you to ascend to some level and definitely changes you into another being). 2. Positive thinking--rooting out all negative thoughts and emotions by changing associations, changing informational input, and by taking full responsibility for our lives instead of attributing events in our lives to luck (good or bad) or other outside influences. 3. Deep breathing. 4. Being absolutely true to our own nature. 5. Reconnecting with Nature and wild animals.

I've noticed in my own life that I have seen things (animals, places, plants, etc.) that I never could or would have seen before. Like attracts like is the eternal law and by ascending you attract ascended things (animals, places, plants, etc.) in harmony with your being at that stage.

Q: What advantages do you feel you have you acquired from the all-raw vegan diet?

A: Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins' mentor says, "For every disciplined effort in life, there is a multiple reward." A 100% raw-diet gives me a superior capacity to perform in everything I do. It has liberated my natural self and got me on track to achieving all my goals and desires. And it will do this for everyone who commits to The Raw-Food Diet. Because The Raw-Food Diet is the natural way of living, it brings everything to pass: health, happiness, wealth, freedom, love, and success.

Q: Thank you for taking your time to do this interview, David, and here's wishing you all of the above!

A: Thank you Bob! It's been a pleasure. Best wishes to you, M2M, and to all the M2M subscribers!

To book a speaking engagement with David Wolfe and/or to receive a free copy of our Nature's First Law catalog please call 1-800-205-2350.

Best wishes,

David "Fats Avocado" Wolfe
Nature's First Law
The World's Premier Catalog of Raw-Foods Books, Essays, Videos, and Audio Tapes

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/05/2007 05:32PM by Jgunn.

his opinion on evolution was amusing

Jodi is my new guru..

lol fresh

yea the above is kinda funny .. when you dig up more recent interviews ..i think that one aboveis around the beginning of 2k .. maybe 2001 or 2002 .. to what he says now ...


oh ok that above interview was pre 2000 ..because in a recent interview he says hes 13 years raw so that was 10years ago, 1997

well ...

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/05/2007 06:33PM by Jgunn.

Tho I'm not into eating land creatures, I think that, it's not what you goes into your body, that makes you evil. What comes out of your heart, is what makes you evil.

And yes, old habits do die hard, for some people, like eating meat & eating disorders. Carol Alt overcame her eating disorder, is beautiful, and has a happy, successful life.

Sorry for bumping this thread but was checking out "Hypoglycemia" posts and came across this one. Very imformative, thanks yall.

Carol Alt is a major babe, I love watching her on The Apprentice.

anyways here is a cool Raw food vid of her (however I can't stand the host):

[rawnutrition.com]

[www.youtube.com]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/2008 05:37AM by flex4life.