the following is a draft copy. Feedback is welcome, whether positive or
negative. The second part of the series, on the myths of raw foods, is
under preparation. The second part, if it is too long, may be split
into 2 parts - to be determined. Additional parts are in the planning
stages./ Tom Billings


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SOME ESSENTIAL ADVICE FOR PEOPLE NEW TO RAW FOODS

PART 1: INFORMATION SOURCES (ESSENTIAL READING)

This is the first part of a multi-part series, to be published on Internet
(the raw-food and veg-raw e-mail lists), and in the SF-LiFE newsletter.

Unfortunately, the raw foods movement is currently plagued by zealotry
(fanaticism) and extremism, which assume a number of forms. In some cases,
the zealotry is benign in the sense that is generally does not harm
people. In other cases, the zealotry is malignant - examples include
actively promoting fear and hatred (specifically, of cooked food and
cooked food consumers), failing to warn people of the possible risks/
problems that can occur on such diets, and/or the dissemination of
incorrect/false information that eventually guides a person to harm.

In today's modern world, information is power. Information is your best
defense against the zealots who want you to follow them to the promised
land of the "one true religion and science of perfect health - the raw
foods diet". Raw foods diets can be very powerful tools for health; however
they are not cure-alls, and they don't work for everyone. A healthy
skepticism and ordinary common sense are also powerful defenses against
the nonsense promoted by zealots.

The motive for this series is to make readers "immune" to the mental
illness of raw-food zealotry, AND to help people get a positive
start in (and succeed in) raw foods diets. I encourage you to include
as high a % of raw foods in your diet as works for you. The keys to
being successful, and mentally healthy, on a raw foods diet include:
having a positive motivation, having realistic expectations, being
honest with yourself about the diet, and other factors to be explored
in later parts of this series. Raw-food zealots, on the other hand,
seek to motivate people with mindless slogans and negativity, and
some of them are so intellectually dishonest as to use false information
to try to "convert" you to raw, thereby saving you from the "demon of
cooked foods". What the zealots do not realize is that their negative,
approach makes them into demons!

So as to not dwell on the negative, let me emphasize that there are
people active in the raw foods movement who are NOT zealots, and who
strongly oppose the hostile fanaticism of the zealots. A raw foods diet,
if it turns you into a zealot, actually harms you - the behavior of
some zealots is clear evidence of mental toxicity. One should avoid the
zealots, so as to preserve your peace of mind, and your mental health.
You want to be both physically and mentally healthy, unlike the zealots
who are physically healthy, but mentally very toxic.

As a starting point in raw foods, I strongly recommend reading the
following "essential" materials. They will dispel many of the myths
common in raw foods, and point you in a sensible direction.

>From Chet Day's "Health & Beyond" newsletter:

  - Interview with Ward Nicholson, all 3 parts: 10/96, 12/96, and 1/97
    issues. (Note: some fruitarians try to counter Ward's article on
    ape diets, with false information. Be very skeptical of counter-
    claims; Ward's research is really superb.)
 -  "Three Generations of Natural Hygienists", 6/94. If you think that
    "natural hygiene always works", you will discover the sobering
    truth that it doesn't.

Portions of the above material are available for free at Chet's web site,
<http://www.chetday.com>. The materials are also available in the SF-LiFE
library (and are worth the purchase price if you want to buy back issues).

>From the SF-LiFE newsletter:

 - The articles by me (Tom Billings) in the Expo issue of the newsletter;
   6/97.
 - The Expo closing remarks in the 7/97 issue
 - The notes from my Expo talk, "Troubleshooting: Avoiding or Overcoming
   Problems in Raw and Living Foods Diets". The notes may eventually be
   published in the SF-LiFE newsletter; in the meantime they were posted
   to the raw-food e-mail group and can be accessed on their archive
   web site: < http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/raw-food.html >.
   (The material was posted in June 1997; Expo notes on June 1 or 2).

The raw-food list archives are a real treasure trove of information on
a wide variety of topics in raw/living foods. There is hard information
there that debunks a number of raw fooder myths. Interesting reading, but
some work to access. Some readers may be disturbed by some of the non-
vegetarian posts found there. Recommended but not "essential" reading,
other than the material cited above.

You might also find some back issues of the publication M2M of interest,
especially the first 5 years when Ward Nicholson was the coordinator.
M2M is not essential reading, but you may find it of interest.

At this point, let me digress and address a related point. Some readers
may question my claim that zealotry and the dissemination of mis- and dis-
information are serious problems in raw foods. I urge all who question
this, to read the raw-food list archives, for the period November 96 -
January 1997, inclusive. There you will see a "debate"  between a group
of fruitarians, and a group of instinctos. I suspect that, after seeing
the debate, you will share my opinions:

 - one could call the debate a "war", a war started by the fruitarians
 - one group of fruitarians in the debate, the defenders of "compassionate"
   veganism, behaved in an uncivil, hostile, and intellectually dishonest
   manner
 - the fruitarians lost the debate on scientific grounds, and also for
   the mindless hostile behavior they displayed
 - some of the fruitarians in the debate provide an example of hostile,
   zealous behavior.

You will also see in the debate where many of the assumptions and "facts"
of both fruitarianism and veganism are thoroughly and scientifically
discredited. Read the material with an open mind!

One warning re: the debate. The emotional content is highly toxic  (in
my opinion, an accurate reflection of the mental state of the fruitarian
side of the debate). Hence, reading the debate may be educational but
also emotionally disturbing.

Additional reading. Over and above the essential material above, I make
a strong positive recommendation for new people to read the writings of:

 - Living Foods: Brian Clement, Gabriel Cousens, Ann Wigmore. The early
   writings of Viktoras are good, but they do contain some outdated
   material (e.g., the material on fruit diets).
 - Natural hygiene: some of the newer books promoted by the American
   Natural Hygiene Society are good.
 - Fruitarianism: the only fruitarian writer I can make a positive
   recommendation for is Morris Krok.

Future parts of this series will explore other topics that are important
to newcomers.

Tom Billings