At 05:05 PM 1/16/97 -0700, Kirt wrote:
>I came across (and even bought) a raw foods recipe book in a secondhand
>book store in Milwaukee over the holidays called, "EVERYTHING RAW: The
>No-Cooking Cookbook" (by Jennie Reekie, 1977, Penguin Books)


>It may be the first, only, and last non-vegetarian raw recipe book ever
>published. I wonder how many ever sold! :)

>Cheers,
>Kirt

Not so!  I own "feasting on raw foods," edited by Charles Gerras, 1980,
Rodale Press (found at a used book store).  "Featuring over 350 healthful
no-cook recipes for every part of a meal - from appetizers through main
course dishes to desserts."  I almost left it because it had "Fish" and
"Meat" sections.  At that time I was shocked by it.

Now that I have been exposed to the persuasive arguments of instinctos, I
am much more open to the idea of eating RAF.  Personally, I am hampered by
cultural taboos and fear of the food supply.  Besides which, I know I would
be condemned by many people if I walk away from an 18-year commitment to
vegetarianism and would lose my position in the local vegetarian society.
As time goes on, I have been restricting my diet more and more for the sake
of health (when I don't even have any major health problems), and I am now
questioning why I do it.  First I dropped meat, then dairy and eggs, then
most cooking methods, then extracted fats, then many food combinations, and
finally most cooking.  I think most of the limits have been positive, but I
wonder if I haven't gone too far.  After all, the extreme limitations of
the strictest macrobiotic diet (brown rice only) turned out to be
unhealthy.  I would rather listen to voices of experience than go down a
path that may lead to deficiencies later on.  I just bought used copy of
Schaefer's "Instinctive Nutrition."  There were actually two copies on the
shelf, which makes me hope there may be people I can talk to here in
Albuquerque.

A few days ago I shared a can of (dolphin-free) tuna with my cat.  I know,
it wasn't raw, but I trusted it.  I just wanted to see if I could still
digest flesh after all of these years.  I had no gastro-intestinal stress
at all.  But the next day I got a muscle cramp in my foot.  I had forgotten
that such a thing could even happen.  Coincidence?

patric


<*> Patricia Rathbone         http://www.unm.edu/~patric
<*> University of New Mexico  [log in to unmask]
<*> Albuquerque, NM, USA      (505) 277-0171

Beyond all that seems to divide us, there is a unity,
and that unity transcends ourselves, our world, and the
distances between the stars.