the following is part of the 1997 SF-LiFE "Health & Rejuvenation Expo"
newsletter/program guide (the Expo was held on June 1, 1997).

Because I am a member of only two e-mail lists (raw-food and veg-raw), I
must specify that this particular article can NOT be crossposted to any
other list, without my express permission.

Please see the "Introduction to EXPO Posts" for further details.

Tom Billings
[log in to unmask]
=========begin newsletter article==========================
Note: the following was written as a closing address for the Expo. Because
the closing ceremony was moved, and because things were disorganized at the
end, I did not deliver the comments (other than a few lines). The article
below was not in the SF-LiFE Expo program guide/newsletter, but may appear
in a future issue.

1997 SF-LIFE EXPO: CLOSING REMARKS
An Opinion by Tom Billings

I hope that today's Expo has been interesting and helpful to you. I would
encourage those of you who are not already raw fooders, to seriously
consider incorporating elements of raw/living foods into your lifestyle.
However, I would urge you to do so in a positive, constructive manner.
Specifically:

1. Keep diet in its proper place - as a support function. Diet should NOT
be the most important thing in your life!

2. Have a positive motivation for your diet, and a positive attitude. In
particular, avoid the negative motives zealously promoted by some raw
fooders: fear of mucus, or fear/hatred of cooked foods. Please note that
I am NOT referring to honest, scientific criticism of cooked food; instead
I refer to those zealots who falsely blame the world's problems on cooked
food consumption.
Negative motives can be harmful; they may pull you into an eating disorder,
or towards hostile zealotry. If that happens, the result of a raw food diet
could be a healthy body but a very sick mind!

3. Have realistic expectations of what your diet will do for you.

4. Be honest: with others regarding your compliance with the diet, and with
yourself regarding whether it works or doesn't work for you.

5. Ignore raw-food dogma. What counts is what helps you, not what someone
wrote in a book. Your health is more important than dogma!

6. Understand that raw food writers are ordinary humans (so don't think
they know everything about health - they don't), and that the raw food
books available range from very good to unspeakably bad. (You can quickly
recognize the bad ones: those are the books that promote fear/hate as
motives for your diet, and/or they lack credible evidence to support
their claims)

7. Recognize that 100% raw diets are not for everyone. Some thrive on them,
while many others do not. Don't believe the zealots who will claim that it
is your fault if the diet does not work for you. (Apparently the zealots
think you should serve the diet, rather than the other way around - shame
on them!)

8. Introducing perfectionism into your diet (and self-esteem) is a very
bad idea. To put it bluntly, the idea that "dietary purity" determines
your personal merit, is ridiculous and potentially harmful.

9. Avoid eating disorder behaviors: binge eating, lying about eating,
eating in secret, obsessions with food, and so on. If these problems
occur and persist, you should seriously consider changing your diet
and/or getting counselling and therapy.

10. Have an open mind at all times. Actively question and challenge the
so-called "truths" of rawism.  The results of such an approach may astonish
you, as many of those "truths" are discredited, one after the other. (Note:
this is also a way to find out if the "experts" are zealots - see if they
react with hostility when challenged.)

The raw foods movement will never go mainstream as long as it is promoted
in a negative, zealous manner, or as long as raw-fooders refuse to
critically and honestly examine the "truths" of rawism. However, we can
change this situation: we can ignore the zealots, and put the raw foods
movement squarely on an open, honest, positive course towards the future.
I invite you all to join me in working towards such a future!

Again, I thank you all for coming to the Expo.