I was reluctant to post this because of the reaction it might provoke.
However, the information here (Part 1, anyway) is, in my opinion, important
and should be released and widely known.

Part 1

First, what really is "nature's first law"? This is a serious question about
nature as it honestly is - we will ignore the 3 guys in the avocado tree and
come to them later. Now, the "first law" should be the dominant principle
that exists in nature, or governs nature. This leads to the obvious choice,
one that is logically defensible, that nature's REAL first law is: survival
of the fittest. Let me repeat that for emphasis: nature's real first law,
which will be abbreviated RFL, is: SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.

Now let's get back to the guys in the avocado tree, who have given their
book and group the name "Nature's First Law". They say that nature's first
law is "cooked food is poison" and advocate a diet that, I am told, is more
than 90% fruit. Further, the fruit they eat is modern, cultivated fruit -
the big, very sweet, low fiber kind - not the small, fibrous, sour, bitter
wild fruit.

But what does nature, or survival of the fittest, say about modern cultivated
fruit?  Simply this: modern cultivated fruit needs human support to survive in
the long term  (grafting, vegetative propagation, irrigation, etc.). By and
large, the vast majority of modern cultivated fruit varieties will not and
cannot survive/reproduce in the wild on a long-term basis. Those few fruits that
can survive in the wild, typically revert to their wild form after only one
generation in the wild, i.e. they revert to small, sour, fibrous fruit -
dramatically different from cultivated fruit. In short and in summary, modern
cultivated fruit does NOT pass the test of survival of the fittest - RFL -
nature's REAL first law!

Now, can you see the incredible irony of a group that calls itself Nature's
First Law, advocating a diet, the contents of which do not pass nature's real
first law: RFL?  Let me be the first to congratulate the 3 guys in the avocado
tree for choosing a name that actually discredits their dietary approach!


Part 2

Now, let's take a close look at the avocado tree they pose naked in, on the
cover of their book. Let me assume the point of their cover is that we humans
are "naked apes", and supposed to be fruitarians like the apes. Readers of the
excellent "Health & Beyond" newsletter, who have seen the Ward Nicholson
interview (Oct. and Dec. 96 issues) know that apes are really omnivores, and
their diet is not like the diet of human fruitarians.

However, the primary point of interest here is that the choice of an avocado
tree actually contradicts the "naked ape" model.  Why?   First we note that
apes go from plant to plant foraging, and do not store food like a squirrel.
Next we note that avocados do not ripen on the tree - if left undisturbed,
they will hang until the seed inside sprouts and the fruit is an inedible mass
of roots, at which point the fruit drops (i.e., the fruit is ripe then but
inedible.) Avocados must be picked when mature green and stored until ripe.
Further, unripe avocados are unpalatable and may even be toxic (ref: "Fruits
of Warm Climates", by Julia F. Morton).

>From the above, one concludes that the cover of their book suggests they are
engaging in behavior that is NOT ape-like: picking fruit that is inedible/toxic
at time of picking, so that it can be stored for later consumption when ripe.
Thus we conclude that the cover of their book actually contradicts the "naked
ape" hypothesis; instead, it suggests that human food gathering behavior should
have a broader scope, than the "naked ape" hypothesis permits!

Let me now respond to some possible defenses of the photo.  Defense: the naked
apes found ripe fruit under the tree and climbed it looking for more.

Response:
Typically, there will be a small amount of premature drop of avocados, due to
wind or animal (bird) damage. Large amounts of premature fruit drop may result
from windstorms, freeze damage, or heavy rains at the wrong time. Fruit drop,
if not damaged, will often ripen. So, our "naked ape" might find a few ripe
avocados *under* the tree, but never any ripe fruit actually *on* the tree.
So, from experience, the naked ape knows there is no reason to climb the tree.

Defense: the naked apes are up in the tree for fun. There are 2 responses:

Response A: avocado trees are brittle and too dangerous to climb for fun.
Avocado trees have very brittle wood that breaks easily; even a very large
branch can break - esp. if it is home to carpenter ants. Due to the high risk
in climbing avocado trees, no "naked ape" would climb an avocado tree for fun -
indeed, there are good reasons to avoid climbing avocado trees! As one who has
picked avocados, let me assure you it can be dangerous. I have fallen from
trees, and had large branches break and been attacked by hordes of large, very
angry, carpenter ants (also wasps, bees, mosquitos, spiders, and scorpions).
On multiple occasions, a large branch above me broke, and it literally 'rained'
angry carpenter ants - loads of fun!  Do the NFL guys want us to believe they
pick avocados naked, with no tools?  Picking avocados naked just leaves more
skin exposed for carpenter ants to bite.

Response B: wild, seedling trees are difficult to climb and pick without
            using tools
Avocado tree bark can be very rough and wild, seedling avocado trees have a
different structure than cultivated trees. Wild trees normally have a single,
narrow, vertical trunk with horizontal branches, while cultivated trees, as a
result of grafting and pruning, have a compact, open, structure. Picking fruit
from a wild avocado tree is not easy. For example, on a large seedling tree,
the first fruit bearing branch may be 10 meters straight up, with no lower
branches to make climbing easier - try climbing those 10 meters naked, over
rough bark, no ladder, on a tree covered with poison ivy, and infested with
carpenter ants and paper wasps. Does that sound like fun?. I have personally
climbed such trees (no ladder), while wearing heavy protective clothing, and it
is very difficult, and dangerous.  Anyone who picks avocado trees, naked and
with no tools, will either pick almost no fruit (as most of the fruit is
inaccessible to the picker without tools), or die young, when a brittle branch
breaks under them as they reach for fruit on the outside of the tree.


I invite interested readers to freely disseminate the above information widely
within the entire raw foods community. Feel free to put this article on your
web site, if you wish.

I invite NFL to post a civil and rational response to this, here on veg-raw.

Tom Billings
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