On Sun, 25 Oct 1998, Wes Peterson wrote:

> No need to go into all the reasons here; as a debate
> would be likely to ensue, and those really get us nowhere.

I agree.  No benefit is derived from bashing heads.

> I don't see that having any truth to it. Many people are life-long and
> healthy vegetarians. Here are two 100% raw examples: The Essenes, and also
> Norman Walker. They both consumed raw dairy, but no meat, etc.. The Essenes
> have been known to live very long and in great health. And Dr. Walker was
> very healthy and lived well over 100.

Ok, Wes, so you state that there are some that do well on a vegetarian
diet which includes at least raw dairy.  How does that disprove that
other cultures have thrived on raw and/or lightly cooked animal products:

- The Eskimos
- The Native American Indians
- The Swiss of the Loeschenthal Valley
- Australian Aborigines
- Torres Strait Islanders
- Peruvian Indians
- Melanesians
- Polynesians
- The New Zealand Maori
- Gaelics

While I'm not one to say that humans can't do well on vegetarian diets
(especially when raw dairy is consumed), there seems to be more evidence
that shows the importance of a full range of animal products in the
healthiest of cultures.

the cultures I mentioned above can be read about in detail in Price's
"Nutrition and Physical Degeneration," or in Schmid's "Native Nutrition."

> I am not biased against vegetarian sources of raw animal protein, and I use
> them myself.

One last question:  is it kosher for mainstream vegetarians to consume
animal products such as raw dairy and eggs?  Or is it solely the
fruitarians who exclude dairy and eggs?  Just wondering.

Friendly Regards,

Ben