Tom:
> I just wanted to say welcome back to David Mayne!

Thanks, Tom, and to all of the others who have welcomed me, both
publicly and privately.

Tom:
>I think that Internet is having a real impact on the raw community,
>and this list (raw-food) seems to be the most influential. Because
>of Internet, otherwise isolated raw foodists have access to extensive
>information and, in some cases, free advice. Since people started
>comparing notes regarding their experience with raw diets on Internet,
>the raw community appears to be opening up to new ideas and approaches.
>The "party line" is being challenged, and people are more willing to
>try different approaches.

and Peter:
>I would like to think that the list has made a little difference - it sure
>has had a  positive impact on my life - but you need not look far to
>realize that the raw food community is in many ways still living in the
>Middle Ages.

In some ways, the historic demise of the Middle Ages has been linked
to the invention of the printing press. Before then, ignorance was
abound, and with most of the scholarly effort being made in monasteries.
Could not the Internet possibly be the analogy of the printing press
in helping to facilitate the free flow of information amongst the
raw food community ?

Before this list, what has been available as an information source
for raw foodists ? For me, it was books, some esoteric, some outright
dogmatic in their proclamations. I think it has been noted on the list
before, but there appears to be very few raw food books which take
a reasonable, pragmatic approach, and even fewer that have very much
in the way of scientific studies or reasoning (the latter somewhat
understandable, as extensive study of raw foods still needs to be
carried out - yeah, the Middle Ages alright). Each book seems to
push a narrow agenda, with little room left for questioning. Kirk
similarly acknowledges in the following:

Kirk:
>Yeah, before internet it was very hard to get an overall view. The closest
>there exists to an overview of the raw scene is probably Joe Alexander's
>"Blatant Raw Foodist Proopaganda" which surveys some of the different
>ideologies--now dated with little mention of RAF. Otherwise, each raw book
>is pushing its own narrow slant and it seems certain people like to have a
>"scripture" of some kind. With very little experience one can spot an
>instincto, or a Ehret groupie, or a Sheltonian, or a Wigmore groupie--from
>a cyber-mile away.

I think that the folks on this list are attempting to make the first
steps to get us out of the Middle Ages - the very questioning of these
dogma's is progress, and a step in the right direction. In saying this,
I am not discounting the efforts of the raw foodist authors, there are
some shoulders there to stand on, but not without question or reasoning.

Yet, with the Internet and the lists come the good and the bad. Like
driving a car, when on the Internet, people apparently revert to behavior
that they normally would not exhibit in personal contact. It is much easier
to insult someone from the comfort of home den staring at a computer
screen, than it is to do the same in person. The NFL guys appear really
likable in person, but, behind a keyboard, have issued numerous and
baseless insults and even threats to others without rhyme or reason behind
it. On the other hand, having the words written down allows other's to
spend time on reflection and research, to make intelligent responses
based on reason and good judgment rather than just being polite.
Ward's and Peter's exposes on plagiarism, while perhaps not pleasant
to some, provided valuable information to hopefully a large segment of
the raw community in a timely fashion.

The Internet's importance in spreading knowledge without geographical
boundaries, as Tom noted above, cannot be disputed. On the other
hand, it certainly is not a perfect situation however, as  many email lists,
Usenet groups, www pages, etc are made available only in English,
which may exclude many from participating (however, www based translation
services are getting better, see:
http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com/cgi-bin/translate?)
Internet connections in Europe are not cheap to come by from my
understanding, so fewer folks can participate, even if they can read and
write en anglais. There is also great poverty in many areas of the world,
so will this phenomena of the Internet help these people ? I would
guess that a large portion of the inner city of Atlanta does not own a
computer yet.

I think that the folks on the left coast of the US are blessed to
have an organization such as the SF Life, where people can gather
together in person to exchange ideas with open minds. Unfortunately,
such organizations appear to be rare at this time, so, I really
think that the Internet lists can fill some aspects of this role,
even with the shortcomings noted above.

So, we may still be in the Middle Ages indeed, but I hope and think that
there will be increasing research, communication, and discoveries which
may bring us out of the intellectual funk we find ourselves stuck in now
- there is always something new to learn.

My regards to all,

David
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