Some years ago a book called "Children of the Sun" came out. It is/was a
picture anthology book, and provided an all-too-limited glimpse into the role
of the German naturalism movement of the late 1800's and into the 1930's, as
one of the "roots" of today's modern raw foods movement. I liked Kennedy's book
but also was indirectly disappointed with it -- it gave me a brief taste of the
history, but it also left me "hungry" for more historical information.

The book listed below helps to fill the need for scholarly, documented
historical information on the German naturalism movement. This makes the book
recommended for raw fooders interested in the historical roots of the movement.

The Cult of Health and Beauty in Germany: A Social History, 1890-1930 
by Michael Hau 
University of Chicago Press

Book Description
>From the 1890s to the 1930s, a growing number of Germans began to scrutinize
and discipline their bodies in a utopian search for perfect health and beauty.
Some became vegetarians, nudists, or bodybuilders, while others turned to
alternative medicine or eugenics. In The Cult of Health and Beauty in Germany,
Michael Hau demonstrates why so many men and women were drawn to these life
reform movements and examines their tremendous impact on German society and
medicine.

Hau argues that the obsession with personal health and fitness was often rooted
in anxieties over professional and economic success, as well as fears that
modern industrialized civilization was causing Germany and its people to
degenerate. He also examines how different social groups gave different
meanings to the same hygienic practices and aesthetic ideals. What results is a
penetrating look at class formation in pre-Nazi Germany that will interest
historians of Europe and medicine and scholars of culture and gender.

The book is very well-researched: the notes and bibliography section comprise
64 pages.

Pg 117 of the book discusses how the vegetarian movement embraced many aspects
of the German eugenics movement, precursor of the 3rd Reich. Pgs 70-72:
Vegetarianism was seen as pro-feminist and anti-family, in some circles. Very
interesting reading!

Side remark. German naturalism was one instance of the divide between
alternative and natural medicine/diet. In the US, the natural hygiene movement
was - in some ways - another example of such a divide. I would point out that
the split between nature cure advocates and medicine is nothing new. The Hatha
Yoga Pradipika, an ancient yoga text, criticizes the consumption of myrobalans,
bitter/acid fruits. Meanwhile, Ayurveda, in the ancient text Charak Samhita, as
well as today, heavily uses myrobalans as tonics and medicines. [I have used
them myself -- the Ayurvedic herbal medicine triphala churna, is 3 myrobalans
dried and powedered.]  Yes, the nature cure vs medicine divide goes back that
far...

Tom Billings