Note: the material below is a response to both parts of the NFL interview.

Wolfe(NFL):
>A: A 100% Raw-Food Diet is the greatest secret in the world today. What we
>eat deeply and radically affects the way we think, feel, and behave. It
>radically affects the entire life process of planet Earth...
>A 100% raw plant food diet IS the
>greatest discovery in the history of the world. It is THE path which will
>lead humanity out of the present chaos into a bountiful future.

Tom:
"Raw foods are the truth, the way, and the life. None come to paradise
except through the raw foods diet." - A paraphrase of a famous bible quote.
Rawism is obviously Wolfe's (false) religion, and as most of us know, he is a
fanatic/zealot. Elevating simplistic dietary dogma until it becomes a
religion is a bad idea, and we have the mindless, hostile behavior of NFL
as a clear example thereof.

Wolfe(NFL):
>I went to have my blood viewed under a
>microscope/television setup a few months ago, and the guy could not get a
>sample of blood to drip from my finger.

Tom:
This may reflect dehydration (common among raw vegans who don't drink water),
or poor circulation. Does this raise questions that Wolfe's "ideal" diet is
less than perfect??

Wolfe(NFL):
>A: The structure and function of humanity's teeth, digestive canal, sense
>organs, nourishment for the young, children's development, sexual desire,
>mental set, emotional feelings, as well as the cause and cure of disease
>and unhappiness all demonstrate that humans are biologically frugivorous
>(an eater of fruits and vegetables) and are neither carnivorous,
>herbivorous, nor omnivorous.
>It is just simple common sense.

Tom:
Many of the above are known to be myths - false myths that NFL continues to
promote.

Wolfe(NFL):
>Omnivorous feeding patterns discovered in the genus Homo (by nescient
>researchers in archeological digs) before the discovery of fire in
>scattered places throughout the world dating back from the 100,000's to
>millions of years do not signify anything of significance except for the
>fact that some humans were living in contravention to their natural design,
>perhaps due to terrestrial disasters, confusion, or unknowable factors.
>Also, there is no evidence that we modern humans are directly descended
>from any such Homo progenitors.

Tom:
Such egoism: those who ate meat for MILLIONS of years didn't know what
they were doing. How do we know? Well, we have the word of David Wolfe,
a plagiarist, to take for it!
P.S. reminder: I am a veggie, not a meat eater.

Wolfe(NFL):
>Ward's scientific evidence is simply "research"--he has researched other
>people's theories, concepts, and ideas. I would highly recommend that he
>and others read Joel Barker's famous book The Business of Paradigms. Barker
>demonstrates how preconceived ideas can literally blind us to evidence
>staring us right in the face. I tell my audiences, "They don't believe what
>they see, rather they see what they already believe!" We may well remember

Tom:
The latter quote is a good description of Wolfe/NFL, who stubbornly cling
to discredited dietary theories - because they have integrated those
ideas into their self-identity (a bad idea), and they are trying to sell
those bogus ideas to others (an even worse idea).

Wolfe(NFL):
>A: The raw animal eating fad is the result of people trying to go raw the
>easy way (the new magic pill). Eating raw animal food instead of cooked
>food is just replacing one toxic substance for another. If people want to
>eat animals, they should do it in exactly the same fashion as every other
>carnivore/omnivore on the planet--freshly killed and raw--if they can.
>Humans can't and are averse to it by intuitive nature.

Tom:
I am a veggie, and don't eat raw meat. All raw diets have their problems,
but one thing is clear: fruitarianism is a fad whose day is past. I am
sure that NFL does recruit people into the diet. What NFL doesn't say is
that most don't stay on the diet - because the "ideal" diet does not work
for them. Even worse, they probably have negative feelings about the diet
(and NFL), and may be "turned off" to raw diets forever.

Wolfe(NFL):
>A: Many primates eat their own feces too. Soon. we'll have people claiming
>we need to eat our own feces to be healthy! The fact that we are naturally
>averse to eating bugs speaks strongly.

Tom:
Aversion to eating bugs is cultural, not "natural". Insects are a major
food source in many cultures.

Wolfe(NFL):
>Oral fixation is the primary problem facing humanity. People cannot or
>don't want to control what they are putting into their mouths.

Tom:
One needs only to glance at NFL's book to realize that they have the worst
oral fixation imaginable. They claim that raw foods diets will solve all
the problems of the world, and health. They assign the meaning of life,
and the solution to all problems, to what you put in your mouth. Not only
do they have a severe oral fixation, they are promoting fallacies. One could
say that NFL does not promote diet; rather they are promoting oral fixation
(food obsessions) and an eating disorder (i.e., a mental illness).

Wolfe(NFL):
>To overcome oral fixation, one must realize that food is not an end in
>itself: but a means to an end!!

Tom:
This won't rescue NFL from the fact that they promote diets as the solution
to all problems. Even worse, in past posts, they have made it clear that one
is a "mutant"  (the toxic rhetoric of hatred and bigotry) if one does not
have a raw vegan diet - i.e., if one does not put the "right things" in
one's mouth. That is oral fixation in its most severe, toxic and
dysfunctional form.

Wolfe(NFL):
>A: That is an assumption based upon inaccurate data. My mom is from Persia,
>and in that country they have vegan communities dating back thousands of
>years. They also have raw-vegan communities with similar traditions. In
>fact, Farsi (the Persian language) is the only language with a specific
>word for a rawvegan and every Persian knows what it means! The word is:
>"Khom Gia Khori."

Tom:
Given Wolfe's record of plagiarism, misrepresentation, and other dishonesty,
I would suggest that Wolfe provide written (in English, if possible)
references. The SF area has a large Iranian community, and I can (given time)
confirm or debunk Wolfe's claims.

Wolfe(NFL):
>The principle I am describing here is very simple. Life change comes from
>the inside out. Once you change on the inside, everything changes on the
>outside.

Tom:
The negative, hostile behavior of NFL in promoting their diet, suggests
that the change it caused in them, was a negative one.

Wolfe(NFL):
>A: Great question. Of course there is a massive body of evidence to support
>what I am saying and it appears in peer-reviewed literature. The premier
>scientific journals Nature and Science and the somewhat more popular
>Scientific American and England's New Scientist carry articles about the
>precariousness of dating fossils, the fact that the fossil record runs

Tom:
A credible scientist gives specific references - not extremely vague references
as above.

Wolfe(NFL):
>learn about wild foods in their area. One of our best products is a video
>called "Edible Wild Plants." Check it out! Cultivate a taste for wild food

Tom:
Common sense: a video on the wild plants of California is of little use
to those outside California. For an excellent book on the wild plants of
California, I suggest: "Edible and Useful Plants of California", by
Charlotte Bringle Clarke; ISBN 0-520-03267-5, University of California
Press.

Those living outside California should check libraries (or bookstores) for
books on wild plants that cover their area.

Wolfe(NFL):
>A: Many grains are hybrids and don't survive in Nature.

Tom:
Nearly all modern fruits are hybrids and do not survive in nature. If we
are so presumptuous as to claim that we understand the laws of nature, then
we observe that modern fruits don't pass the real first law of nature -
survival of the fittest (not to be confused with the bogus "laws" promoted
by NFL). It's really quite amusing that an organization that calls itself
"Nature's First Law", promotes a diet (fruitarian) that does not pass the
real first law of nature - survival of the fittest. Such irony!

It should be mentioned here that all cultivated foods have been "messed with" -
hybridized and varietal selected. Very few of our cultivated foods pass the
test of survival of the fittest. (But then, most of us are humble enough to not
claim that we fully understand nature's laws.) A diet of cultivated foods
is a necessary compromise, as it is unlikely that the earth could provide
sufficient wild foods to support the present population. This point
should be understood, as rawists often obsess on the quality of their food;
such dysfunctional attitudes (obsession with quality/type) are part of the
oral fixation/eating disorder that NFL promotes as an ideal diet.

Getting back to grains: we observe that grains do grow true to seed, and
they grow on their own roots. Most modern fruits do NOT come true to seed,
and they are usually grafted - they do not grow on their own roots. Thus
one can argue that grains are more "natural" than modern fruit (and don't
give you an overdose of sugar like modern fruit often does).

Finally, in case Wolfe claims that a fruitarian diet of wild fruit does
not have the problems of a similar diet of cultivated fruit, one must ask
where is the *credible* proof for such an assertion? Also, most wild fruit
is very hard to gather, and in many parts of the world, wild fruit is not
available year-round (which effectively rules out wild fruit fruitarianism
for most of the population of the world).

Wolfe(NFL):
>Q: Have you experienced any of these problems on the 100% raw vegan diet?
>
>A: No, but I have worked with many people who have. If they would have
>faith and simply stay the course and follow the Sun, the shadows would
>fall behind.

Tom:
Have faith - and you may suffer from deficiencies. This is dangerous
advice, the kind of nonsense that leads people to real harm (by ignoring
deficiency symptoms as "detox".)

By the way, IF fruitarianism/raw veganism really is the "natural" diet of
humans, then it requires NO faith to succeed on it. After all, it's the
diet your body was "created" for, per Wolfe's creationism. Further, with
very few exceptions (those who have lost vital organs in surgery, maybe a
few with certain birth defects), anyone/everyone should be able to easily
succeed on such a diet. (Of course, in reality, almost no one succeeds
long-term on such diets). In effect, by saying that faith is required,
Wolfe is implicitly admitting that raw veganism and fruitarianism are NOT
the "natural" diet for humans. Interesting!

Wolfe(NFL):
>The Internet has also been a big hit for us. Our Internet web-site is:

Tom:
Yes - thrown off one e-mail list for hostile behavior, and thrown off
another for making what many considered a hateful, racist remark about
the Inuit, and hostile behavior.

Wolfe(NFL):
>I put together a strategy to get Raw Courage
>into Playgirl magazine which worked! He is in the September 1997 issue in
>the Real Men Section!!

Tom:
It's good that you are getting into Playgirl - the last 2 event schedules
posted on the raw-food and veg-raw lists, show that you are not getting
into many bookstores. :-)

Wolfe(NFL):
>A: In the first paragraph of our book Nature's First Law The Raw-Food Diet
>we state. "The truth always has enemies." There are very negative,
>self-destructive people out there who see our success as their failure--too
>bad for them. Negative, self-destructive people weave a web of failure
>which does eventually entrap them.

Tom:
More accurate saying: NFL is an enemy of the truth.

As for negativity, look at NFL's record: hostility, threats (including what
appeared to be an implicit death threat against me), considered to be
bigots by many, shown to be plagiarist, intellectually dishonest. NFL is
the most negative thing I have ever seen in rawism.

Wolfe(NFL):
>The vast majority of people in the raw-foods community love our book and
>are inspired by our dedication to get this information out to a mass
>audience. I leave it to the readers to judge our book's merits. The laws of
>Nature are unchanging and thus the insights found in our book are timeless
>(and much needed for a troubled world).

Tom:
Nearly all the long time rawists that I know, have a very low opinion of NFL and
their antics. Once again, we see Wolfe resorting to absolutism, and claiming
that he (and NFL) have some special knowledge of the laws of nature. However,
reality shows that the diet they promote is seriously flawed, and they (NFL)
continue to promote false myths about diet (and dysfunctional oral fixation).

Wolfe(NFL):
>Included as a fundamental tenet of every religion on the planet and every
>major success book ever written is the concept of Faith! No great
>accomplishment is possible without Faith! Only Faith (in yourself, Nature,
>God, the Creator, etc.) can push you through the lows of detoxification,
>the peer pressure, and the addictive cravings. What pushed a Walt Disney to

Tom:
Have faith in 100% raw fruitarianism, as Wolfe says, and you may experience
nutritional deficiencies (and other serious health problems). My other
remarks on faith (above) apply here as well.

Wolfe(NFL):
>My goal is to inspire people to commit to returning to a natural diet, to
>begin the process of revitalizing planet Earth. and to face and conquer
>their fears. Fear always has been and always will be the great enemy of
>human potential. We have a saying: Success leaves clues, so does failure.

Tom:
Why then do you promote fear (and hatred) of cooked foods? (Via your
foolish, incorrect slogan: "Cooked food is poison!").  The fear of cooked
foods is a great enemy of human potential, by your own words above.

Wolfe(NFL):
>A: I agree we can ascend and be changed to a higher being by: 1. 100% raw
>plant food diet (which I feel automatically causes you to ascend to some
>level and definitely changes you into another being). 2. Positive
>thinking--rooting out all negative thoughts and emotions by changing
>associations, changing informational input, and by taking full
>rcsponsihility for our lives instead of attributing events in our lives to
>luck (good or bad) or other outside influences. 3. Deep breathing. 4. Being
>absolutely true to our own nature. 5. Reconnecting with Nature and wild
>animals.

Tom:
You can't eat (or fast) your way into heaven. One need only look at the
behavior of NFL (listed above) to see that they are hardly spiritual.
Their behavior, in my opinion, clearly shows the serious mental imbalances
that can (and often do) occur on a 100% raw vegan/fruitarian diet.

Tom Billings
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