Last Sunday Dave Karas, our veg-raw listowner, and I attended a lecture by David Wolfe & Stephen Arlin co-authors of "Natures First Law" (NFL). The lecture, organized by the Los Angeles Natural Hygiene Society, was well attended - about 70 people showed up on this windy afternoon to hear what the authors of this controversial new book had to say. What follows are some of my impressions: David & Stephen, who seemed to be in their mid-twenties, looked quite fit and have been on a 100% raw, vegan diet for 2 - 2 1/2 years now. David peels most of his fruits - even apples. Stephen works out & exercises about two hours every day and maintains his 200 lb. body weight on a 85% fruit diet eating unsoaked nuts for proteins. Going from 95% raw to 100% raw represents a bigger step healthwise than going from cooked foods to 95% raw - 100% raw is magical. The trick to being successful at a raw vegan diet is a strong desire to change. = If the why is strong enough the how will follow. The appropriate changes will occur through personal development with success technologies (like those of Tony Robbins if my memory serves me right) providing strategies to control the emotional, spiritual & financial aspects of life. Two cultures have a word meaning raw food-eater in their language namely the Eskimo (Eskimo = Inuit = raw meat eater) and the Persian. In some cases small amounts of raw fish or maybe other raw animal foods are OK. The Juiceman's dad is 103 years old. If a plant or tree is healthy enough to grow & mature its fruits will not be mineral deficient. I was pleasantly surprised to find the authors much friendlier than in their book and veg-raw postings. They showed a lot of positive energy & enthusiasm and plan to launch an ambitious multi-media campaign to spread the word about raw foods. I still do not recommend their book or diet but after having met two of the authors, I think that the dedication they show their cause might give raw (vegan) foods bit of a revival - especially among young folks. Even if this will not always be for the best, I think as the increasing turn-over rate of information continues to break down more & more boundaries in the fields of health & nutrition, it will make it ever more difficult for idealistic diets with little factual reality to take root in our souls. Best, Peter [log in to unmask]