The Woodstock Fruit Festival - August 2011

It appears that this year too, an international fruitarian (of sorts) get together will be held:

The Woodstock Fruit Festival.

I believe last years fruitarian gathering held in Brittany, France, ran along the very roughly interpreted guidelines of a rainbow gathering, an open invitation to anyone interested to come along free of charge, and with little or no prior thought put into it.

Beyond the focus on fruit, this years gathering bears likely little to no resemblance to last years event.. It appears to be far more structured, with a prearranged schedule of events already outlined for each day (available to peruse on their website), guest speakers, yoga, workouts etc etc.

Sadly though, unlike last years event, judging by some of the guest speakers on hand, it is highly unlikely that their flavour of fruitarianism will fully envelope the true meaning of the word, but will more likely revolve around the unnecessary complexity of calories, exercise, sugars, fats and the far from complete and thus highly flaky science of nutrition. I guess for some that's something to look forward to, and I have no doubts that many people need to approach things from this angle in order to have confidence in their success.

To be fair, it's probably unjust for me to be making comparisons to the gathering of last summer, clearly the 2 gatherings are of very different natures, as are the organisers. I gather this one is being organised by Michael Arnstein who I'm told (though unconfirmed!) has previously openly admitted to eating fish on occasion, and thus I'm supposing will no doubt also lack the ethical component that I believe fruitarianism requires for completion.. Though, giving him the benefit of the doubt, it is possible he has since made further refinements to his habits and lifestyle.. shucks, I've eaten fish in the past, and other equal atrocities, I just wasn't calling myself fruitarian at that time.



Prices to attend range from a more basic camping arrangement at $795 for the week, to queen rooms with own bathroom for $1,395. Although the event is supposedly nonprofit and I personally believe these prices to be a tad steep, the organisers have promised to let you eat as much durian as you like, so no doubt they'll be some attending that'll be getting more than their moneys worth. I know I would try! .. But no.. So, although there's a part of me that would certainly relish the idea of participating, I've no plans to head anywhere this year. Certainly not overseas anywhere.. Oh.. I should mention also that those on a low budget can ask to work as a volunteer there for the week, thus working in exchange for attending. Likely a good option for those on a shoe string budget.

The Woodstock Fruit Festival will be held in New York state, between August 18th and August 25th this year (2011), with details of precise location and directions available on the website, together with more details about the guest speakers, a FAQ page and even a forum.

Overall, it is very positive to see such fruit centered events happening increasingly more frequently, and I have little doubt that this one will most assuredly inspire and influence many, and spark a bountiful supply of new friendships. I sincerely wish for many new free thinking fruit fruitarians to hatch and spring forth from it.

Crazy World News - 12 - Breast Milk Ice Cream anyone?

Now here's another bizarre bit of news Kvĕta recently made me aware of...

Get this.. Back on my home shores of Britain, some London shop recently began selling ice cream made from human breast milk...



Apparently the women expressing this milk all responded to a newspaper advert, and are, or were, at least, being paid to supply the shop with whatever amount they feel they were able to comfortably contribute.. Now, I recall some years ago how my sister was obliged to express her milk to provide food for her baby while she finished off her last term at a school she was teaching at, and I can tell you it was slow progress, and clearly uncomfortable, bordering on painful, and the amount one can reasonably express is very little.. And what then of the poor baby who in the ice-cream scenario must surely be going amiss..

Breast Milk at £15 a bowl
London shop sells breast milk ice-cream - Baby Gaga

I don't know, I'm sort of in 2 minds about this one.. Part of me thinks that at least in such cases, there is a certain degree of free will within the process (I guess also that many women choose to force ween their babies at early ages, or forgo breast feeding entirely in favour of supposedly nutritionally superior powdered milk formula), clearly not one found within the dairy industry who inhumanely systematically rob the poor calves of their naturally given foods, if not of their lives entirely, and cruelly deprive their mothers of the pleasure of their child's touch and comforting proximity.

I know there's that poster going around with the cow camouflaged painted woman, ready to offer her udders to the milking machines.. I think it's one of those "Got Milk" PeTA (People for the ethical Treatment of Animals) posters, meant to shock, you may know the one I'm referring too. It's designed to make one see more clearly what milk actually is, and I have no doubt, bears with it a certain degree of effectiveness.

Surprisingly, Kveta also stumbled upon one of those opinion polls on a Czech newspaper website, asking whether or not readers would consider trying the ice-cream, and an unbelievable 50% plus voted that yes, they clearly would..

Also, and this is going back 2 years or so, PeTA actually contacted some large American ice-cream producer, and suggested they begin substituting their Cows Milk for human Breast Milk to produce their ice-cream, and from the looks of this video, there wasn't much enthusiasm..


Anyhow, I see from the video that there is some Swiss company that had already tried the idea of using mothers milk in their recipes, but I'm guessing through popular demand, were forced to cease with their activities. It looks like the same fate awaited the London Cafe, as within a week or so of announcing their wares to the public, and surprisingly selling out much faster than expected, they were also forced into ending their short-lived business venture, as stocks were seized by overzealous council officials on the pretext of the milk being potentially health hazardous.

Breast Milk Ice-cream banned

Yeah, now why can't they step up and do the same thing with "normal" conventional ice-cream, who's milk may contain any number of pathogens, residue hormones and drugs, pus and of course it's enhanced mucus forming qualities, and that's not to mention the sugar enhancements, fats and whatever else they deem will make the product more relishable, addictive and moreish.

What are the best fruits to eat?

Another recent question I've received, this time from a reader, Anna, in California, who asks:

I'm a vegetarian turned fruitarian (thanks to your website). Can you please help me out with a starter grocery list? I live in California, so tropical fruit's aren't abundant here. I love almost all fruits, but are there any in particular you would recommend/are against? Any other advice would also be appreciated.

Good question, and one that I've sort of tackled before in bits and pieces, so I'll try and group those thoughts together here.

OK.. I ultimately sincerely believe that the whole idea of someone else advising another of the best foods to eat, what to eat, when to eat, amounts to eat etc, is folly. It is an erroneous path to expect another to know better than ourselves what appeals most at any given point in time.

Unfortunately it seems it is the path that many seek. The need for guidance is understandable, but guidance beyond the simple basic understanding of what constitutes true food, is generally false. Sure there are many people that try to sell such flawed knowledge, pretending that only they know what is best for you. What I teach is different. The lesson I try to give (away) is that beyond the understanding that fruit is the highest of all food, the only food with the potential of being given completely karmically free, and the purist most life giving and nourishing solid food sustenance found on the face of the Earth, beyond this simple knowledge, that which the body will most benefit from eating at any given time, not allowing invalid food choices to enter the arena (ie no condiments, cooking, dehydrating or over processing of ones fruits etc.), is purely unknown to anyone but the person asking. What folly it would be for me, or anyone, to try tell someone they should eat nectarines in abundance when they are in season.

You should eat what appeals to you at every given meal. So don't think, oh, someone is eating 20 bananas daily, and fairing very well on them, that you should do the same. Every meal is different. Every meal your body will tell you what appeals most. Use your nose and senses to judge what fruit will best suit your needs at any given point in time. Learn to trust your instincts again. Don't follow a recipe book. Don't fall into the trap of believing you need some complex mathematical formula to obtain the correct ratio of carbohydrates to fat and protein. Don't fall into the trap of over complicating your food through complex recipes. Don't fall into the trap of thinking that someone else knows better than you do, what to eat right now. Nobody does. I go through months without eating any bananas. This is because when I try to eat them, I might have a few mouthfuls, and then the taste changes, and they are no longer appealing. But for me to advice you not to eat them would be ludicrous. They are a good food, when they appeal. At the moment, I am going through a phase where I get through maybe 5 or 6 a day, which is more than I've ever eaten of them in my life. Avocados which generally appeal to me, I am not finding so attractive. But desires continuously fluctuate depending on momentary physiological needs.

Don't fall into the trap of classifying certain fruits as sugars, and others as fats. Don't believe you need to count calories. All these are traps, and part of a ploy to scare you into believing you need to pay for mentoring. Don't believe any of that superfood nonsense of expensive pills, potions and powders. There are no such things outside of pure ripe fresh ready to eat fruit.

The truth is simple. Don't fall into the trap of believing you need to drink X amounts of litres of water daily. Force feeding yourself, or force drinking to fit into some preconceived pattern is folly.

At least, these are what I believe to be traps and conclusions reached through false logic. I'm aware that my voice is in the minority, and that there are large movements that promote ways of thinking grossly in opposition to mine.

So I say, eat when hungry, look at your fruit, which type appeals most right now? Eat that. Stop when no longer hungry. If hunger resurfaces once more in 20 minutes, then choose again. Don't restrict yourself to meals. 3 meals a day is probably a good pattern for omnivorous humans, but for fruit eaters, eat when hungry, not when the clock tells you too. Likewise for drinking. If you sincerely eat just fruit, the need for water will diminish and likely vanish altogether unless much physically strenuous work is required.

At the end of the day, it is up to us all individually to decide what is and what is not correct, and although I state my points with conviction and sincerity, you should always be aware that I'm just a bod with an opinion. What's yours?

PS If nectarines are in season (or not), and they appeal, go for it!

Crazy World News - 11 - China has illegalized reincarnation.

OK, this is not exactly new news, as the article I stumbled upon is dated August 1994, but for sure, it's the first I'm hearing of it.. Apparently, China's communist regime has made it illegal to reincarnate without first seeking government approval. Once more proving just how world Governments can, and do, exercise their corrupt powers to bully, and squander resources on (sometimes) futile efforts of control.

China demands permission be sought before reincarnating

Clearly their reasoning is once more to make things difficult for the Tibetan lamas whose belief system reincarnation is a fundamental core of.. What I don't get is that the law makers themselves are likely nonbelievers, thus clearly the law is a farce and has nothing whatsoever to do with preventing or controlling who or what reincarnates when or where..

It's all about giving the Government legislative power over Tibet's Buddhist practices in an attempt to bring an end to a system that dates back hundreds of years.

I recall, back in the 1980s, I read someplace, possibly it was even a Nostradamus prediction, or one of the many interpretations of his often vague musings, that both the Monarch of England present on the throne at the turn of the 21st century, and the Dalai Lama incarnated at same time period, would be the last of their successions.. The end of an Era for British Monarchists and Tibetan Monks. I can well imagine that this may turn out to be a factual prediction.

This world is changing sooo fast, recent decades have seen rapid advancements made in so many fields, unfortunately though, I do get the impression that humankind is really just not ready for certain things yet. Well meaning creative people release ideas to powers that are not at all well-meaning, and instead of new discoveries and inventions being used for the good of one and all, the initial focus on them revolves around suppression, control and aiding the militia, through new weaponry or new methods of surveillance..

With their population numbering well over 1.3 billion, which I believe is pushing a 5th of the population of the world, and a Government that clearly has no real morals or scruples based on anything humane (mind you, do any?), China is a giant force to be reckoned with.

Probably Curtains For this Guy

Anyhow, sure, not wishing to focus too much on potential doom and gloom, on the brighter side, recent decades have also seen a steady awakening of a certain global subset of people that are able to see through the bullshit and past global government corruption, immoral banking activity, and even those that no longer want to be part of the animal exploitation industry. Numbers are surely growing. And I'm an optimist at heart, that likes to believe that good will overpower evil, and corruption be vanquished by honesty and goodwill, but I am also a realist and understand that things appear very much to be coming to a head.. Rainforest destruction, top soil erosion, ever expanding deserts, widening cities, increased crime, the inevitable decline of oil bringing with it increased prices as commodities reliant on oil become scare and unavoidable food and water shortages.

Now is the time to move out of the cities, ensure you have some land, and grow what you can to weather the worst. I see a light at the end of the tunnel, but suspect things may meanwhile get pretty hairy. Remember we're all here to learn, and one life time is but a brief gnats fart in the turmoilic history of the universe, so do what you can to survive, but don't loose your sanity over it.

Mushrooms on a Fruitarian Diet.

Another question I received in my inbox a short while ago, from a guy named Bernard in Stavanger (Norway), pertained to the eating of mushrooms on a fruitarian diet:

Is eating mushroom ok for fruitarians?

He then clarified that he wasn't referring to blue meanies, gold tops or other psychedelic mind altering trippy mushrooms..

Well, firstly, I think I'm going to apologize in advance for once more being repetitive, because I know that much of what I'm going to write I've already said before, albeit no doubt slightly different word orders.. But anyhow, here goes..

Firstly, I wish to reiterate that I am fully aware that the term fruitarian pertaining to fruitarianism, is habitually loosely interpreted by many, and much as I'd love to see it mean eater of solely fruit, colloquially this is clearly very much not the case. And even when my definition is agreed upon, there exists much confusion as to what exactly a fruit is. So I would like to refer you to my previous blog posts, My definition of Fruitarianism, and What is a fruit?.

So bearing in mind that I'm defining fruitarianism as a lifestyle that revolves around eating purely fruit, then the simple yes/no answer to the question of whether or not mushrooms are part of a fruitarian diet, is no, they are clearly not fruits..

However, all things said and done, I tend to have my own little vision of what qualifies as food.. sort of my own internal "food pyramid", similar to the traditional food pyramid, knocked together by the meat and dairy industry as part of their ingenious flesh marketing strategy, mine is also a simple pyramid with layers..

My pyramid supposes that all this food be eaten in a 100% raw natural state. Once the cooking process is added as an ingredient, the pyramid I propose would become much more complicated, and require additional layering with a great deal more potential for overlap.

Fruitarian Food Pyramid concept:

The bottom layer contains the edible(?) flesh portions of animals, every mammal, fowl and fish you can name etc. Slightly above it, with some overlap, I'd stick the bi-products of the animal flesh trade, and other items that originate from deliberate animal abuse, dairy products, milk, cheese, yogurts etc, eggs, lards and oils of animal sources etc, the overlap is diffuse, and not altogether clear. The next layer up, are the root vegetables, the carrots, parsnips and turnips etc.. things that necessitate the direct and unavoidable intentional killing of plants. Above that, I would have another layer, again with a slight overlap perhaps, depending on production methods, with tubers, like potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes, and Jerusalem artichokes, things which on a small scale can potentially be harvested gently from the ground with minimal harm to the plant, and if care taken the food can be eaten, and eyes cut out from the potato or similar to regrow new plants. Moving up the triangle one more notch, once more with a potential for overlap, I would place nuts, seeds and grains.. Grains and seeds being potentially far more destructive, so perhaps I might place them further down the pyramid. Truth be known, my pyramid is far from finalized.. Anyhow, above the nuts and stuff, I'd place greens, again, there is definitely room for overlap, as method of growing and harvesting surely plays a role, as with small scale home gardening, many greens can be harvested in a far less destructive manner than traditional farming methods allow. Above the greens, again overlapping, I would place mushrooms, especially self picked forest & field ones. and then right at the top, is the fruit.


Clearly I've missed out some of what gets eaten, like crustaceans, snails, frogs, insects, grubs and the like, which I'd probably place in that vague area between layers 1 and 2 and 3, then there's seaweed, algae I don't know, probably more that I've forgotten, legumes, and the seeds I would differentiate as to whether sprouted or not, but I think you get the rough gist of things..

Unlike the traditional food pyramid, the aim is not to eat balanced from all food groups, but to aspire instead to the pinnacle of foods, and just eat fruit. Obviously, if there is no fruit around, and one must eat other things, then move down the pyramid as far as you feel comfortable. In the grand scheme of things, mushrooms are most definitely not the worst choice. Of course, the ultimate goal is to settle in an environment where the food you are comfortable with is readily and affordably available.

Knowing what our goals are is a matter of individual choice, attempting to keep sight of them, is crucial to attaining them.

Crazy World News - 10 - Malawi set to illegalize flatulence

This story blew me away when I first stumbled upon it, I believed it to be a wind up, but on closer verification, it turned out to be for real.

Apparently, Malawi, a small African country that I barely new existed, is set to make farting illegal. The guy pushing for the law to be passed, a Dr Bingu wa Mutharika (see pic to right), looks himself like he would have trouble sticking with his law so I dread to think how the rest of the country will fair..

Actually this sort of law, beside being a seeming complete waste of bureaucratic time (mind you, having just written that, isn't that what bureaucracy is all about anyhow??), really smacks of middle aged Europe when such laws as "Only the king is allowed to grow a beard", or "All English males over the age 14 must have 2 or more hours of clergy supervised longbow practice weekly".. And wasn't there one, at one time, about everyone having to wear a green tie, or something somewhat similarly ridiculous..

Honestly, apart from offering new ways for police embarrassment, what can such a law seriously hope to achieve?

Malawi to ban farting

How a subject like farting can even get discussed in such detail by a government, surely beats me, will the law cover animals, or just humans? What if a dog breaks wind near you and you get pinned for the crime? All social gatherings, banquets and balls, buses, trains, malls etc, will have to be heavily guarded/patrolled, or some bright spark will have to invent something similar to that urban mythical liquid that was said to be in swimming pools if one pee’d in them, surrounding ones rear with some embarrassing pink cloudy glow.

This kind of behaviour will no
longer be tolerated in Malawi.
Naturally locals fear that pinning responsibility on the crime will be difficult - and may lead to miscarriages of justice as 'criminals' attempt to blame others for their offense. Recalling my school days, perhaps they'll apply "he who smelt it, dealt it" logic. Or take things a step further with "he who said the rhyme, did the crime".

I have no doubt that Malawi has many other far more serious issues that need addressing than punishing people for perfectly natural bodily reactions to bad foods, and the fact that time is spent on such is just more evidence of the likely corruption within their political system.

Should We really Eat Meat??

Well.. I guess you all know my opinion by now, if you feel you need to turn your body into an animal graveyard, then yes, I guess you should.. But most importantly you should examine why it is that you feel there is a necessity to be a walking grave.. And I mean, seriously question.. Not just quote replies that you have learned by heart, but examine them thoroughly with an open mind, and I believe anyone with a logical thinking process and natural inquisitiveness will sooner or later realise just how bizarre the practice of flesh eating truly is.



Anyhow.. I was surprised to stumble upon this online survey where you get to answer a simple "yes" or "no" to is meat eating necessary, and even more surprised to see that almost 30% of the participants agree that it is unnecessary.. I am sure that this must be way higher than the general population.. I'm guessing that it's mostly people of a somewhat alternative mindset that actually stumble onto the survey in the first place.. Anyhow, here's the link to it:

Should we eat meat?

While on the subject of meat, I also read recently that Southern Carolina scientists are working on somehow growing their own bio-engineered meat in a laboratory.. Yeah, now there's self sufficiency! Now if only they realised just what a nonfood it was, be it 'ficial or artificial.. Still, at least if they were to succeed in doing so, it might theoretically be a way to minimise animal cruelty suffering that's part and parcel of the flesh trade. Read more here.

Over in the UK, they've begun selling dog meat on farmers markets. That should have a few people up in arms.. For some reason, many meat eaters seem to take offense at dog meat, proving in a way just how consistently illogical they have a tendency to be.


Whale. - Breakfast or fellow earth citizen?
Well.. Honestly I think this whole "omnivore" phase has just gone on far too long.. If you'll pardon my French, people eat literally any old shit. Virtually anything that moves, and most of what doesn't too.. It's amazing what a bit of salt and fat can do to turn nonfoods into apparently appealing dishes. I'm reminded of that Charlie Chaplin movie where in the midst of winter, with nothing around to eat, he eats the sole of his shoe..

Actually I recently also heard of this medical condition called "Pica", that mostly seems to afflict young children and women.. not that it's at all common mind.. But for some reasons those afflicted with Pica experience cravings for most definite "nonfoods", like this one woman below, who is addicted to eating couch cushions.. (Maybe the majority of the world suffers from the same affliction.. A world full of Picarians, addicted to eating the stuffing out of other beings!):