Interview with a Fruitarian - 8 - Pelagus

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Could you start by telling us a little about yourself, your age, and where you grew up?

So here we go... me. i'm a french photographer, a writer, an activist, abolitionist, antispeciesist. i've been dedicated to change things for over a decade. i use my work (images & words) to change the perspective of people toward animals (human & non human) & plants.

Even though i'm only into writing & picturing, i enjoy many other arts. i especially like when activists use their art to move people.

I don't consider age as being a reference of anything, along with race or sex (yes, i'm against sexism, racism, ageism, ect.) & do my best to not refer to people using those codes of segregation.

I grew up in the north of france, saint valery sur somme, on the seashore. My parents are still living there & I go there sometimes.
i'm a sport freak. i swim & run daily. i enjoy hikes. i love the wild as much as the city actually. Just different perspectives.

I believe you're currently living in France at the moment though, is that right? How long have you been there? What brought you there? Are you in a city, or somewhere more rural?

Today i'm living in paris, until the end of june it seems. i've been living here for the past 8 years of my life. i got here when my boyfriend of the time found a job in the suburb of paris. i moved with him, then found a job myself. When i left him, i stayed. Ever since, i traveled a lot. A minimum of 3 months each year, usually in the united states. One of my favourite place to be :)

How old were you when you first started making a conscious effort to move away from the diet you grew up on?

i became a vegetarian when i was 14. That was completely for the sake of non human animals. At the time, i really hates humans for the way they were using, torturing & killing them. i was very angry. i made all the changes by myself, because i didn't know any other veg people. i met the first vegetarian person when i moved to paris. i was so thrilled :) As soon as i learnt about antispeciesism, & how cows & hens are treated -as nothing but objects- i decided to go vegan. That was the obvious thing to do.

Tell me a little about the diet you grew up on and what was a typical days eating for you?

I grew up on a "healthy" omnivorous diet. i'm saying "healthy" because i never ate any sweets or fat things like most kids today. My mother was very careful to give me what was considered as "good" at the time. Since she is swedish, i had a lot milk, & due to the french "health" idea... lot of cheese!

i would have 3 meals per day. Breakfast would be cereals with milk, the lunch & dinner would have raw veggies, meat, cereals or potaoes, & cooked veggies, then cheese & usually fruit as a dessert.

Has anyone else in your family made similar dietary changes?

Since i became a vegan, my mother started using less meat & dairy for herself, mainly because of the propaganda i've been doing about hos non humans are not food or things made to be used to feed us. Then, as i turned raw, then fruitarian, she's increased her raw intake of veggies & fruit. Usually eating vegan when my father's not home. During the summer she eats 100% vegan & about 80% raw.

When did you first hear of the idea of not cooking food, and did it make sense to you the first time you heard of it?

i first found out about it, after 1 year being vegan. i was looking for something different. i needed to do more then what i was already doing. What i found was mainly about the health issue, & since i was not feeling that good on a cooked vegan diet, i thought i'd give it a try for a week or so. After one week, i could hardly believe all the positivity getting out of me. i noticed all the wonderful changes in my health, but i also noticed the impact on the environment. i have to say it is what made me stick to it! Using less electricity, less water, less soap, perfumes, ect. After a few months, i stopped washing my hair & body using soap, just water & my smell was so good!

So how many years have you been all raw now? When was the last time you ate something cooked?

i've been raw for 7 years now. i think my last cooked meal was in march or april 2001

Nowadays you are eating just fruit right? How long has that been?

Today, nothing but fruit, right!

it's been 4 years now. i had a first try in 2002, during 1 year, but messed up with my health, because i had absolutely no knowledge about health, so got low on B12 & had to go back on a raw vegan diet. i kept it for a year, then gave myself another chance to test the fruit diet. Now, everything is fine & i'm dealing with it quite well it seems :)

When did you realise that fruit was the thing for you?

I think it became obvious when i saw the improvement with my diabetes.

How was your health while growing up? What about prior to switching to raw and fruit?
i have type one (hereditary) since i was 10 yy. So i can say i've been through all diets & it started getting better when i got raw, then even better when eating nothing but fruit. To give you an idea, as a kid, i would need about 70 units of insuline daily. Going vegetarian then vegan didn't change much, maybe de decrease of 20 units to the most. When going raw it decreased even more... today, i never use more then 20 units, even for sweet fruit like oranges or durian.

Have you met any other people eating just fruit? - Who was the first other person you heard of? How many fruit eaters do you know (of)?
yes i have. One of your ex neighbors actually, rudolf :)

i think you are the first fruitarian i heard of, i checked your website for information & quite enjoyed the fact that you were an ethical fruitarian. For, just like about meat & dairy, this is my reason for not eating plants. i do not want to kill or hurt a sentient being.

Now about the number of fruitarians i've heard of... it is quite difficult today, because many people label themselves as fruitarians, yet eat seeds or greens. To me, someone eating seeds cannot be a fruitarian. i mean, obviously a seed is not a fruit! My motto is: if it sprouts, it's not a fruit!

What do the French generally think of your diet?

They usually freak out! Especially vegan people, who consider their own diet as quite extreem... Omnivorous people are completely amazed & it actually helps them go vegan more easily. They understand it is not going that far lol!

What about your parents/family, are they cool with it, or do they consider you a bit of a crackpot?

i have no idea what my father thinks about my diet (he learnt on tv that i was eating raw - & i don't know if he understood i'm eating nothing but fruit). My mother was so scared in the beginning, then as she saw the changes in me, started to trust what i'm doing & to give it a try as i mentioned above.

Can you give us a brief rundown of what you might eat on a typical day?

I have one meal/ day. i usually eat fruit full. i don't quite like cutting & making "salads" or mixes. i only do when i invite people, so they see some things are similar to the cooked diet.
Anyway, yesterday, i had about 5 oranges, 2 pineapples & 3 avocados.

Do you have perhaps a favourite fruit?

ahah, yes i do! my favorite fruit is durian. But i rarely eat any because they come from malaisia & i don't want to encourage the transport of exotic fruit you know. So i never have more then 3 every year. i'm doing my best to not use any fruit that comes from further then spain or north africa.

Can you recall the first time you tried one?

i had a chinese friend who was actually  turning vegetarian because of me. He decided to make me taste all the different fruit coming from his country. Durian is the one that stroke me! He warned me about the strong smell & taste... today, i usually keep the skins a few days after i ate the fruit, i like it so much lol!

What's the fruit choice like where you live now? Do you have good markets? Good quality?

In paris, it is quite easy to get anything you want or need & of a good quality. But then, it all depends on your ethical choices when it comes to an environmental concern. i eat organic as much as i can (there are 5 health food stores less then 5 mn walking from my apartment) then there are farmer markets daily all around my place. There you can find small producers who might not necessarily have the organic label, yet don't use chemicals or pesticides. i prefer supporting those small farmers rather then the big organic corporations.

As you plan on leaving France relatively shortly, where do you plan on heading next?

i guess i'll start with the united states, this is really a country i adore, especially california. i'm not quite sure about what'll be next, but it should be central, then south america.

Have you done otherwise much travelling around the world? Any favorite places?

i simply LOVE traveling! My mother is swedish, so i went in the scandinavian countries many times as a child. i've been to several european countries (my last trip was in spain this winter), then the united states & mexico.
So yes, south california in the us is my favorite place to be, especially santa barbara & around.

Do you see yourself settling anywhere? Where and how would you like to be living 10 years down the track?

Not yet. i would like to travel some more, & discover some other places, tropical ones, to see how it feels there. i guess asia is a must. But we'll see. i'm not good at planning anything, i let things happen when they should. i like to see things as happening when the time is right.

Family? Kids? - Do you have a partner?

no children, a dog friend who lives with my mother now. She's actually a raw vegan :) She used to be my partner, but you know, since she's "just" a dog, traveling with her is impossible. But i have no human boy/girlfriend.

Any hobbies at all?

Not really. i mean, i'm doing what i'm enjoying as a job. Then exercize is something i need a lot, & i'm doing it daily, but i wouldn't call that a hobby... more of an addiction ;)

Dietary wise, do you see yourself making any further improvements, or are you happy with how you eat today?

i've always been interested in the breatharian diet. i don't see me applying this any time soon, but it seems to be something i would like to try. i already sungaze, which is part of the process i think. But improving my time in the sun is definitely something i want to improve.

Is your weight stable? What about your moods, general state of health?

The funny thing is, i gained weight when i turned raw. Since then, i've been slowly losing it. But turning it into muscles due to exercise. Anyway, i'm about 50 kilos for 1m70.

My mood is quite peaceful. This is a big change actually, i used to be overexcited, but the fruit diet made me more conscious of who i am & more aware of my feelings. i'm more balanced then i used to be. & it is a good feeling.

When was the last time you felt really sick?

That was the winter 2006/07. i had been sleeping in the street to support homeless people. They were smoking a lot, so i was always surrounded by this & it weakened my body. i caught a cold.

Are there any disadvantages with the fruit diet that you can think of?

hmm, being harassed with questions every time you refuse something ;)

What's the most common question you get asked when people find out you just eat fruit, and what's your answer?

Where do you get your proteines?

all fruit have proteins, some more then others, like olives mangos or avocados. But then it is a capitalistic myth to sustain the meat & dairy industry that humans need a lot of it. The need of the body are about 2% of the intake.

Do you have a blog or webpage?

no blogs, just an old website about activism: http://www.pelagus.net, then my photo website: http://www.pelagus.biz

Finally, anything else you'ld like to add? Maybe some words of encouragement you'ld like to offer to others wishing to become fruitarian?

i would like to thank you for this serie of interviews you've been doing. It is wonderful to see many different perspectives for the choice of a diet & of a lifestyle.

i think the fruitarian lifestyle is the most ethical one. It is the best way i found to respect humans, non humans & plants & also the planet. The less one contributes to exploitation, the better chances the world gets well :)

Thanks again!

Thank You!

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Previous Blog Post - Is the Medical industry to be trusted?

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List of Interviews with Fruitarians - Interviews with Fruitarians.
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