Crazy World News - 8 - Inter species marriage.

First there was the Russian Siberian guy, Boris Gabov, who sought permission by asking the president if he might be permitted to marry his beloved cow claiming that all the girls in the village had left already, moving to the city..

I'm unaware if the president ever replied, but likely this mans ridicule was not nearly as bad as a young Balinese guys, who caught with his pants down with a cow, was consequently forced to marry it by other locals. Apparently he passed out from the humiliation of the ceremony, and his new wife, the innocent victim, was immediately drowned (I thought the Balinese were Hindu and that thus the cow was considered a sacred animal!). I always found the Indonesians to be a majoritively bizarre lot.. (see: The Jakarta Globe).

In a somewhat similar incident, a Sudanese man was also forced into marrying an animal, in his case, it was a goat. Unlike In Bali, it's still possible the couple have remained together. (See: BBC News)

Those last 2 aren't exactly cases of people willingly entering into wedlock with different species, but bizarrely enough, that happens sometimes too.. Just relatively recently a millionairess British woman, and self proclaimed nonpervert, Sharon Tendler, of her own free will, married a dolphin in Israel. (See: Sydney Morning Herald) - How did she know that the dolphin wasn't already married? I thought they were supposed to be monogamous creatures..

Then, over in Taiwan, there's the story of the Taiwanese office worker who unable to find a suitable partner, and tired of waiting, decided instead to marry herself. (See: Taiwanese Woman Marries Self).. She's even honeymooning by herself in Australia.

Then if you think that's weird, there's a Japanese guy, who so engrossed in his virtual make believe fantasy world of some alternate reality game he plays on his Nintendo, has now married his virtual girlfriend.. (See: Japanese guy Marries Virtual Girl).

Enough already? One last one first though:

The most recent example I've seen of clearly one sided obsession that leads some humans to act strangely with mostly full disregard for their objects of desire, is a British guy who is in love with and wishes to marry his christmas tree.. (See: Man In love with Christmas Tree)

Actually, wikipedia even has a page dedicated to human-animal marriages:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human-animal_marriage

It would certainly seem to me that in such cases, humans, as per usual, generally have little respect for other species, doing with them as they wish with no real thought or concern given to the welfare or desires of the animal in question..

Questioning greens on a fruitarian diet.

OK.. on the subject of greens, a friend has just emailed the following question: "What i would like to learn is that greens are not only unnecessary, but harmful to human bodies. This would be great information. Do you have an article on this, please paste me a link.". and, also relatively recently, another friend asked me "I'm just wondering if you had a list of reasons as to why greens are not an optimal food for humans? One of my clients keeps saying she is *craving* greens and I highly doubt it..".

OK, the first thing I'd like to establish is that much as I am heavily left brain centric, I consider myself to be more a man of faith than a man of science, and if all you're after is a simple yes/no answer, then I'll cut straight to the chase and tell you I don't know of any scientifically sound writeup as to why greens might be consistently harmful, or either for that matter, why someone might legitimately be craving them.

You've likely heard me quote this before, that Doug Graham once stated that if you eat only fruit, and no nuts, greens etc, you will die, and as far as I know, he also gave no valid explanation as to why he believes that. Personally, I want to make it clear, that being more someone of faith, than science, I don't like to state anything as stone cold fact. I'm just a bod with opinions who blogs them, is all, and I'll be the first to admit that they (my opinions) may not always be correct - even if I stand firm to them, and remain convicted that they are, this doesn't actually make it categorically the case.

Actually, even the so called "scientists" among us, are at heart really people of faith, for at the end of the day, it is in science they place their faith, and we all know how fickle a beast science can be. Some theories may have been reached that are difficult to dispute as fact, but concerning nutritional science, I believe we are barely scratching the surface. If you want to prove that meat is necessary for human consumption, there is internet information that will fully support that theory, blinding you with science to essential amino acids and B12s, and more. If you want to find support for the opposite, that too is out there.. they all try to blind each other with their own brands of science, each one trying to outsmart the other.

My approach is very different. Much as I once absorbed the protein books after turning vegan pushing 25 years ago, being able to recite the 9 essential amino acids names, and state their individual functions and effects their presence (or lack of it) might have upon human physiology, I soon saw that it was effectively all nonsense, and realised the truth is not complex. The truth is simple. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to get nutrition right. That, to me at least, is the truth.

But it's my truth.. my belief, if you will, and I am not robbing anyone else of their free will to find their own, even if it should vastly contradict mine. That is the individuals prerogative.

Back in the 60's there was that big hippy movement, seeing in the advent of supposed free thinking, live and let live, love, peace and flower power.. Unfortunately it came accompanied with its fair share of mind altering drugs and psychedelics, baring with them apathy and a gradual loss of ability to fully think straight, but I believe they were fully on the right track with the love and peace thing.. They saw the innecessity and folly of wars, some realised that we are all brothers and sisters, and one giant family. Others even took another step and embraced compassion for fellow animal species, turning vegetarian, and an even smaller minority likely saw yet beyond that, and adopted vegan diets and lifestyles, avoiding as much as they could all animal suffering. These were awakening people. At least, some of them were.

What they were experiencing was a widening of their circles of compassion. Where we go from initially being predominantly egocentric, to extending an enveloping sphere of love and compassionate protection around immediate family, to experiencing sympathy and empathy for friends and acquaintances, and yet further for members of other races, countries, ethnicities, beliefs, cultures, and supporters of other football teams etc.. Seeing them all as human and worthy of respect and dignity.. Widening the circle yet further, we learn to embrace other species too.. Seeing there is no real logical reason why they, purely based upon their difference of appearance and or intellectual capacities, should be any less respectfully treated and honoured.

The good thing about the circle of compassion, is that it sees no boundaries. One can forever keep extending the outer limits. Looking beyond the mistreatment and abuse of animals inherent throughout most of society as we know it, we can see the destructive effect our presence has on the environment and the rest of nature, and do our darnedest to try and minimise it. In defense of keeping the circle tight, people will often argue that you can't possibly ever encompass everything, and thus it's pointless even trying, but this argument is so irrelevant. Even if there are compromises and things still "get hurt", that is not reason for us to not make efforts and grow through doing so. It does not make us hypocrites if we acknowledge that there are times where our presence is unavoidably linked with the hurt of others. As we grow, we can learn to avoid such situations, not judging each other, but judging actions. Again, I'm not saying that anyone has to live their lives any given way, only stating how I chose to live mine, and how I chose to see mine progressing, and yes, how I believe the world would be better off, if others followed suit.. None of us are perfect, least of all me, (and i speak from experience!) but that should not prevent us from trying to improve ourselves.

Floating like an otter, and hopefully
breaking the monotony of my monologue.

But I've wandered off course from the greens topic. My point is, it is my belief that the old much quoted Beatles refrain "love is all you need" is true. It is love that makes the world go around. Not vitamins, colostrum, glycogens, omega 3s or fat soluble acids.. Even the most hardened cold blooded killers in the animal kingdom, crocodiles and the like, if it were not for love, they too would not survive. See how protectively the mother looks after her hatched young. guarding them with love until they are big enough to fend for themselves. Some might argue that this was some form of instinct, not love, but maybe in such cases, instinct and love are one and the same.. Of course, crocodiles are hardly brimming, bubbling and overflowing with love.. far from it, their circles of compassion barely extend beyond their known family within immediate territorial range, but this still doesn't stop love being the predominant driving force that keeps the species continuing.

Now armed with my "love is all you need" belief, and again, I emphasise the word belief, (because much as I myself stand firmly convinced I'm fully on the right track, I don't really know anything!), I think that taken to it's logical conclusion the universe must work and be at it's most harmonious and gentle, balanced when this principle is fully embraced, accepted and worked upon.

To this end, it would seem natural that we try to minimise the destruction of plant life, as well as animals.. And it would seem that nature has indeed provided us with a way to accomplish such an end, by providing us with the sensory appealing fruit pulp that generally bears within it the seeds of the plant. This appears to me to be the pinnacle of foods, and the only food, as such, that is truly "given". Of course, let's suppose hypothetically one could sustain oneself on minerals, rocks and sand and gritty soil, then that too could be considered as valid ethical fair, but to be sure, nowhere near as appealing!!

I believe the essence of Eden, where all life forms interact and live harmoniously symbiotically side by side in a perfectly natural balance void of medi-evil food chains, hunter/predator, live and let die, survival of the fittest, pecking orders and alpha pack leaders. I cannot fully grasp every final detail, but this does not concern me, I have every faith that the kinks will iron themselves out, and that Eden can and inevitably (the optimist within me!) will become a reality.. at least for those that see fit to let it into their hearts.

I like to think that I am extremely fortunate reaching fruitarianism through predominantly ethical reasons. Having first gone through the revelation call of suddenly waking up to the reality of how animals are used and abused.. Unfortunately probably a good many of raw fooders don't have that same foundation. Many having never fully grasped veganism, and seeking purely benefits to their own health. I won't name any names, but there's a good many outspoken raw fooders, some that many consider leaders in the movement, that still push animal products on the masses, and there's no way their belief system could extend to seeing "just fruit" as a valid choice. Of course they may push their dried fruit potions on us, as super foods and the like, and love fruit too.. but let's face it, they don't even really get raw food. (dried and preprocessed is not raw!).

So what holds us back? because I know that I am not alone in feeling these feelings. I think there's an awful lot of fear involved. people doubt themselves.. they doubt their beliefs and their budding convictions.. they say "what if..?" And they are of course perfectly within their rights to do so.. Having doubts is part of what makes us human. Becoming fruitarian is about taking a leap of faith, because we're ahead of our time, and science is not ready to support us yet. Clearly science is predominantly backed by marketing interests.. Research is rarely done unless there can be some financial gain for someone somewhere, and until that changes, it's unlikely that someone will seriously bother to look into pure fruitarianism, and the way things are at the moment, if someone does, it is more likely that they would do so to discredit and disprove it.. The current powers that be resist change!

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF PLANTS' RIGHTS

Was taken aback and pleasantly surprised to stumble upon this youtube video this morning (thanks Rudolf!):

It seems finally that the silent plight of plants is beginning to be heard. Reflected also, I believe by the increasing awareness among some of the truth of a fruit diet.

With the advent of humans on the scene, with likely especial emphasis on the most recent centuries of our existence, indiscriminate killing of plants, probably more fittingly labeled as "plant genocide", has become a global phenomenon. Even in the mid 80s when I turned Vegan, I remember reading a PeTA pamphlet that declared that rain-forest the area of Denmark (a country I was coincidentally living in at the time) was being felled each year, and although I no longer follow closely such saddening statistics, I have little doubt that the trend continued, and dread to think of the devastation and environmental plant destruction caused within the past 2 and a half decades alone.

Also, apparently, recently, the Swiss Government's Federal Ethics Committee on Non-Human Biotechnology concluded that plants are worthy of some rights, and that they should be treated appropriately. A majority of the panel concluded that "living organisms should be considered morally for their own sake because they are alive."

So I immediately began wondering if this Ethics committee, and the authors of this declaration of plant rights could themselves be fruitarian, as to me, it seems that such a lifestyle would be the most compatible with someone who truly sympathises with the injustices plants are generally subjected to.

But after a little further research, including reading this less than favourable review of the Swiss Ethics group's conclusion written up and published a while back in the Weekly standard: Here. I noticed the immediate honing in on the discrepancy of the example given about the farmer who is harvesting monocrops as a supposedly ethically acceptable action, whereas were he to destroy wayside flowers, this would be considered morally wrong. Of course, clearly this team of philosophers haven't fully grasped the subject at hand, and still wish to justify their bread and cakes.

No, I'm not trying to say that through adopting a fruitarian lifestyle, harm to plants would cease. At least, surely not initially, but certainly I have no doubts it could be greatly lessened. Much of a fruitarians fair obtained commercially is grown through very destructive farming methods, perhaps especially the annual monocrops of tomatoes and cucumbers. And to be sure, some degree of "weeding" will likely be necessary for a good while longer. I'm not in denial of any of that, but in the long run, even such annual foods could be grown sustainably, especially if people begin taking responsibility for their own food cultivation to as little or great extent as possible.

Fruitarianism would mean a shift toward fruit tree based agriculture, and ultimately shift the consciousness of humans to make them understand and apply better more biodiverse farming methods that are in harmony with healing the planet from the devastation we've cruelly and ignorantly inflicted upon it. Humans, animals and plants would all ultimately benefit.

Topsy-Turvy World - 16 - Truly Weird Diets

Now if you happen to consider fruitarianism as extreme and radical, perhaps you need to look around you more..

I mean, to me, the real reason why fruitarianism may be viewed as way out there, and unbalanced, is because generally speaking, the average diet of the average citizen has moved so far off the track of sanity, that the garden of Eden diet has suddenly become some whacko weird abnormality.. Whereas  the general run of the mill omnivorous diet has through time adopted a glow of normality that makes it difficult to see beyond it.

Recently a bunch of school kids in the US were taken on a field trip to see how "beef" was produced. Faced with the plain cold bloody goriness of the reality behind their burgers, the trip had to be cut short, with many children left traumatised from the experience.

Traumatized kids after a field trip to a slaughterhouse

From the loading bays, to the pneumatic bolt to the brain stunning process to the blood on the floor and anguished cries from the cows and stress loaded air, to the chained back legs and brutal "bleeding to death" end..

Now that's extreme! Extremely unnecessary! Read more of the pleasant days outing here:

http://newsweak.com/exclusive/school-field-trip-tour-of-slaughterhouse-traumatizes-children

Compare instead a trip to an apple orchard where apples are being harvested.. The kids would potentially have great fun and get home happy without the need for counseling.

OK.. I've just this second been informed via facebook, that newsweak actually provide 100% fictional stories, but fiction or not, the results of such a supposed day trip would likely result in a similar outcome..

But wait! Things can get even more bizarre, people all over the globe eat things that are just so weird it'd make any sane alien wonder just what's wrong with this planet..

I've even heard several reports of human fetuses being a valid culinary fair in certain parts of East Asia..  Apparently they're considered a delicatessen and, obtained through abortion clinics, fetch a high restaurant price. Some of the pictures supplied as evidence for this practise are pretty disturbing so if you search around for it, be warned.. Here's write up I recently stumbled upon..

http://www.weirdasianews.com/2007/04/02/cannibalism-in-china-acceptable-if-for-health/

From an online Swedish newspaper, I also read recently that people are even eating shit medicinally, - And not even their own!

http://www.aftonbladet.se/kropphalsa/mage/article8091641.ab

In my opinion not anywhere nearly as bizarre, in Italy one prized (and illegal!) dish eaten is called Casu Marzu, and is a decomposing sheeps milk cheese, infested with maggots! - Make sure you chew the maggots fully, as apparently they can survive the stomach acid and take up internal residency, -  even making use of diabolical mouth-hooks that can lacerate your stomach linings or intestinal walls as they attempt to drill through your internal organs! Yummy!

Over in China, if you're a russian roulette fan, one can feast on blood clams, they're found on the Shanghai black market at exorbitant prices, and are famed for harbouring hepatitis, typhoid, and dysentery, but only a small percentage (less than 10%), and supposedly delicious, so worth the risk (I think NOT!)..

Maybe in light of such meals, a bowl of strawberries doesn't seem so unappealing?!

Well.. some might point out that pointing from one extreme to another doesn't stop extremes being extreme, and I'm not denying that. I believe humans have somehow fallen from grace, and from living one-time purely natural healthy existences in a garden of eden setting where compassion and love ruled supremely, they have fallen into a deep dark pit of despair anguish and suffering fully reflected by demented food choices.. I do not believe the middle of these 2 extremes is a healthy balance.

What's the best fruit to eat to cure ..... ?

One of the most common questions I get asked from people is "what is the best fruit to eat to help recover from such and such a disease?", or "to receive this or that result?" - Like someone might read of my eye colour change on a fruitarian diet, and then ask me "what's the best fruit to eat to change my eye color?".. or they might have some weird form of ailment, specific type of cancer, or wish to know how best to recover from chemotherapy etc, and they want my advice on what particular fruit would be best for them to eat.

Hanging out on a rock.

Well, firstly I want to state that I'm clearly not a "doctor". Which is really ultimately who you should see if you want something to be prescribed to you.

Secondly, I can really see that anyone asking such questions does not fully get fruitarianism yet.

The thing wrong with the whole specific question "What should I eat?", is that it supposes that somebody somewhere has a better idea of what one should eat than you yourself do. And you are truly mistaken if you think that to be so.

The simplicity of true fruitarianism is that a fruit diet is by it's very nature cleansing and healing, thus whatever it is that might be unsettling you, dis-ease-ing, bothering or generally plaguing you, provided things haven't been pushed beyond a theoretical point of no return, then adopting a fruit only diet will eventually render things right once more. Or as right as the body is capable of becoming..

Thus, if your eyes are brown because of any previously health degrading diet, then eating fruit will eventually clean things up to the point where if you live long enough you're eyes will once more return to the colour they should be..

"How long will that take?" Is the question I then get asked.. But how can I or anyone else possibly know the answer to that? Especially when we all have such specifically differing histories, different ages, states of health, varying genetic backgrounds, different living environments, etc etc. The truth is, changing ones diet to all fruit may still not be solely enough to attain the results one would like to see. For instance, one's eye colour may naturally be brown, and no amount of cleansing will alter that, or ones living and working environment may be so polluted that results may be much slower in occurring, or ultimately hindered or prevented until one makes changes or moves out from whatever circumstances one is in..

About to take a shower.

Live in a clean environment, and adopt a steady fruit diet, and I believe within weeks one will see results already, within months most semi-serious afflictions should be history, and within a year or more, you should be content with your path and singing the praises of the fruit only diet..

But the truth is, there are all manner of obstacles that stand in our way toward that one year goal. - Addiction and cravings being likely foremost, and it is unlikely that few will be capable of adopting and sticking to a purely fruit diet. Then socially we will be under a lot of pressure to stop being stupid and eat more sensibly, and if you don't have strength of character and conviction that what you are doing is right, then of course failure at fruitarianism is a likely result.

Don't take my word for it. I am not really telling you that fruit is right, and will definitely help you out. Quite frankly I don't want that responsibility. This is not to say that I personally don't believe what I'm writing. I have 100% faith in what I talk about, but that still doesn't make me right. Perhaps I have grossly erred. That is for you and you alone to decide..

So back to the specifics.. Why can't I help on which specific fruits are best for any given occasion? Well, the truth is that much as I believe human physiology is basically the same for every individual human on the planet (thus I personally have no doubt that a 100% fruit fruitarian diet is ultimately the correct diet for all humans), the specifics at any given point in time can vary greatly. Thus if I'm hungry right now, and the thing that appeals most is orange juice, then orange juice is what I should eat/drink.. But it would be complete folly for me to think that that is what you need right now too.. You need to go for what your own inner body intelligence and wisdom tells you is right. Don't listen to anyone else.. Not even me. Especially not me, I'm just some has been IBM system programmer..

Taking a shower.

Of course, you might think that macdonalds is what you truly desire, but I am obviously talking within the boundaries of fruitarianism. So when I say eat what appeals most, I mean eat whichever fruit appeals most, and you can be sure (or at least, I can! - it may take a while for you to personally gain such certainty, or you may never do so, the choice is yours!), that that fruit is the one that you need to be eating right now, and that that fruit is the one which is ultimately speeding you on the way to your goals.

Topsy-Turvy World - 15 - Wasted Money.

Probably most readers are aware of how money is regularly squandered by world governments.. Money that could easily be channeled into solving global famine problems, sickness issues, homelessness, drug issues, orphaned children, crime and more. The world has the resources to tackle such issues efficiently today, but lacking the insight and altruism to do so, chooses instead to channel money toward things that actually maintain the status quo, that help ensure that the bulk of the riches stays within the greedy hands of the minority.

Kveta sunbathing out in the bush.

Millions of dollars are spent on trying to find bogus cures for man made (inflicted through ignorance) illnesses, cancer and the like. Local councils with lack of hindsight and too much money on their hands exhaust funds watering public grass lawns only to spend more time, money and earthly resources mowing them again days later, or using heavy machinery to pick up stray bits of randomly flying litter. And then of course there's the military, I've read previously that globally over 30% of all taxes go toward military funding, and the creation of weapons of mass destruction and training for those brainless pawns that are to dutifully operate them when commanded.. Kveta has just told me that while growing up, a school teacher once stated that the money spent on and by the military is more than enough to buy everyone's food everywhere, such that efficiently redirecting their funds alone could provide us all with free food! Just imagine that the global consciousness shifted, and people realised just how destructive current food choices really are, and instead of focusing on the megamonocrops of cereals, wheat, corn and rice, (depending on climate) etc, the bulk of which probably get forwarded to feeding poor imprisoned and suffering fellow animal brethren, and instead began planting fruit trees, intermingling species and adopting sustainable nonanimal centered permaculture techniques.. How quickly the world could be turned around from its path of suicidal destruction it's currently on.

Eventually of course, I optimistically foresee a time when humans do see the light, and no doubt money too will one day follow the path of the dodo and become extinct.. but meanwhile, while it's still used as a method of procuring ones needs or desires, things clearly desperately need to change.

Some examples of complete money squandering folly I've come across recently, are that the US pentagon spent $19 billion dollars (yes, that's a 19 with sparkling dollar sign before it and 9 zeros after it!) on research to discover that the best bomb detectors are dogs. What insanity and such a sad waste of resources! (read more about this here or here, or just google search the subject).

Me taking a bath.

In Britain, nowhere near the American figure just quoted, but still a substantial amount that could far more wisely be spent, £94,000 has been granted to conduct a study on what makes people attractive.. I mean, honestly! Is this even serious?.. To what end?! (read more here).. If only the government would grant us the same amount for getting some river frontage land to plant exotic tropical fruit trees on, enough to demonstrate sustainable fruit growing through vegan permaculture techniques in practice.. We could make far better use of the money.. We'd invite people over on donation only basis and run month long fruit cures helping people transit in natural settings free of otherwise other temptations. But some are wise, and others are otherwise. And people like ourselves that could desperately be aided by government funding would just be laughed out of their paper pushing bureaucratic offices..

Politicians are constantly squandering money staying in unnecessarily expensive hotels, traveling 1st class, conducting research that leads nowhere, and forever requesting more money to further such studies. Recently I read also of some student who came up with an inner city transport problem solution on a grant of less than $1000, and with money to spare, the local government had previously spent millions, (yes, millions!) trying unsuccessfully to come up with a solution, that some high-school kid solved satisfactorily himself on a limited budget.. I've just been trying to google this but although the news was relatively recent (within the last 2 months), I've not had much luck finding it, but trust me it's there. It happened.

local swimming hole

A little closer to home, here on the East coast of Australia, the Australian government forked out $2 billion to construct and install a desalination plant just south of Sydney. They already knew the inefficiency of desalination from the Victoria one that cost over $3 billion, but the icing on the sugar was that they stuck it less than 3 kilometers from a major Sydney residents sewage outlet.. Jeeze! WHy is even sewage still being pumped into the ocean!? They would have surely been better off spending the money on recycling that waste, rather than extracting clean water from the sea that must be creating 1000s of tonnes of waste mineral products, and what are they going to do with all that, one asks.. This is nothing short of complete and utter madness..

Politicians, Government, Military, I tell you the world would be a lot better off without any of them.. At least not in the form they now are.. I mean, the military could still exist but transform itself to be protectors of the environment instead of zealously jealously paranoiacally  protecting artificially forcefully imposed borders, they the army could protect the land from destruction, the navy, stop pollution in the seas, and the airforce become a responsible body preventing and cleaning up air pollution. Government could coexist with the masses much more harmoniously and less wastefully, shifting focus to the true well being of the planet and all it's inhabitants existing without the potential for wrongdoing that they have, and itself being governed fairly.

Hurry up folks.. we need that global change of consciousness that will lead us out of the tunnel of the dark damp ages, and into the compassionate loving light of a reestablished Earthly Eden.

YES!

Rene Beresford (23/12/1928 - 24/10/2010)

Rene Beresford has moved on. He quit his earthly shackles barely 2 weeks ago, and no doubt finds himself in a space and time of peace and wonder.



For those of you that don't know Rene, he was the founder of the Australian based Fruitarian Network, and toward the end of the 80s and throughout much of the 1990s edited and produced a small informal quarterly newsletter, which was surely an inspiration and encouragement for many world wide, with many wise written words and testimonies on the benefits of the fruit only diet.

Rene was 2 months short of becoming 82, and and surely wasn't having an easy time toward the end, with failing eyesight and mobility problems, I've been told he died with a body riddled with cancer..

A fruitarian dieing of cancer? Yes, that would puzzle me too if it were strictly true. I mean, it's not that I categorically rule out the possibility of a fruitarian with cancer, as there can be other contributing factors besides food intake leading to such physiological situations, but sadly I believe Rene, being originally of dutch decent and background, growing up through Europe in the 2nd world war, suffering many hardships and no doubt other tough life experiences, did not adopt his fruitarian ideas until quite late in life, and despite his seeming conviction to fruitarianism, Rene himself had difficulty putting his own beliefs and philosophies consistently into practise. So, much as he was undoubtedly dedicated to spreading the truth about food, he himself never truly sought out the correct nurturing environment and surroundings to allow integration of such ideas fully into his own life.

I last met the guy toward the end of the 1990s, but had a decent chat with him on the phone barely 7 or 8 months ago.. He expressed at the time some frustration that he had not come to fruitarianism earlier in his life, and wished to indicate that his ails were not at all stemming from a fruit diet, - something I'm sure he'd wish to be made known to any puzzled followers.

In honour of the fellow, there will be a small memorial held this coming sunday (14th November) at 16:00, on the northern end of Trinity beach (Cairns, Australia), anyone who knew him, or of him, is welcome to attend, just bring along an item of fruit or 2 to share, and enjoy the picnic.

Rene's newsletter was most definitely a comfort for me as I myself struggled sticking with fruit and even raw, and it helped to read of and share experiences with others through the informal newsletter, and know that I was far from alone with those struggles (in those pre-internet days, such fruitarian magazines were about the only way we had of connecting with other like minds!). So I'd like to personally thank Rene for being there and being an often voice of reason.

Wherever you're at, enjoy the fruits of your labour Rene!

Strange Abilities - 1 - Echo Location.

For a long time now I have been someone that adamantly doesn't believe in human limitations. Perhaps this is because ultimately I believe that we are all beings of a fundamentally spiritual nature, and even though this is something we often tend to forget on a day to day basis, occasionally the world offers me gentle clues and reminders that this is so. Thus, if you were to ask me if I believe that it's possible to ultimately live without food altogether, I would be inclined to answer "yes". Admittedly, I've yet to physically meet anyone that's put this fully, consistently into practice, and I don't doubt that for the most of us, were we to try, we would no doubt meet untimely ends.. However, I do here occasional news of supposed globally spread breatharians whose stories seem to me (perhaps naively) to be genuine. See for example the case of Prahlad Jani. I believe such incredible feats require to be entered into with a full awareness of ones essential spirituality, and without, are likely (though no 100% guarantee!) doomed to fail.

But even still within the realms of the blatantly physical, the human body is capable of so much more than we are generally aware, incredibly, seemingly miraculous feats of strength, or endurance, or abilities to hold ones breath for extended periods of time, or withstand other extremes.

Recently I've been reading up on something called Echo Location. An ability normally reserved for the likes of sonar clicking Dolphins, Bats and possibly other blind nocturnal animals, but it seems that such qualifications are not restricted to these species alone. Indeed, there's a guy out there called Daniel Kisch who teaches people to echo locate, showing that it's a capability well within the reach of humans. Daniel himself is blind since barely a year old, and probably one of the first people to truly exploit this potential we all have.

This is Dan mountain walking with
a group of fellow echo locators

This is by far from being a one off phenomenon, with many other humans (especially sightless) recently also adopting the skill. I think you'll find the following video quite fascinating:

And if you think that's amazing, there are even dogs out there that use echo location as a means of getting around.. see this story of a German Spitz:

http://swns.com/blind-german-spitz-dog-uses-echoes-to-find-his-way-round-291142.html

And similar:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1324628/Jack-sheepdog-good-knew-blind.html

Weird and wonderful stuff. (More info on Echo Location at Wikipedia)

hugs,
mango.

Me, a few days ago, taking a bath in a wild creek

I'm allergic to Calories.

I'm allergic to calories. They make me sweat and fart and froth and burp. Carbohydrates are killing me slowly, when I look at photos from 30 years ago, I can see how much they've aged me. Vitamins have played their role too, with some hair loss, and not to mention the minerals that have destroyed my teeth. And then there's those dreaded glycogens, proteins and fats which who knows what havoc they've inflicted upon my body over the years.

Oh how I wish I had grown up in a world full of fruit and with guardians with sense enough to understand it's life giving properties. I could have avoided all those ghastly amino acids and sugars that have (rav)aged my body.

My simple understanding of a calorie, is that it is a unit equal to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree at one atmosphere pressure, and as such I fail to see what business they have playing vital parts of our diets. It's rather like eating empty hot air don't you think?

In my opinion, all that pseudo science, of microscopically dissecting the molecules of our food before eating them distances us from the pure simplicity of eating the fresh juicy ambrosial heavenly scrumptiousness of fruit. It degrades the sweet and saporous nectarine to a mound of health threatening sugars and other pathogens. The durian gets transformed from a delectable lump of tantalizingly custard creamy peerless irreproachable bliss into a bunch of dead and decaying vitamins, nefarious fats (god forbid!), and gremlinous amino acids.

The truth of fruitarianism, lies in simplicity, but we live in a world that revolves around fear and scaremongering that simplicity renders simple, and that the true pillars of reality are too complex for the likes of the simple masses..

Thus we have the meat and dairy industry that cleverly marketed us the protein myth, the raw fooders that sell us their goji berries and all it's miraculously magical built in ingredients, and now the new set of fruitarians that want us to think that still wish to insist that we need to understand food content before we can do it properly.. Suddenly, we can't do it ourselves, but need expert opinion and guidance to get there.


I've written this before, but I think it's worth repeating. Take a simple apple and cut it in half. After barely 10 minutes what do you observe? The 2 halves exposed to the air are likely already beginning to discolour.. Slowly becoming increasingly more brown. Put very simply (because, let's face it, I aint no scientist), what's happening is the life force of the food is slowly dissipating. The longer you leave it, the less value it will have as a food.

Now, try grating a different apple, if your observant, you'll notice that the smaller the pieces, the quicker they'll discolour (oxidize). IE, the quicker the true value of the food is lost.. (If you start doing stuff like subjecting the morsels to heat or similar, then the process is yet more rapid and devastating!).

In order to observe those pesky elusive little vitamins and their ilk, food has to be dissected so small that by the time it's sandwiched between the glass under the microscope, you can be sure that any vital, once present, life force is long gone..

Same goes for the amino acids, glycogens, carbos and who really understands what a calorie is? I mean, yeah sure, you might text book quote me any of it, but really you're just blahing stuff that you have no idea about.. How many of us would even recognise a plate full of pure b12 if we saw it, and yet so many tend to talk about it, feigning a familiarity that is entirely within their imaginations.

I don't care for any of it. I also don't believe that anyone can rightly say what anyone else should specifically eat at any given meal.. If you think that you need someone to guide or tell you, then you surely haven't understood the simplicity of fruitarianism. I don't care if someone tells me I ate 40 calories yesterday, or 4000, to me it means nothing, so I'm not into calorie restriction, or the opposite of forcing myself or guilting anyone else into believing they need to get a certain amount each day. I don't give a damn how many (douglas) grams of food I ate in my last meal, and i'm not into ritually forcing drink down my gullet to stay hydrated in the future.

The simple truth of true fruitarianism, 100% fruit, is eat what you want, when you want, drink and eat when hungry, don't eat or drink for tomorrow. we're not camels living in a desert. To avoid issues of not getting enough, avoid situations where there isn't an abundance around you. It's no good planning to do a bike ride or long walk, and eating and drinking everything you think you need before you start out.

If you stick to just fruit, ie fresh raw fruit.. (no leaves, seeds, roots, flesh, etc and none of this dried fruit and nuts that many raw fooders subscribe to), then you will also observe that the desire for water will diminish and provided you are not manically exercising for the sake of it, then probably disappear altogether.

If you stick with fruit, only you can know what and how much appeals at any given point in time, don't ignorantly expect someone else to tell you what to eat. It is folly to believe that anyone knows better than you do.

HaHa!

Don't be mistaken in thinking that avocados are fat. avocados are a fruit. the 801010 people have made a grave mistake in lumping avocados in with the nuts in their pseudo science. All commercially available nuts are cooked. There are no exceptions, even if someone tries to convince you they are not.. the truth is they've all been heat treated, thus their overall effect on the human physiology is bound to be, comparable to cooked food, ultimately detrimental. Avocados are not nuts, and not cooked, or heat treated so their effect is very different and not comparable to that of nuts. Don't be afraid of them, be afraid of the pseudo-scientists that would rather blind you with their half-arsed science and bring you to a sense of fear that they alone have the complex knowledge you need to stay healthy. The truth is free, it's lies that must be paid for.

The next time someone comes up to you and tries to get you to eat protein or calories, be strong, say "no thank you", and turn and walk the other way.. resist the temptation, eat fruit and prosper.

PS don't take this article too seriously. I'm aware that it's unlikely that fruitarianism would stop the aging process completely, I'm just writing tongue in cheek, is all..

Topsy-Turvy world - 14 - Reconstituted Flesh.

Any reader out there a fast food addict? If so, you need to see these pictures..



This is what is known as mechanically separated chicken, which is pretty much how all fast food chicken nuggets and burgers originate prior to being burgered or nuggeted.. It is also where most processed frozen store bought chicken comes from..

This video with it's sickening elevator music shows the latest 21st century technology to manufacture mechanically separated meat (AKA MSM)..

Basically, bones with some flesh, tendons, fat and muscle still intact are forced under high pressure through a type of sieve.. The idea is to separate the supposedly edible parts of the carcass from the inedible bones (thus squeezing every last cent from Gods innocent slaughtered creatures).. However, machinery is a crude mechanism for such a delicate process, and inevitably some of the bone gets crushed through to fine powder, and I have read too that it's often the case that occasionally even pulverised fur, feathers, beaks, eyes, intestines and more make it through to the finished blob of seemingly regurgitated flesh product..

Due to the abundance of thriving bacteria inevitable around such a process, additional ammonium hydroxide is regularly included with the meat mix as an antibacterial agent, meat packing plants typically also use anhydrous ammonia for refrigeration purposes, which occasionally results in ammonia leakages that have been known to infiltrate the processed reconstituted meat destined for sausages and the like..



In order to satisfy consumer preferences for colour taste and texture, additives (those often carcinogenic little E numbers!) are frequently used to artificially enhance the finished product.. Making it appeal to the eye (beauty is surely in the eye of the beholder! because I see nothing appealing about it), and taste so yummy yum yum.. NOT.

This final video I find particularly disturbing.. It shows how mechanical even the people are working in that industry, and how totally unfeeling, cold and lacking in love their environment is..

Fruitarian Interview - 39 - Stacey Barrington

This is the 39th Interview with various fruitarians scattered around the globe, it is with Stacey Barrington, a Canadian actress.. You can read more about her here: Stacey Barrington, and on her frequently updated blog: Go Fruit Yourself.
For further such interviews, please see the list of interviews with fruitarians.

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Hi Stacey,

For the record, can I first ask what year you were born in, and where you grew up?

Sure, I was born in 1969 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I lived in Vancouver until I was 9 then moved to Coquitlam and grew up there until I finished high school.

Is that where you're currently living too?

After high school, I finished my BFA in Theatre and English at Simon Fraser University, then moved to Los Angeles, CA, for almost 6 years. I've been back in Canada now for almost 8 years and have bounced back and forth between Vancouver and Coquitlam a couple times. Funny timing... I'm currently living in Coquitlam but will be moving back to Vancouver at the end of October.


Stacey Barrington
(Celebrating Graduation from SFU - 1995)
How is that corner of Canada as a place to be on a fruitarian diet? Do you find you get enough variety of fruit readily available and affordable there?

We get great fruit here! Whole Foods popped up here just as I was returning from LA and they get in some of the most amazing fruit. Affordable? I really only have LA as a comparison, so some things seem a little more expensive, some a little less... But it all seems to work out to about the same at the cashier.

You've been an actress since an early age right?

You've done your research! Yes, I started acting in Film & Television when I was 9 years old. Mostly commercials and some local print work. I trained in Theatre full time at SFU and it was an incredible experience... However, after I graduated, I found myself gravitating more toward film and television again. I've since worked on a variety of projects from TV series to independent films.

I guess that means you probably travel a far bit too, or is most of your work done within your State?

December 2009

Most of my work is in Vancouver and the surrounding suburbs. A few years back, I had put it out there to the Universe that I'd like to travel more with acting and modeling... The next job I booked was in Whistler. I laughed and thought, okay, a little further than Whistler. The next job? Pemberton! Literally 30 minutes past Whistler. The Universe has such a funny sense of humour.

Do you find whichever studio you are with filming caters well for your fruit needs?

Fruit seriously has to be the easiest food to get on set. That being said, it usually gets gobbled up in the first 6 hours of the day and pickings get a little slimmer after that. I usually bring a bunch of bananas with me in case I get hungry at the end of a long day when the craft table is looking a little light in the fruit department.

I'm sure you've not always been fruitarian though, what was your diet like growing up, and what brought on the changes toward a fruit diet??

I would have never imagined myself being a Fruitarian when I was in university. I lived on Honey Nut Cheerios, Licorice, Pizza, Vodka, Bailey's, Coffee and of course, diet soda of all kinds. Not exactly the poster child of perfect nutrition. Growing up we always had lots of sugary processed snacks in the house and fish or meat at every dinner. Food really became a big issue for me in my teenage years. I found it very difficult to maintain a body weight I felt comfortable with. I tried every diet out there. I'd list them all, but I'd literally have to list them ALL! If you can think of it, I've probably tried it.


Stacey - Pre Raw - September 2005
Then, a little over 4 years ago I had a series of "irregular" pap smears. My doctor was very concerned with the results and had told me that if my next pap smear (scheduled for September) came back irregular again, we'd have to do a cone biopsy of my cervix. She explained this could possibly limit my chances of carrying a child if I ever decided to get pregnant.

Inspired by the desire to possibly have kids one day, I spent the next week researching my options on the internet. I came across raw food. I'd never heard of the concept before but what I read fascinated me. I went 100% raw overnight, but not vegan. I included everything and anything raw: fruit, veggies, nuts, seared rare steak, sashimi, raw milk cheese, vegetable juices, fruit juices and water. It was a pretty drastic change but I was determined to help my body heal itself.

How did that change effect your health and state of mind?

Three months later in September, still 100% raw, I had my first normal pap smear in almost 2 years. I was elated! ... And pretty darn proud of myself. During that time I had lost a little weight but nothing really drastic. At least I wasn't gaining weight anymore. I should also note that in the last 4 years of being raw, all of my pap smears have been normal.

Since my first transition to raw, over the past 4 years, I've slowly taken out the raw meats, fish, cheese ... Mostly for ethical reasons. I had tinkered with Vegetarianism eating cooked food but it never sat well with my body. I always felt bloated and gained weight. After I'd taken out the animal products, I significantly began to reduce the amount of raw dehydrated foods in my diet. Then I stopped juicing vegetables. Juicing veggies just never felt natural and I always felt a little queasy after drinking green juice. Eating Raw Vegan food is by far the best choice I've ever made for my body.


September 2006 - 3 Months Raw
I feel happier eating a Fruitarian diet. I never have to think about my weight anymore, I have almost no body odour, and I've gotten really good at picking the best ripe fruit in the market.

So are you currently eating 100% fruit, or are there some exceptions in your diet? Is everything raw, do you sometimes eat dried fruit? what about supplements?

I'm currently eating about 95% Fruit. I order romaine with guacamole for dressing at restaurants if they don't have any fruit (maybe once a month) and I do make raw dehydrated macaroons at Christmas for family and friends. That's pretty much it. I have been struggling the last couple months with those sugar free energy drinks but have finally put those to rest again and am back to drinking water only.

As far as vitamins go, I had been taking a multi daily over the past couple years. I'm beginning to find them a little hard on my tummy when I eat just fruit so I'm considering switching to a B12 supplement. I'm still a work in progress in that area.

Do you have a partner/family? If so, what is their opinion of your fruitarian diet?

My family is so used to my crazy diets over the decades they just ask me what I'm eating this week then buy it for me, lol. The've been very supportive of my transition to raw food having seen the health benefits I've experienced... And I've finally stopped talking about my weight!

Do other actors you might socialise and work with know of your fruit diet?

I'm actually very vocal about my food choices. If someone asks why I'm not lining up at the catering truck, I tell them I do this crazy fruit diet that I love. Being an actress, people tend to think I'm a tad eccentric anyway. What's funny is lately, when I tell people I only eat fruit, they are quick to respond that they eat a lot of fruit too! That's an interesting shift I've noticed in the last 6 months... Universal consciousness at work? Hmmmm....

What's the strangest question you've ever been asked about your diet?

I don't know about the strangest, but everyone asks me where I get my protein from. I've tried a few different answers over the years. Now I just say I don't really know.... And that there are well documented cases of people living on fruit for over 20 years and they seem fine so I thought I'd give it a try.


Do you know of any other fruitarians living in your area?

No I don't. In sharing my experience with others over the years, several of my close friends are now high raw vegetarians. I'm really happy for them and all the changes they've made.


May 2008 - She ate the fruit on the cake!
If you were to hazard a guess, how many fruitarians would you say there are in Canada.. in The world?

I honestly have no idea. I wish there were a whole lot more! It is such a kind, ethical, environmentally friendly way of living one's life. I really don't understand why everyone doesn't get it. It seems kinda obvious that a Fruitarian lifestyle is the best choice for our bodies and our planet.

As a fruitarian, do you sometimes find yourself facing or making compromises and taking on jobs that you don't necessarily agree with. I mean, how would you feel if some fast food joint wanted you for an ad?

My point of view is that they're going to hire someone for the job. Whether it's me or someone else will not make the difference as to how many people eat meat or frequent fast food restaurants. They can advertise their product all they want but when people, like myself, stop buying it, they'll have to change their product or go out of business. I'm more than happy to cash the cheque and buy fantastic fruit.

Have you ever suggested to someone within the field that they make a documentary on fruitarianism?

Funny you should ask... That's been on my mind lately. I don't personally know a lot of people who make documentaries but I truly believe the general public is almost ready for it. I say almost because I think the majority of people out there are just beginning to grasp the concept of eating raw food. Eating only fruit? I'd love to say everyone could do it tomorrow, but I don't think most people would be comfortable with that idea yet.

There is a great documentary out there called "Earthlings". (See below this paragraph). It's interesting when I mention it to people. So many people don't want to watch it because they don't want to know where their food comes from or how the animals are treated or how their food choices impact their health and the environment.



People do seem to show a little more interest in raw food and fruitarianism when it pertains to losing weight. That seems to be a sad statement to me on where people's priorities lie in the big picture.

Are you able to find enough work acting, or do you sometimes take on other lines of work too?



I've worked as an actress and an acting coach for a very long time. A few years back I got into buying, renovating and flipping residential properties. I really enjoyed it and recently got my licence as Realtor. It's my first "civilian" job (other than waitressing) since I graduated from SFU in my 20's. It's been fun to meet a whole new group of people and my brain is enjoying working in a different way. Acting will always be my number one passion, but Real Estate is becoming a very close second.

Could you give us a rough overview of what (and when - time of day) you might eat on a typical day?

I'm big into mono fruit meals at the moment. Some days I might eat 8-12 bananas and that's it!

Other days I may have a mini watermelon for breakfast, 8-10 Medjool Dates for lunch, then indulge in a Durian for dinner.

I like to eat early in the morning. I'm usually up at 6am every day and find a big fruit breakfast gets my system "moving". I like to nibble on something small for lunch around noon then dinner is usually between 4-7pm. When I'm alone, I eat dinner early. When I'm socializing with friends and family, dinner is usually later.

Do you perhaps have a garden where you grow some of your own food? fruit trees? How much do you think you spend a week on your fruit/food?

Nope, no garden. I'm terrible with plants! I've killed cactus with kindness... I over water them. I buy organic when it's available and otherwise look for the freshest ripest conventional fruit I can find. I probably spend about $100 a week on Fruit and Water. That would include eating out as well.

Have you done much travelling, and if so, any particular places you'ld recommend for fellow fruitarians?

Travelling as a Fruitarian is so easy. I found great little fruit shops in Paris and in North America, you can get fresh bananas at Starbucks and even gas stations! I'd love to travel to Thailand and have fresh Durian right off the tree. I usually buy it frozen and really enjoy it, but it would be awesome to get it at the source.

Any regular pass-times/hobbies?

Raw food nutrition is my biggest hobby. It is slowly morphing into some type of career and I'm excited to watch it take shape. I'm really enjoying developing my website www.gofruityourself.com.

Otherwise I really like hiking, snowshoeing, downhill skiing and ice skating. Gotta do something to make it thru the cold winter months! I also really enjoy taking long hot baths and drinking hot water to warm up during the colder winter months.

Can you name some fruits that you've not tried yet but are looking forward to trying?

Chocolate sapote!! I read Anne Osborne's book "Fruitarianism The Path to Paradise" and she made it sound amazing.



The infamous Chocolate Pudding Fruit
(AKA Black Sapote/Black Persimmon).
Tastes like chocolate mousse
Where and how do you see yourself living and eating in 10 years from now?

That's a good questions. I miss the warmth of LA, but love the beauty of Whistler, and then there's the lure of Europe... I really don't know where I'll be living in 10 years, but I do know that wherever it is, I'll be a happy Fruitarian eating fruit and drinking water.

Finally, is there anything you'ld like to add as words of encouragement to those that are aspiring toward fruitarianism?

Everyone has their own path to follow. I never imagined my raw food curiosity would lead me down a path to Fruitarianism... But I'm really glad it did! Allow yourself to experiment and find what works best for you at your pace. It's not a race and remember to enjoy the process. We all get to the end of our journey eventually.... Why not make it a fruitful one!


February 2009
Thanks Stacey!
Mango.

Fruitarian Interview - 38 - Rejean Durette

Hi Rejean,

I've just gotten through reading the book "The Fruit Hunters", by Adam Leith Gollner, in it he writes a chapter on Fruitarians, and makes mention of yourself, describing you as Americas "foremost authority on fruitarianism", is that a title you feel worthy of?

His book title sounds slightly Neanderthal. I'd rather be considered a lover than a hunter. How about "the fruit lovers". Haha.. I'll have to track that book down somewhere. It sounds very good from what you've said.

I believe that I have a lot of experience with the fruit diet, and that I have done a lot of research as well to back up my convictions. As such, I believe that many people do consider me to be the authority on fruitarian diet. I think that I also provided a no-nonsense approach on how to make it work. It's not just a spiritual philosophy, where you do lots of meditation or some other spiritual practice that enables you to live on fruit. There is very factual science behind the nutrition of a fruitarian diet. Once people realize this, and basically get a calorie sufficient diet of varied fruits, including fats, the diet is usually fairly easy to do. Of course, that's a very short oversimplification, but that's the basic idea.

Well, I wouldn't sing the praises of his book too much, there were some interesting parts, but his description of what he defines as a fruit was pretty confusing, and there's a fair bit of repetition in the book too, - did you ever get to meet the guy?

Can't say that I did.

I know he contacted you because he read your book "Fruit: The Ultimate Diet", to be honest, I've still not come across a copy of it yet, how many copies of it do you think you've sold so far, and is it still popular?


The book sold a few thousand copies, which I believe is a fair bit considering I did absolutely no promotion for it. A large portion of those were printed on my computer when I started, something I would never do again. It sold over a hundred copies at a local health food store down in Phoenix within a short time, perhaps because people could relate to all the local produce I spoke about, and obviously some of those people who read the book may have known about me.

Rejean is an interesting name, it sounds vaguely french, care to enlighten us as to how you pronounce it?

My heritage is 100% french canadian. The name is very difficult to pronounce if you are without french blood. I'm not even sure that my family pronounces it correctly.

I noticed that in your emails, your name appears as "David Owens", is that an alias of yours?

I worked as a radio dj/announcer for a decade or so, and David Owens is my radio name, because my real name was too difficult for people to deal with. Many people know me by that name, for sake of ease, or because they get to know my radio personality that way.

For the record, can I ask what year you were born in?

I was born in 65, in Canada


Rejean Durette AKA DJ David Owens
But you're living in Arizona right? Is that where you grew up too?

Been in Arizona since 88.

Do you have a blog or website where people can read more about you and your thoughts??

I don't have a blog right now, but there is a website at www.fruitarianvibes.com. I haven't updated it much, but there is some great info there.

When and how did you come to the realisation that fruit was, as you put it, "the ultimate diet"?

Probably as far back as 1989. I "flirted" with the idea a little in those days, and was just getting used to being vegan. I was doing mostly raw in August 1992, when I got involved in a relationship with a girl who was vegan, and then I ended up going back to more of a regular vegan diet for a while, but by early 1993, I apparently made an impact on her, and we both went full steam ahead with the idea of being fruitarian together. I believe it was May of 1993.

prior to that were you on a more conventional diet?

Conventional until September of 1989, but went vegan within a month in October of 1989. but was doing a lot of raw food off and on through the next 3 years or so until becoming 100% raw.

What brought on those changes? was it a book you read, influence from someone, anyone, anything in particular?

Prior to 1989, I lived in Canada, and ate a more conventional diet. I had NEVER heard about vegetarianism, but I was never heavy on meat. I can honestly say that I have never purchased a steak in my life and was never big on junk food, such as sodas and candy bars.

When I first came to the southwestern United States desert, I was on somewhat of a spiritual retreat, where I did a lot of meditation and yoga. I spent a lot of time in nature, hiking, biking and swimming. I think that because I have left my family, my career, and basically my entire life behind, it was easy for me to change my life in so many ways.

I ended up volunteering at a local vegetarian restaurant, around the same time that I became vegan in 1989, and I met an individual named Fred, who was fairly excited about the concept of fruitarian diet. He also introduced me to colon cleansing. While I didn't make those changes at that time to a total fruitarian diet, I did embrace the general idea at that time, and started to eat more and more fruit.

I remember one particular day, where I had come back from a long and very wonderful hike in Sedona, Arizona (USA), which is so amazingly beautiful. It had made such an impact on me, and I had started the day with a lot of yoga and meditation. I was definitely in an altered state. I came back to my campsite, in a secluded and peaceful area, and I looked into my refrigerator, and I saw some fish and eggs that there, and it seemed so wrong to eat something so unnatural, and so removed from nature, when I was in such a peaceful and natural place. I held the egg in my hand, and I felt the pain and suffering of the chickens and I understood why eggs were unhealthy, because they are not a food that can be raised in a compassionate way. Eggs have a certain purpose in this world, and it's certainly not to provide food for humans. I had a few oranges in my refrigerator, and I looked at it for a long time, the beautiful radiant almost sun-like quality of it's skin, the fragrance that draws us into it, etc.

What I became aware of for the first time in my life is that everything in this world is energy. The most important way to be aware of our own energy and "monitor" out energy is to eat the highest vibrational food available. It became very clear to me that the highest vibrational foods are ALWAYS fruit. Of course, organic, fresh, local fruits are always better.

I also thought a lot about how we automatically take on the eating customs of our society, our family, without questions; how our taste buds get perverted over time, so the point that we believe that the smell of a roasting dead corpse (meat) smells good to us.

None of this happened in a vacuum. It was partially became I had left my entire life behind, and I had begun to question why I was doing ALL the things I had done my whole life. It was almost like a near death experience where people get to review their entire life.

I changed so many things in my life during that time, not just diet, and looking back, I think it was a fairly magical stage of my existence.

what changes have you observed since those realisations? - weightwise/healthwise, spiritually, physically, emotionally etc?

That's the subject of an entire book, which I have started writing, by the way. Weight has pretty much stayed the same my entire life. Health has always been good. I just did a 13 mile mountain bike ride yesterday and I am planning a 50 mile one for Friday. So, I think I'm doing pretty good.

After just a few weeks on a juice fast, I couldn't stand my glasses anymore that I had worn for almost a decade, and was able to pass my driver's test without them. That's a real physical, measurable thing, and I was very excited about that.

Spiritually, I think is where the diet made the most changes for me. Fruit is the highest vibration of all foods, and I feel that whatever we put into our bodies, we became, at least to some degree. I've heard some so called spiritual types that claimed they could "transmute" the energy of what they put in their bodies, but you can't "transmute" animal suffering, or all the chemicals that are put on the food crops that we eat. They're in the environment working their way into the soils, into the water, etc.

Especially when I'm somewhere in nature, a pristine place, it seems almost sacrilegious when I see people with Doritos and beer, for example. I think that the more people live unnatural lives in cities, they more they tend to anesthetize themselves with wrong foods.

I feel that my mind is free to think and work properly and that my spirit is much more open to so many possibilities, and that I am a much happier person because of the dietary changes I've made.

Being vegan for me, was a lifestyle, not just a diet, and I feel the same about being fruitarian. I don't talk about it much these days, because it's just a part of who I am, I don't strive or try to do it, it just happens on a daily basis, without effort.

OK, I know that you believe in a 100% fruit fruitarianism, but you've also mentioned that you're not quite there yet, what kind of foods are you still eating that aren't fruit?

Dried foods, occasionally, but fairly rarely. I have on occasion eaten at the raw cafe we have here locally, or went to raw potlucks for fun, and eaten some non fruit foods, but I don't think that disqualifies me from being fruitarian. It might in some people's minds I suppose. The longest I have ever went being 100% raw fruitarian is 9 months. Then I might have eaten something that contained some greens or onions or something else raw, but I never really thought much about that. It's not like I broke down and had a cheese burger or anything.

Do you see yourself weening off of those items anytime soon?

I don't know if I would make any changes really. Like I said, it's only an occasional thing, and not something that I do often. Sometimes when I have been at potlucks, I have stuck with all fruit, but I feel that being social, and partaking of something that's 100% raw that a friend has made, is fine.

You managed to snag a 62 acre parcel near phoenix right? What kind of trees have you got growing on their now? how old are they? are they fruiting yet? is there water running through the place?

62 acre parcel is located between Phoenix and Yuma. I have done a fair bit of work there, including bringing the power in, a mobile home, a septic, and a large steel building, but so far, no well, and as such, no trees. Everything takes time (and money).

I have planted about 60 trees, at my other property just north of Phoenix. Those were planted in the spring of this year, (2010), and are mostly all doing quite well. The peaches already fruited, as they were large trees. I have stripped all the furit off the citrus trees to divert their energy into new growth.

I should start seeing some good crops by 2012. That might sound like a long ways into the future, but it's pretty exciting. In 1999, I managed to be 50% food sufficient with 100 fruit trees

What kind of fruits is the climate there not suitable for? anything particular you would like to be growing but can't?

I can't grow tropical fruits like bananas and avocados for example, and I've love to grow them. I have tried though.

Really, no avocados? They are more of a warm temperate fruit than tropical, I'm surprised they wouldn't grow there?!

I have tried to grow them. I have a few trees right now, but they rarely do very well. They need an awful lot of attention. The Arizona desert is too cold AND too hot for a lot of fruits. Avocados need more humidity, and don't like it when it gets over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. While I love avocados, and would be thrilled if I could successfully grow them, it's best if I focus on the things that works well in the Arizona desert, and the list is so long:

I have all kinds of citrus, figs, dates, peaches, plums, apples, apricots, nectarines, almonds, melons, berries, pomegranates, persimmons, guavas, etc.

I am pretty lucky to be able to grow all that variety.

What line of work were you in to manage to scrape the money together for the land?

Some of the money came from the sale of a previous home, and then some came from my current business, growing sprouts !

Is it easy enough to get hold of good quality fruit choices in your area?

Tropical fruits, mostly.

You have a girl friend right? Is she into the fruit thing too?

Yes, oddly enough she is also a fruitarian. What are the odds of that ?

What do other members of your family make of your views on fruitarianism? I'm guessing you've shared your book with them?

Yes, my family is all aware of my dietary choices at this point. I am not sure what they say when I am not around, but I think they're ok with it.

Any kids at all?

I have a son who's 14

So, absolutely no cravings for any cooked foods? or other foods you definitely know are not good choices?

I was never really into most "junk foods", thankfully. People are amazed when I tell them I've never had a Twinkie or a M & M for example. My son was raised the same way, he's still never had a soda or a cookie, for example.

Could you give us a rough overview of what you might eat on a typical day?

Often I start out with a large smoothie, say 8 ounces coconut water, 3 bananas, 1/2 a pound of strawberries, maybe some mango, blueberries, raspberries, a kiwi, whatever I"m in the mood for....

This time of year, I eat a lot of watermelons, today I ate watermelon and then at around 1 or so, I had 3 avocados with a couple tomatoes, a some red peppers. After that I had a few figs and I will probably eat a few more bananas and maybe a few oranges, and that's about it.

How much of your food do you grow yourself? How much do you think you spend a week on your fruit/food?

Not much right now, except for watermelons, tomatoes and peppers.

I spend probably $150 a week on food, ouch.

Well, $100 to $150, depending on.....how rich I feel at the moment.

You say you have another book in the works, care to tell us more of what it'll be about?

Yes, a couple of books in the works, one about the spiritual aspects of the diet, and the other on a completely, ok, on a somewhat different topic, about dreams and out of body experiences!

Have you done much fruit travelling? any particular places on the globe you are particularly fond of?

Fruit travel, yes, my entire life is a fruit travel. I grew up in northern Canada, where it was too cold to even grow apples! Berries do grow abundantly there, and the last few years, I planned a visit there during wild blueberry season. During that time, there is also all the following berries in the wild: Saskatoons, cranberries, high bush cranberries, pincherries, chokecherries, and raspberries. My partner and I ate 5 gallons of blueberries combined in a six day period, and that's not counting all the other berries we ate.

I have also spent time in California, Florida, Mexico, South America and my favorite Hawaii, where I was fortunate enough to spend time on a few farms. How I love those Hawaiian papayas.

Can you name some fruits that you've not tried yet but are looking forward to trying?

Oh, nothing really that I am that excited about trying at this point.

Do you know any (or many!) other 100% fruitarians, or people headed that way?

Can't say that I know any personally, except for my partner, Holly.

Could you hazard a guess of how many 100% fruitarians there might be, in the US? in the world? Do you think the idea is spreading?

There must be at least 7 worldwide, maybe 8 or 9 by now, so I guess it must be spreading. Haha. I have no idea, but there are more than ever.

Do you're friends and neighbours know you're on a pretty much mostly fruit diet, and if so, what do they make of it?

Most of my neighbours have no idea, but most of my friends figure it out over time, and they seem to be alright with it.

My sister in law was worried as to how she was going to feed me once, and my brother said, don't worry about him, he'll take care of himself. That makes it super easy. Sometimes my family will try, but they tend to sometimes forget that I don't like to eat non organic foods.

Where and how do you see yourself living and eating in 10 years from now?

I enjoy where I live now, because I am right by a creek, and I can run down there on my bike and swim, which I would do every day if time permitted, but some days I can't squeeze it in.

I do like Hawaii a lot, but I do detest mosquitoes. I don't live where my house is, at least not yet, but I do foresee a time when half of my food could come from that place. The southern desert part of Arizona is great for year round food production. When I lived there before, I averaged 15 pounds of fruit per day, YEAR ROUND out of my back yard, which was only 1/2 an acre total, and that was after only 3 years. In 7 years time, I probably would have averaged 30 pounds of fruit per day.

Finally, is there anything you'ld like to add as words of encouragement to those that are aspiring toward fruitarianism?

I get a lot emails and questions from people, and I always tell them that they need to take baby steps. So many people think they can go from a meat and junk food based diet to full fledged fruitarianism, and they always fail miserably.

Go it slow, and do it step by step. Also, you don't have to be 100%. I tell people that if they can just increase their fruit intake by a little, that's a huge help. The average person only eats about 5% of their diet as raw food. Increasing that to say, 20% for most people would be massive. Not only from the great health benefits of the fruit, but also from the items in their diet they have replaced.

Also, I like to point out that there is no one thing in this world that can change you and make you 100% healthy. You can't forget exercise, getting enough sleep, what you do to support yourself, creating great relationships with people, etc. Like most people, I struggle with some of these things, and I am in no way perfect, but I like to think that I see health as a much larger thing than just diet.

The other thing is that people get far too focused on science, vitamins, minerals, etc. I tell people that no matter what fruits they like, they're all good. If you like peaches a lot, eat plenty of those, but don't force yourself to eat oranges if you have trouble getting them down, for instance. Eat fresh, local and organic as much as possible.

Well, that's a few ideas, I suppose, there's always lots to share about this way of life. Oh, by the way, I got involved with the sprout business when I first became vegan, and it has supported me for a long time, but I have also added some fruit offerings to what I deliver to the stores, such as some locally grown dates, and coconuts, and occasionally some other items, but I stick with fruits.

Thanks for the opportunity to share a bit of this info with you

Thanks Rejean!

Life in the Tropics..

Well, it's been over 9 months since Kveta and I upped and left Sydney. Saying our final goodbyes to the warm temperate zone, and relocating to the hot tropics of Far North Queensland..

As most of you know already, we were accompanied by Emile and David, 2 young American filmmakers who hired a car for the occasion and followed us up and along the coastline of Eastern Australia. They took well over 40 hours of footage of the 2 of us and others we met en route (including some of the participants of a December 801010 gathering held in this neck of the woods)..

Apparently, the 25 minute documentary they knocked together was initially aired to an audience of about 200 in the US, and met with favourable views promoting some of the audience to give fruitful thought to the idea of fruitarianism.. Unfortunately, Kveta and I have still not seen the full video, (the introduction to it is still available for viewing on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LzleNRtyRg, but we have little doubt we will get to see it soon, (we believe that Emile, the director/editor), is knocking together a longer 1 hour plus version, and when he has finished that task, will likely forward us a copy of both versions)..

Initially when we arrived in the tropics, we had no real idea of where we would end up living.. Our first goal was to get to Mareeba, where we optimistically hoped to find ourselves a piece of paradise to live on..

We were thankful to be offered a place to be for a while at a tropical fruit farm called fruitopia (http://www.fruitopiafarm.com/ - this was where the December 2009 801010 gathering was held)..


The Granite Creek Swimming hole at Fruitopia.
This is still one of my favourite places to go swimming..

Our goal was, and still is to find ourselves an affordable river frontage property, secluded enough to practise naturism, with good clean soil for planting as many fruit trees as we can take care of between the 2 of us, and good surrounding nature for exploring some..

Although we appreciated Fruitopia for the roof it offered us, there were reasons why neither of us really would have considered being there for the long term, - having our own space for privacy being perhaps one of the major reasons.. But also, Clinton, the owner, had made prior arrangements for another family to move into the place we were at come February, so after some pretty frantic searching for a while, we somehow managed to find our current rental property, in Mareeba..

We're in a reasonably quiet area, 2 roads back from the Barron River, where Kveta and I generally go swimming several times a week. We have found a nice spot where so far, we haven't really seen other people swimming yet..


Kveta in the distance, swimming in the Barron river, Mareeba

Kveta Swimming in the Barron River
The place we're renting is on the corner of a crossroads, it is a 2 bedroomed on-stilts Queenslander house with a back and front lawn.. In the back garden, we have a large mango tree and an equally large tamarind tree.. the tamarinds are currently fruiting, and the tree is loaded.. YUM! The mango tree is both flowering and with early fruits.. We expect to be eating them in abundance by December..

It's difficult to get any good picture of our garden due to the angles and stuff..

Our front garden is mostly lawn, but since we've moved in, we are gardening along the fence-line.. we have planted probably around 90 pineapple tops that are all looking very healthy.. around 20 pawpaw trees from seed, the tallest of which is already nearly chest high!, and one of them is flowering already!! - Shows you how quickly things grow in this corner of the world..

If you count all the little seedling pawpaws we have too, then we have hundreds of them..

tomatoes and cucumbers we have had an abundance of, and we're currently experimenting with growing our own tomatoes upside down.. (several plants have been given makeshift pots from netting and newspaper, and are hanging from our car port growing slowly)..

Several passion-fruit vine have been planted along the fence-line too, and although none are flowering yet, I feel one will probably start in the next few months..

Between the 2 of us, we generate quite a lot of fruit compost, all of which gets buried in our garden, in fact generally we bury it, cover it with soil, and then plant a garden on top of it.. consequently we have an abundance of fruit tree seedlings sprouting up in the garden.. including durian, akee, chempadek, jackfruit, avocado and many more.. (otherwise, apart from cardboard boxes - which get reused until falling to bits, and the odd free newspaper, we generally don't produce any rubbish)

Our next door neighbour, at the back of us, is very kind and often brings us fruit to eat, especially pawpaws growing wild on some land they have someplace, and frequently give us passion fruit and avocados too..

We have also become friends with a couple of local no spray organic farmers, and frequently buy boxes of cucumbers and tomatoes at really give away prices.. Plus pawpaws, pineapples and other fruit..

Both Kveta and I are in writing mode at the moment, and writing our separate books on the fruitarian philosophy, daily.. hence I am much less present on the internet than before, and consequently neglecting my blog some too..

We are both doing otherwise well, and still hoping to someday find ourselves the river frontage property we so dream of living on.. At the moment, as neither of us have savings of any real value, affordable rental is our only apparent option, but one never knows.. the universe works in mysterious ways, and we both believe strongly that we will find what we are looking for..

Peace and hugs to you all,
Mango.