Mushrooms on a Fruitarian Diet.

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

Is eating mushroom ok for fruitarians?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fruitarian Food Pyramid concept:

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


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

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

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

Crazy World News - 10 - Malawi set to illegalize flatulence

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

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

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

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

Malawi to ban farting

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

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

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

Should We really Eat Meat??

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



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

Should we eat meat?

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

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


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

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