I had a raw food friend stay over recently and she ate like a horse – continously! She admitted to me her diet has become a problem: it drains all of her spare money – which means as a student she’s in debt and living in poverty. The search for suitable raw organic food is a constant pursuit which occupies a large part of her time and money. She experiences great anxiety at the thought of eating anything cooked because she has swallowed the big lie that “cooked food is toxic.”

With some people I have met who are into Raw it is I believe a massive ego trip. It’s ALL they talk about, it occupies their time and their life and they want to ram it down not just your throat – but everyone elses too. Yes, like you say, it’s more like a religion.

Me, I enjoy the best of both worlds – I think it’s great to eat clean, raw food as well as having the great pleasure to eat Granmas delicious and nutritious home baked lasagne I had the other night!

http://leni.wordpress.com/2006/09/24/salad-the-silent-killer/

I did know a fisherman from Louisiana, though, who would take his share of sashimi straight off the tuna while it was still flopping. He was definitely not a raw-foodist, just hardcore about his fish.

I haven’t always been the biggest fan of veggies flavorwise, but I’ve been reforming. My grindy-axe is with vegetarians who insist that meat isn’t nutritious, not with vegetables in and of themselves.

So the more veggies the better. Cram ‘em down. Unlimited amounts.

On the other hand, equally tasty things like meat and nuts are fat- and calorie-dense, which though not necessarily a bad thing, means we need to express more moderation in the amounts we eat.

As someone who loves veggies both cooked and raw but who also loves meat (I like beef warmed up just enough to kill the e. coli, salmon and tuna raw when safe/possible, but pork and chicken definitely thoroughly done through) and has a serious nut addiction, I’ve no agenda or axe to grind. Just tryin’ to stick up for the veggies. They’re our pals.