|
It is no doubt considered by many that fruitarianism is the next step on from veganism.. however, It is my opinion that the 2 concepts, although of relatively similar natures, are actually parallel ideas, each having their own separate impact on our lives and the world about us, and neither one of them being a subset of the other.. I suppose, on examining the following brief list: .. Carnivorism, Omnivorism, Vegetarianism, Veganism, Fruitarianism, Breatharianism.. Veganism does seem to fit so naturally into the order allocated, but to me, and probably most others out there, who choose to label themselves vegan, veganism as a concept, has never been, and never will be, a diet.. Admitted, diet plays such a major role in the average vegan lifestyle, but veganism itself is a statement of nonviolence and compassion, and is mostly an attempt to abolish ethically unacceptable items (predominantly anything which originates or has part origins from within the animal exploitation industry) from our consumer choices.... - Naturally much of this on a daily basis will be food items, but the dietary factor is basically a side issue.. (Albeit a very major one!).. Our choices as vegan consumers extend to the nonpurchase of items manufactured in part, or in whole, from animal skins, items that may have been tested on animals (including medicines - drugs/poisons - cosmetics and toiletries), and other items which might contain hidden animal ingredients (e.g. milk powder, gelatin and animal fats concealed all to often within various products - Make a habit of checking the ingredients lists!) So, for many, veganism is such a moral concern, that it seems to say it all, and fruitarianism, if considered at all, is generally looked upon as being somewhat radical, perhaps a little frightening, or something way beyond reach, or even desire to reach.. Veganism is a philosophy of moral, which when put into practice, affects our diets and lifestyles profoundly.. Fruitarianism is a philosophy of diet, which when put into practice, affects our morals and lifestyle profoundly.. The 2 are complementary, and when practiced together will cause our lives to have even less impact on the environment and the ecosystem of flora and fauna, than either one will do, practiced without the aid of the other. Life is a stream of continuos discoveries and realizations.. And for many we are forever refining our lives based on new things we learn. For myself, there is great desire not to be an unwitting passive supporter, at any level, of the ongoing global destruction. Practically this involves the choices I make daily as a consumer, and my lifestyle in general. I know I do not always succeed, and my habits are not always the best, but the intention is there, and hopefully there is ongoing improvement at some level.. Where does fruitarianism come into this you may wonder? Well as a vegan, I believe that much of what we generally eat may not be as ethically sound as we would like to believe.. on many subtle levels.. To begin with, much of the cereal food which tends to play such a major role in the average vegan's diet often causes a considerable amount of destruction.. Monocrop agriculture is really quite unnatural, labour intensive, and most often annual - as opposed to perennial - (thus heavy machinery is used at various stages within the yearly cycle, causing unknown loss of habitat, as well as life, of various small wildlife). Admittedly with modern machinery, the effort involved appears, at a glance, to be economically viable, but the actual energy used to produce one loaf of bread is really quite enormous. Combustible fuels are not inexhaustible, and the constant usage of heavy machinery on land is accumulatively destructive, and will cause desertification if practiced continuously over extended periods.. Naturally there are less harmful ways of farming to produce desired foods, but generally these are not practiced and if they are it is rare that their produce is readily available (or affordable) in shops.. Fruitarianism proposes, for various reasons, to increase dietary consumption of fruit, and consequently decrease (eventually eradicate completely) our consumption of cereal foods, and cooked foods in general. By freeing land from yearly turning and plowing, and instead planting edible fruit trees we can help restore the planets ecosystem. Fruit trees, once mature enough to bare fruit, can do so for sometimes as many as 20 or 30 years or longer, requiring comparatively very little maintenance, and much less expenditure of energy in harvesting. The overall production of food quantity (as well as quality) per land space will also be greatly increased - Long term global profit as opposed to short term economical greed. Cooking itself, not practiced within fruitarian philosophy, but generally not even considered an issue within vegan thoughts, is a highly destructive process and extremely wasteful in terms of energy consumption, and nourishment lost from within the food (destroyed by extremes of heat). Pursuing fruitarianism daily, one finds that needs, in terms of kitchen possessions, are greatly reduced.. No need for all those pots and pans of questionable origin.. No need for the stove and the oven.. No need for all those fancy knives and funny shaped instruments that I never learnt the names of.. No need of the gas or electricity for heating.. No need for that strange liquid soap that cannot possibly be environmentally friendly regardless of how the label might tell you otherwise.. No need for all that water wastage in the washing-up process.. (No need for the water to be heated to wash-up..) The world does not have enough resources for every family to have it's own oven or wood fire.. Where does that gas come from? Where does the electricity come from? What does it really cost the earth? As Gandhi is quoted to have once said, "there is enough in this world for everyone's needs, but not enough for everyone's greeds..". On a predominantly fruit diet, a small bowl a spoon and a knife are handy tools, but not even these are necessary.. But if you are really opposed to having a kitchen void of all the mod-cons, consider perhaps investing in just a good juicer..? Also, cooking - being only a relatively new phenomenon and actually quite an unnatural thing to do to ones food - is not exactly what the body needs in order to maintain optimum health, or to heal oneself to that state, and will. to the contrary, in fact be detrimental to ones health, especially if practiced over longer periods, as is generally the case when fruitarian raw food philosophy is not exercised to its fullest.. A waning of health will effect our minds as well as overall functioning of the body, and with a deteriorating health we are less likely to make sound ethical consumer choices.. On a fruitarian diet, our consumer power is generally exercised more in terms of packaging, - very little is needed, and it is quite easy to reuse plastic bags many many times, or better still use canvas, cotton or other natural fiber long lasting multi-usable ones.. No need for all those soy milk cartons, oil containers, tin cans and prepackaged foods which take up so much of the average vegans shopping trolley space.. From a purely health point of view, it has been proven through comparative anatomy that humans are basically a frugivorous species, every animal out there eats its food as nature offers it, and it seems to be only humans that live under the false assumption that food, as nature presents it, can be improved upon by mixing and heating it.. Consequently, we also appear to be the sickest species in existence, together with other animals that we unfortunately (for them) have chosen for many exploitive reasons, to live in close contact with.. Cooked food is generally depleted of it's life force, and when taken internally, will weigh heavily on the digestive system, and often be broken down and reduced and stored within the body as mucus.. Mucus is the underlying cause of pretty much all of human ailments.. - Medical science would have us believe that microscopic bugs known as germs and bacteria are the generally unavoidable cause of most of what ails us, but the germs can only exist if the terrain for them to exist in is already present!! This terrain is commonly known as mucus, and if your body is free of it, or relatively so, you can walk into a room full of coughing, sneezing, runny nosed, fluey, spluttery people, and sit with them for days on end, even go round kissing and hugging them all if you wish, but still never "catch a cold"!! .. As a vegan, surely it would be a sounder alternative to opt for a diet which will steer you away from physiological dispositions in which you will be more likely to contract illness and be tempted to take medicines which are pretty much all of dubious nonvegan origin..? And surely also that if the vegan aim is to reduce suffering, this should include our own. Only through having clear thoughts and a healthy body can we reach our full potential.. All I have done here is scratch the surface in a hopeful attempt to prove there is something underneath.. For more Information on the fruitarian lifestyle, Ren? Beresford of "The Fruitarian Network Around the World" can be contacted (P.O. Box 293, Trinity Beach, Qld. 4879) (fruitnet@ozemail.com.au) - He produces a quarterly newsletter and brings together many like-minded souls from all corners of the globe.. Alternatively, please feel free to contact myself on my email address (given below).. Vegans and Fruitarians unite!!
Peace, love, durian, hugs and laughter to all sentience.. |
