One of the reasons I bailed on the 100% raw food diet was that I found it more and more absurd consuming large amounts of non-local foods (like cashews & other nuts, cacao, coconuts, agave, avocados) in order to recreate raw versions of my favorite comfort foods. Sandwiches, cheesecake, ice cream, pizza and so on. The carbon footprint was one issue, and forcing my body to derive 90% of its nutrients from food that grows on the other side of the world was another--not only is a raw tropical diet unsustainable for those not living in tropical regions energy-wise, it's totally inappropriate for our bodies. Add to that the sheer silliness of $80 raw pumpkin pies, $20 raw lasagna, desserts made with more cashews and coconut oil than a human should consume in an entire week, and then there was the pettiness amongst the global raw community, lashing out to attack those who chose to include animal foods in their diets for health reasons and condescending pretty much everyone else...well, the whole thing started to look like a circus to me.
If you like cheesecake, have a goddamn piece of cheesecake once in a while. And if you're on edge all the time, nervous, easily agitated, weak, frail and have deteriorating teeth, please, put down your raw food bible and listen to your body. I was once a proselytizing raw vegan and I have holes in my teeth to prove it. Raw milk and grass-fed meat saved my life, I believe. Eat as much raw food as you can, as much of it local as you can, but please don't do what i did and let dogma be your dietary guide.
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