Raw veganism

Raw veganism

Motivations

In addition to the ethics of eating meat, dairy, eggs and honey, a raw vegan may be motivated by:

Health reasons

Raw vegans believe that cooking foods destroys the complex balance of micronutrients. They also believe that, in the cooking process, dangerous chemicals are produced by the heat interaction with fat, protein, and carbohydrates.

Environmental reasons

Some raw vegans are concerned about deforestation and sustainability, believing the use of wood or fossil fuels for cooking is harmful to the environment.

Spiritual and/or philosophical reasons

Most dedicated followers of a raw vegan diet place importance on spiritual gain. Ruthann Russo states, “The raw food movement looks at the way food, living, treatment of the earth, our treatment of each other, and our quest for physical, spiritual, and mental health all fit together.

Other considerations

Like all people, raw vegans must ensure that their intake of vitamin B12 is adequate, since it is produced by bacteria and does not occur reliably in plant foods. Vitamin B12 deficiency can have serious consequences such as anemia and neurodegenerative disease. The Vegan Society and Vegan Outreach, among others, recommend that vegans either consistently eat foods fortified with B12 or take a B12 supplement. Tempeh, seaweed, spirulina, organic produce, soil, and intestinal bacteria have not been shown to be reliable sources of B12 for the dietary needs of vegans. Vitamin B12 can be found in Nutritional Yeast. Nutritional Yeast is a reliable source of B-complex vitamins and Cyanocobalamin (B12). Two tablespoons can provide 133% of a raw vegan’s daily needs of B12.

References

^ Au naturel: the raw food revolution – raw food diet by Lori Tobias (Nov, 2002) Better Nutrition – BNET

^ “What every vegan should know about vitamin B12”. Vegan Society. http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/nutrition/b12/. Retrieved 2007-02-22. “Vitamin B12, whether in supplements, fortified foods, or animal products, comes from micro-organisms.” 

^ Jack Norris, RD (2003-04-18). “Staying a Healthy Vegan”. Vegan Outreach. http://www.veganoutreach.org/health/stayinghealthy.html#vitamind. Retrieved 2007-02-22. “There are no reliable, unfortified plant sources of vitamin B12; therefore fortified foods and/or supplements are necessary for the optimal health of vegans.” 

^ “Vitamin B12 Information Sheet”. Vegetarian Society. http://www.vegsoc.org/info/b12.html. Retrieved 2007-02-22. “any B12 present in plant foods is likely to be unavailable to humans and so these foods should not be relied upon as safe sources.” 

^ “Vitamin B12 (cobalamin)”. Merck Manual Home Edition. http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec12/ch154/ch154h.html. Retrieved 2006-10-30. 

^ “Healthy choices on a vegan diet”. Vegan Society. http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/nutrition/. Retrieved 2007-02-14. 

^ Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D.. “Vitamin B12 in the Vegan Diet”. Vegetarian Resource Group. http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/b12.htm. Retrieved 2007-02-22. 

^ “Don’t Vegetarians Have Trouble Getting Enough Vitamin B12?”. Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/b12.html. Retrieved 2007-02-22. 

^ “What every vegan should know about vitamin B12”. Vegan Society. http://www.vegansociety.com/html/food/nutrition/b12/. Retrieved 2007-02-22. “Vitamin B12, whether in supplements, fortified foods, or animal products, comes from micro-organisms.” 

^ Jack Norris, RD. “Vegan Health: B12 in Tempeh, Seaweeds, Organic Produce, and Other Plant Foods”. veganhealth.org. Vegan Outreach. http://www.veganhealth.org/b12/plant. Retrieved 2007-02-22. 

^ Jack Norris, RD. “Vegan Health: Are Intestinal Bacteria a Reliable Source of B12?”. veganhealth.org. Vegan Outreach. http://www.veganhealth.org/b12/int. Retrieved 2007-02-22. 

^ Nutritional Yeast Food Nutritional Facts http://www.bulkfoods.com/nutritional_yeast.htm Retrieved 2010-02-06

See also

Fruitarianism

Veganism

Raw foodism

External links

Tim VanOrden’s Raw Veganism project

Raw Veganism Info for Travelers

Raw Food Vegan Diet May Produce Light but Healthy Bones

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Vegetarianism

Diets

Sattvic diet  Veganism  Raw veganism  Fruitarianism

Semi-vegetarianism

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Animal byproducts

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Basic topics

History of vegetarianism  Vegetarianism by country  List of vegetarians  Environmental vegetarianism  Economic vegetarianism  Ethics of eating meat

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Organizations

and events

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