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Raw veganism is a diet which combines veganism
Veganism

Veganism is a diet and lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose. Vegans endeavor not to use or consume animal products of any kind....
 and raw foodism. It excludes all food of animal origin, and all food cooked above 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit). A raw vegan diet includes raw vegetables and fruits, nuts and nut pastes, grain and legume sprouts, seeds, plant oils, sea vegetables, herbs, and fresh juices. There are many different versions of the diet, including fruitarianism
Fruitarianism

Fruitarians eat in principle only the fruit of plants.Some people consider themselves fruitarians even if their diet is not 100% fruit. Usually fruitarians who include foods other than fruit follow a vegan diet....
, juicearianism, and sproutarianism
Sproutarianism

Sproutarianism is a diet consisting mainly of edible sprouts, a form of raw foodism. One who practices sproutarianism is said to be a sproutarian....
.






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Raw veganism is a diet which combines veganism
Veganism

Veganism is a diet and lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose. Vegans endeavor not to use or consume animal products of any kind....
 and raw foodism. It excludes all food of animal origin, and all food cooked above 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit). A raw vegan diet includes raw vegetables and fruits, nuts and nut pastes, grain and legume sprouts, seeds, plant oils, sea vegetables, herbs, and fresh juices. There are many different versions of the diet, including fruitarianism
Fruitarianism

Fruitarians eat in principle only the fruit of plants.Some people consider themselves fruitarians even if their diet is not 100% fruit. Usually fruitarians who include foods other than fruit follow a vegan diet....
, juicearianism, and sproutarianism
Sproutarianism

Sproutarianism is a diet consisting mainly of edible sprouts, a form of raw foodism. One who practices sproutarianism is said to be a sproutarian....
. Sometimes the definition of a raw vegan diet is loosened to include vegan diets with at least 75% raw foods.

Motivations

In addition to the ethics of eating meat
Ethics of eating meat

In all societies, Ethics issues regarding the consumption of meat have arisen. Ethical objections are generally divided in to opposition to the act of killing in general, and opposition to certain intensive agriculture surrounding the animal husbandry of meat....
, dairy
Dairy

A dairy is a facility for the extraction and processing of animal milk—mostly from goat or cattle, but also from bovine, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption....
, eggs
Egg (food)

An egg is a round or oval body laid by the female of many animals, consisting of an ovum surrounded by layers of membranes and an outer casing, which acts to nourish and protect a developing embryo and its nutrient reserves....
 and honey
Honey

Honey is a sweet fluid produced by honey bees , and derived from the nectar of flowers. According to the United States National Honey Board and various international food regulations, "honey stipulates a pure product that does not allow for the addition of any other substance?this includes, but is not limited to, water or other sweeteners...
, 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 due to the heat interaction with fat, protein, and carbohydrates.

Previously, the raw community believed that the application of heat destroys enzymes within the foods and cause negative health effects. However, this idea was disproven as the enzymes within fruits and vegetables have no function in the human body.

Environmental reasons

Some raw vegans are concerned about deforestation
Deforestation

Deforestation is the logging or burning of trees in forested areas. There are several reasons for doing so: trees or derived charcoal can be sold as a commodity and are used by humans while cleared land is used as pasture, plantations of commodities and human settlement....
 and sustainability
Sustainability

Sustainability, in a broad sense, is the ability to maintain a certain process or state. It is now most frequently used in connection with biological and human systems....
, believing the use of wood or fossil fuel
Fossil fuel

Fossil fuels or mineral fuels are fossil source fuels, that is, carbon or hydrocarbons found in the earth?s Crust .Fossil fuel range from volatile materials with low carbon:hydrogen ratios like methane, to liquid petroleum to nonvolatile materials composed of almost pure carbon, like anthracite coal....
s 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
Spirituality

Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit, a concept closely tied to religion and faith, transcendence , or one or more Deity....
. 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. Therefore, it is also a philosophy".

Controversies

On a popular level, raw veganism is often ridiculed as a dietary choice. The late Hong Kong-based writer Kan Yi-ching (, 1927-2000) commented on the diet from a Chinese culinary
Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine originated from the various regions of China and has become widespread in many other parts of the world ? from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa....
 perspective:

The whole radical Western vegetarian diet differs from the familiar [Chinese] vegetarianism that all the vegetables and fruits are eaten raw and often chopped or juiced. Even seasonings like salt and pepper are not added. This type of diet resembles the primitive people's raw and uncivilized dietary habits.


According to those who have witnessed the vegetarian banquets, who do not recommend this type of diet, the feeling is akin to a goat eating grass and completely flavourless.


Raw veganism is yet to be formally studied on a wide enough scale to secure its reputation as a truly healthy diet. However, many raw vegans cite their personal experiences with the diet as proof of its benefits; as well, some believe the theory that humans, as the only animal to eat cooked food, have by far the longest list of degenerative diseases of any animal. However, it has been shown in studies that cooking food makes digestion much easier on the digestive tract, which some believe have lead to the advanced development of the human brain (History Channel, Evolve digestion Episode). Also, many medical authorities stress the possible lack of vitamin B12
Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is a water soluble vitamin with a key role in the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system, and for the formation of blood....
 in the diet, which is naturally present in large quantities in animal foods and is essential for many bodily functions. Raw vegans often supplement vitamin B12, or obtain it from fermented foods or other foods containing small quantities of B12. However, a raw foodist might be able to obtain more vitamin B12 if some of the food is grown by oneself as some studies indicate that B12 comes from a fermenting process that occurs in soil. Because food manufacturers clean and wash their foods very thoroughly, most if not all of the soil is completely absent from plant food.

See also

  • Fruitarianism
    Fruitarianism

    Fruitarians eat in principle only the fruit of plants.Some people consider themselves fruitarians even if their diet is not 100% fruit. Usually fruitarians who include foods other than fruit follow a vegan diet....
  • Veganism
    Veganism

    Veganism is a diet and lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose. Vegans endeavor not to use or consume animal products of any kind....
  • Raw foodism


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