It's odd--whenever I ask this question at regular vegetarian/vegan boards, I'm usually met with a lot of defensiveness and resistance. I figure I'll have better luck here where people are more concerned with the environment and less about their own personal image. [/end mini rant]
Anyway, has anyone studied/considered/practiced fruitarianism? Environmentally it seems to be the least invasive diet, where we don't kill any living thing but rather eat its product.
Of course, modern harvesting (where the entire plant is killed) renders this argument moot, but I'm speaking theoretically; isn't the fruitarian diet the ideal diet for anyone who is concerned with the preservation of the ecology?
Healthwise it can be debated ad nauseum. But I know of at least 3 fruitarians who are athletic, body builders, and they have nothing but good things to say. Gandhi was a fruitarian until late in life, and aside from a case of "fatal lead poisoning", he was one of the healthiest individuals I can imagine.
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I have to say that I would need to know more about fruitarianism before I could comment. My first reaction is that it must be challenging to adhere to - as a household with one person allergic to dairy and another who is a strict vegetarian, it's challenging enough, especially to get light meals when we are out an about (a lot of bananas get consumed, I have to admit). Another concern would be where to get protein, iron and calcium from. Would nuts be acceptable in this diet?
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I'd also like to know about about this. Is there a principle involved that is against the concept of vegetarianism or is it a similar concept? I know alot about vegetarianism and the vegan diets but this is new to me.
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I think it's just a subset of veganism. The only culture (that I know of) that practices it widely is the Jain culture in India. They are a small subset of Hindus who value plant life as highly as animals, so they don't eat leaves, roots or stalks (q.v. lettuce, potatoes or cane). There aren't many Jains, but they have been doing it for thousands of years apparently.
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