Live Food Rehab?! Food for thought...

[Heather L.O.V.E.]

What kind of a diet do you say you eat?  Most of say we are "Raw Fooders" or "Raw Foodies" or "High Raw" or "Low-Fat-Raw-Vegan" "LFRV" or even simply "8-1-1."  I have no problem with any of these.  And yet I don't LOVE the word "raw."

Why?  When I think of "raw", I think of something not quite ready.  Like raw minerals, just big hunks of rock.  Or worse, raw meat, red and bleeding and teeming with bacteria that has to be cooked to be safe.  Even "Raw" like the movie with Eddi Murphy, meaning unrefined, rough, even dare I say naughty.  

But mostly it is the implication that there is something else that needs to be done to it to make it acceptable.  It is raw, we have to cook it.  To "fix" it.  

Now contrast that with the word "Live." What comes to mind? Live food, still full of the living life force.  Vibrant.  Fresh. Alive.  And what is the opposite of live food?  Dead food.  De-vitalized food.  Food that will make you sicker and less full of life.

If you say, "I eat a live-food diet," it makes the listener think, "What do I eat?  Is my food DEAD?"  

So a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but a simple word choice can make you think. 

[Raw Truth]

Good point Heather. I like your thoughts on this.

[Supermom]

I looked up the website realfoodrehab and it is not a RAW food website. I am grateful for the clarity in meaning of RawFoodRehab!

[Heather L.O.V.E.]

@Susan, I am so glad you introduced me to that Cheri Soria video because I learned so much.  Ironically, I would say I am definitely a LIVE foodie, by her definitions.  How cool!  But I agree, this place is and should stay a Raw Food Rehab!

[Supermom]

Loved this Heather! You are are word girl with amazing writing skills, as evident in how you said:

 "If you say, "I eat a live-food diet," it makes the listener think, 'What do I eat?  Is my food DEAD?'"

I am with you on this!  Thank you for this post! I want to inspire people to ask themselves this question!

[Laura Harshbarger]

Love this post and your thoughts on this!  Thanks!

[Jane]

I feel lucky to have always lived in parts of London, which are so diverse that nobody has to fit in (Luckily I stopped deluding myself I was superior by the second of my twenty years as a vegan) and I’ve more or less never needed a label!  Nobody seems to care what I eat!  However, I love both concepts of live AND real food!  Live because I imagine: fresh, full-of-energy and goodness, food.  Real because I’m saddened to see our shops (including Heather’s stupor markets) increasingly crammed with processed FOOD-LIKE products!  Where I live it costs nearly £2 to buy a small organic lettuce but only £1 to buy THREE packets of jammy dodger biscuits! So I’m busy imagining a world where real, live food is readily available and affordable in our busy cities, and forever grateful that I don’t need a label.

 

This is an interesting, thought-provoking post Heather :-)

[Debbie V]

Right on, Mal! I've never been comfortable using the term vegan to describe myself (especially since I'm not, at least not ALL the time) because it carries so many negative connotations for so many people. I've started leaning toward saying live foods or a plant-based diet.

I've also stopped using the misnomer "conventionally grown." There's nothing conventional about spraying nasty chemicals on food. I'm using the term "pesticide-laden" for non-organic produce. 

[djd]

I am reluctant to accept a label such as vegan, etc., but it is interesting to reflect on the different meanings.  Of course, most words have several connotations.

Live food, maybe it is still wiggling?  And raw silk is a lovely fabric, imho.

[Bette Bliss Shaw]

Real Food Rehab....neat!

 

[Heather L.O.V.E.]

I would never want to change our name!  I do like Real Food Rehab though!

 I just wanted to get people thinking. I'm raw that way. ;)