Raw and living foods is an Internet community that is committed to supporting and encouraging people to eat only raw and living foods.
The International Raw and Living Foods Festival was held in 2004. There are similar festivals that have been celebrated since, but there was only one International Raw and Living Foods Festival.
History
- The 2004 International Raw and Living Foods Festival followed up on the previous 2000 through 2003 events. Each year, Raw and Living Foods highlighted networking, mission, lifestyles and expansion, respectively. In 2004, people presenting at the Raw and Living Foods Festival emphasized and educated attendees on how to make the raw and living lifestyle more accessible and how to introduce central tenets to a wider audience. In compliance with the 2004 festival’s goal, “Let’s introduce Raw Foods to 1,000 “new” people,” festival producers and attendees were eager to spread the good news about a diet of exclusively raw and living foods.
Function
- The purpose of the 2004 International Raw and Living Foods Festival was to encourage vegan ambassadorship. With vegans from all over the globe, the goal was to send out raw and living foods enthusiasts into their communities to educate and enlist new members to the raw and living movement. Raw and living foods are rich in enzymes and always served below 116 degrees Farenheit, (although enzymes begin to break down at 106 degrees Farenheit.) The distinction between raw and living foods is that while enzymes are present in raw foods, living foods have a much higher enzyme content. Sprouted foods are living foods because sprouting raises the enzyme levels. Raw and living foods adepts held classes to introduce newbies to the joys and advantages of eating raw foods. A variety of modules addressed issues that surround raw and living eating, including how to live a full life span of raw eating, life issues such as pregnancy, seniors and babies’ needs.
Geography
- Held in Portland, Oregon in August, The International Raw and Living Foods Festival took advantage of summer’s harvest to highlight the fresh and organic bounty that can comprise a raw and living foods diet. The festival presented modules that covered food safety issues such as the dangers of non-organic produce and other living foods, how to prepare fresh foods and the sensibility of eating locally grown, organic seasonal foods. Set against the beautiful summer backdrop of Portland, Oregon (one of the country’s greenest cities), the festival was geared up to attract interest from near and far.
Time Frame
- On the festival’s first day, a $75 to $100 a plate formal dinner was created by gourmet chef, Chad Sarno. Although the menu for the festival is unavailable, a haute cuisine raw and living foods menu might include gazpacho, organic Caesar salad, Asian pate and mousse au chocolat. The evening was topped off with the 3rd Annual Raw foods Auction. The festival’s remaining days were filled with speakers, panels and workshops, which covered all things raw and living foods. Seminars and workshops were one to six hours and audience participation was essential. Speakers and attendees gathered for discussions, such as “Why Raw?” The purpose was to prepare members for community outreach in their hometowns. Considered a “visionary gathering,” The Raw and Living Foods Festival was a step toward intentional communities of like-minded people with a mission of supreme health and planetary well-being.
Expert Insight
- While it seems that the raw and living foods movement in this specific incarnation was on a roll, with five international festivals in a row, there are no further indications that the festival will continue. There is a Living and Raw Foods website that is linked from the 2004 festival site. But, note the name change. This site announces recent gatherings, but none are billed as The International Raw and Living Foods Festival. It is likely that the Living and Raw Foods organization is a new form of the group and not the one that organized earlier festivals. The Living and Raw Foods website (see Resources) offers a guide to common questions about the raw food movement. Up-to-date announcements for gatherings, advice for singles living raw, recipes and a bulletin board are among the site’s offerings.
