Raw food Gurus talk to people like they are Millionairs.
I was wondering what people think about this part. I hear about lectures, programs and gadgets and all this stuff. I would have to say raw food stuff is a big marketing industry and is making millions off telling people they have to have this. I think products are way marked up... programs are for gazillionairs and I make a decent living but this is a bit ridiculous. I do understand why restaurants mark the high price because their is a lot of labor going into raw food but in addition the ingredients are mad expensive. From retreats to machines... raw foods lifestyle can be difficult to keep up with if your trying to keep the trend because the cost of each item can make one bankrupt.I know you can be raw the cheap way and be just as healthy eating whole foods that you find in your supermarket. I think a lot of all this is just hype to get people to buy and try the latest and greatest food out there. Which is fine if it something on a case to case basis but really if this is how you eat your entire life... That is one heck of a expensive lifestyle. I think that people can be very healthy if you just exercise, have a lower calorie diet, reduce a lot of the stress in your life, avoid processed foods and eating a large amount of whole foods specially greens.
What do you think? Could the raw movement be a little less trendy and focus on the reality of the matter that people are sick and many of these people are lower income individuals who deal with fast food joints in their neighborhoods and liquor stores and they never get proper education on a good healthy diet. I don't know if there is but it would be great if people put out products for the general public that were affordable including recipes. I mean so many recipes require nuts and they are extremely high priced and it requires a lot of them to make several dishes in a day. I like to help people and there should be ways that lower income people can have access to this great information, food and supplies for affordable prices. People need help because they are very sick and most complain how expensive produce is. I think if they knew how expensive raw food products are they would never go raw. Raw food seems like a club for wealthy individuals. This does not have to be the case.
There is definitely a demand for this stuff but I don't see the prices dropping any time soon.
What do you think? Could the raw movement be a little less trendy and focus on the reality of the matter that people are sick and many of these people are lower income individuals who deal with fast food joints in their neighborhoods and liquor stores and they never get proper education on a good healthy diet. I don't know if there is but it would be great if people put out products for the general public that were affordable including recipes. I mean so many recipes require nuts and they are extremely high priced and it requires a lot of them to make several dishes in a day. I like to help people and there should be ways that lower income people can have access to this great information, food and supplies for affordable prices. People need help because they are very sick and most complain how expensive produce is. I think if they knew how expensive raw food products are they would never go raw. Raw food seems like a club for wealthy individuals. This does not have to be the case.
There is definitely a demand for this stuff but I don't see the prices dropping any time soon.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Lightlover on -
• Well, the more people will buy these “superfoods”, the cheaper they will become in the future!
For example: I love to buy products from sunwarrior.com, I think they are the best around.
So what do I do: I try to tell as many shops in my town to sell the products of Sunwarrior.
By doing this, in one year I know these shops will compete with eachother on price regarding this
product, and I will know where I can buy it for the lowest price. This situation is much different
When there is only 1 supplier…the price will stay high. I already see in Amsterdam that prices of
Products are lowered, when there is competition! Further: tell all your friends which products are
Good: more buyers = more shops offering the same product = more competition = lower price!
I always say: be smart when you are stupid…
I also advise rawfoodcompanies to buy the products of Sunwarrior, because they are much cheaper
then similiar products from companies like Healthforce and Pureplanet.com.
Yes, I do my research!
(Healtforce does have other products which are outstanding, don't get me wrong...)
All these actions are not higher science, everyone can do this, instead of complaining and bashing
products...
** Don’t complain about margins on the best products you can buy: let’s say the margins are 100%
On these products, which are real good for your health, compare it with the margins on
(DAMAGING!) pharmaceuticals, which can be some 500.000% , which is a factor 5000 higher…
Not talking about all the money you pay for healthinsurance, for a system that has proved to be
Not working at all. THAT is the problem, not the costs of a rawfoodsector that has just begun to
grow.
There is an urgent call for removing money from pharmaceuticals to superfoods, looking to
Healtheffects and ridiculous margins.
If you think you can make this shift with just promoting banana’s it is fine with me, I promise you, you will not see a change in the world, while people still want to earn money.
You either support the WHOLE rawfoodindustry, or you, in a subtle way, will promote indirectly
promote the pharma-medical industry, it is very important to notice this...
*** Of cause i have no financial interest in Sunwarrior, it is just to give an example...
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Permalink Reply by Lightlover on
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Of cause it takes more courage AND knowledge to bash the pharma/medical/industry than bashing
sellers of rawfoodproducts, that´s why the bashers always show a lack of arguments, andc definetley a
lack of seeing things in the right perspective.
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Permalink Reply by Atividade on -
I really love the activated Barley I recommend it to every athlete I meet and they all see the effects ;)
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Permalink Reply by VEGAN SEALS on -
I am buy some of these raw products but I think I honestly don't really need them at all. Searching for cheaper and quality. I love my greens
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Permalink Reply by VEGAN SEALS on
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I can't remember the last time I saw a gorilla or any other human relative on superfoods. Or any other animal for the most part. They are just fine. Yeah our environment is toxic but it is like people sell us that without these products we are all doomed. Fear is what keeps people buying in many cases.
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Permalink Reply by Atividade on
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I totally agree that fear should not be the stimuli to eat superfoods, however, goji berries are good, spirulina is good, you don't see animals eating them cus they eat them in the wild. I don't see animals using vitamixs or dehydrators, but I do really enjoy having a green smoothie or the occasional kale chip, because I can and it's good.
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Permalink Reply by Debbie Took on
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I agree with you, Vegan Seals. It's a pity that when people switch to the most nutrient-packed diet they have ever followed, they are then persuaded that there is something missing unless they buy X or Y.
I remember receiving a mailing saying that it was impossible to get all the minerals we need on a raw food diet. Not only do I think that rubbish, but this person also said he knew where we could get these missing minerals. And guess where from!
In my first year of raw, I parted with a huge amount of money for dehydrated powdered 'superfoods' and the like. I'll admit I had terrific fun trying the various things, and wouldn't wish to deprive people of that IF they have the funds.
However, I've come to realise that not one of them is necessary to me, and that a diet full of natural, fresh, whole foods is just as good. Not one of them made any noticeable difference to my health. It was raw plant foods that did that. And I no longer spend (an amount that is so ridiculous I'd be embarrassed to say) at online stores.
It also prohibits those on even average incomes from fully partaking in what they are persuaded is the raw food world.
I saw a 'herbal ice cream' featured in one raw newsletter the other day. For anyone new to raw who would like to try and make this, the cost of the many ingredients, none of which would be in the average person's storecupboard, would be astronomical.
I remember seeing David Wolfe once make a superfood smoothie on a video, and I did tot up the cost of the ingredients, if one didn't have eg maca, amazing mushrooms/whatever (can't remember exact list) in the storecupboard. It was over £100 ($160).
I hope this will be a comfort to those who can't afford these things. The best foods you can eat are whole organic fruits, vegetables, leaves...not dehydrated powders.
And, on equipment, no, Vitamixes/other expensive blenders aren't necessary. I went my whole first year on a relatively cheap blender, and it did fine. The only reason I bought a Vitamix was that I had the funds, wanted to see what the fuss was about, and was giving raw food prep classes at the time. Sure, it's better than most other blenders, but not five times better, that is, the crazy price (certainly in the UK - equivalent of $650) isn't justified.
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Permalink Reply by Makaranda...=) on -
That's a great point Jennifer!
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Permalink Reply by Walker Marchal on -
Hey Vegan Seals,
I agree with you that it is extremely expensive to buy luxury raw/vegan foods such as my faves imported Peruvian dried olives and "Goji Bliss", but I'm offsetting the costs by growing lots of herbs, fruits and veggies that I like to eat in my own garden and greenhouse. I work as a vendor at 2 farmers' markets too and I've learned that most farmers are open to bartering and offer the best prices at the close of market days so that they don't have to take anything home. Last week, for example, I got a big bag full of fresh corn from the farmer who grew it for just $3. I've been eating it raw all week. Some farms offer super prices on produce if you pick/harvest it yourself when they have open days/times for the public. And of course, I agree with Daniel Vitalis that we should only be harvesting free spring water for drinking. For next year, I'm now raising bees, so I will have free honey by March. We can save money and reclaim our food by becoming our own source. I've never had so much fun, now that my life revolves around my garden! It's kind of old school, as in, how we used to live on earth, but I think it's coming back into style.;)
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Permalink Reply by Nell on -
I live in Sweden and there has been a debate the last few years to raise taxes on junk food and lower taxes on fruits and vegetables. I think this is a great idea! Preventative health care is about making health accessible to everyone, even in choices that they make everyday.
Sidenote: I have a friend in the US who always talks about how much money she saves with coupons, etc and posts lists of what she buys on her facebook page to "inspire" others. Let's just say that fresh fruits and vegetables rarely even make the list :s It saddens me that she bases her, and her family's diet (she has 4 kids), on processed, fatty, packaged food because it is cheaper. Healthy choices has become a social class issue.
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Permalink Reply by Sara Tonin on -
I agree with you that the costs of eating raw, be it shelling out for gadgets or buying organic food that can be "problematic" or just plain financially unrealistic for most folks... it depends on what you buy into, pardon the pun. It seems like everybody is out there with something to sell...
...and looky what They've tapped into: one of the most basic functions of ALL living creatures, but especially to us human ding-dongs... food.
Eating is not only a necessity, it is the base of ALL cultures - it is what we do together: we gather together, we collaborate, we enjoy the fruits of our labor and nourish ourselves and consequently our souls with the food of life and brotherhood. It is extremely difficult to get some folks to shift and try something so different from such a substantial habit/tradition that is so close to our heart, never mind the key to our survival and existence.
Then there is the desire to be YOUNG-ER, STRONG-ER, MORE attractive, better off in general (in health and wealth) - that is the base theory of every sales gimmick ever told... It is in our nature to want to feel good - and as long as we want o feel good, somebody out there will have something to sell us that will be guaranteed to get us "there"...
We can't help but be influenced by one another - that's why sites like this even exist. I found about raw food from a friend who took me to a raw class almost ten years ago - that cost $$, and of course they had "essentials" to sell me - I didn't buy. I found out how to make raw cheese by checking a thread here - free. I would love to go to a raw retreat in some exotic locale, but am put off by (again, my opinion) the exorbitant prices (which, when considering the costs of air travel, lodging, meals, etc etc might be "fair") so instead I take matters into my own hands and join forums like GI2MR and try to get inspired here FOR FREE (with the exception of the costs of internet and computer...) Then again, I bought my VitaMix because a chef/friend swore by it's performance and durability. Did I pay lots of money for it? Yes, but I think of it as an investment - again, my reasoning based on my opinion - it's all relative. Not everything is free, and when there is high demand, the laws that be say there will be a high price to match that demand. It's not always the case, but... we all have to make/earn a living *sigh*
It's relative: what one considers "essential" as far as what we "need" to make us feel good. For some it's raw cacao. For some it's weed. Some drink their urine - that's a challenging one for me... Others "need" that car or those clothes or that sexual experience or....? I don't mean to sound pat here, but it's different for everybody. Our mission is to find what works for ourselves, what is true to our hearts.
Sounds soooo easy... and it will be what we make of it. It is our life's work.
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Permalink Reply by Sara Tonin on
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Walker - way to go on the raising of the bees - you are my hero!
(hope my other post wasn't too wordy/long... great topic, though - gets me going on my sociological theories - time for me to go back to school!)
blessings...
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women wants to re-make them just like if they were their own babies, and yet they want them to act grown up like a "real" man father and all that stuff. doomed to fail each time
why? was it great drama?
why not getting in to someone's head? everything is free
yes...
where did you watch mariam, was it free?
Did ya see me in the audience, dancing naked? (That probably wasn't me). How'd ya find it? I'll go look.
YoguitarGawd
Watch all three nights online. Some great info was given, but seemed like it was all about getting people to buy more and more products. All I know is that they made a TON of money.
How so?
beautiful, yeah. in the vortex. spiralling with in. that is how we flow.
Thanks guys!
Can I come over to yer Tonic Bar, Wrenn?
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