Yesterday, "Rawer", the sequel to the very controversial Dutch documentary, "Raw", was
released in The Netherlands and it immediately sparked a huge debate all over the net, to
the point that the hashtag #rauwer became a worldwide Trending Topic at Twitter in just
a matter of hours, and of course, i decided to weigh in and give my two cents on the matter.
I should start by saying i am not a vegetarian, but, i avoid meat in my diet as much as possible,
as i do see the value in eating vegetables, and in that sense, i can understand a bit
the premise of the documentary: a mother goes to court because she is accused of child abuse
for feeding her 15-year-old son nothing but raw foods ever since he was 5. Her argument
is that cooked food is unhealthy and compares it to smoking cigarettes and shooting heroine.
Youth Services allege that her son's growth and overall health condition is the same as
a malnourished kid in Ethiopia,so the main debate in question is how much a mother can
decide on her child's eating habits and how much society in general should meddle in that
matter.
Like i said before, i can understand the value of uncooked vegetables and of being a vegetarian
in general: when i don't eat processed foods and get only veggies for sustenance during
the day, i feel more energetic, my brain is clearer and i feel good all around, which
is not the case when i occasionally feed on cooked meals. There's probably not much discussion
that eating fruits and vegetables is healthy, and i see the mom's point in wanting to feed
her child only that. But, what's probably dangerous here, is that she's completely taking
over her son's decision abilities by pretty much forcing a raw food diet on him regardless
of however he may feel about it. Had she waited until he was 18, and then allowed him to decide
by himself if he wants a vegan diet or not, then things would be different… but she's
not giving him any chances at all, because of her authority role in his life, even if
he wanted to eat meat, the pressure from his mom would probably be too much for such a
young kid to bear.
I know my opinion on this is very dual, but that's why it is MY opinion, and i would love
to hear yours, so please leave me a comment in the section below letting me know how you
feel about this topic. Thanks.
