Destination Eden is one of the best books ever written about the fruitarian diet. . It is no surprise, although impressive, that the book has a perfect review rating with 100% 5 star reviews on amazon (at the moment this article was written). The author, Mango Wodzak writes only from his own experience and a handful of supportive facts that are undeniable. His writing focuses on the ethics of the fruitarian diet and leaves aside the never ending discussion regarding nutrition, wisely understanding that when it comes to nutritional arguments, there is a never-ending supply of conflicting evidence.
Destination Eden is very well written, easy to understand and fairly short. The first section is clearly the most important. In this chapters Mango explains, in sequence, why and how humans ended up adopting and gripping to an omnivorous diet, why the vegetarian diet is better than the omnivorous diet, why the vegan diet is better than the vegetarian diet, why the raw vegan diet is better than the vegan diet and why the fruitarian diet is better than the raw vegan diet. On the last chapters of the first section, Mango explains why there are many different types of fruitarian diets and how Eden Fruitarianism is superior to all of them.
Destination Eden is a book about ethics and how this ethical behavior can improve our health, the environment and every aspect of our lives (except perhaps for the social aspect, which will hopefully change as more people begin to transition into a fruitarian diet). His core arguments are basic and most people would agree with them, although they may find them hard to follow due to lack of will power, proper education, support and basic resources. The core idea behind the book and Mango’s philosophy is that love is what the universe is made of and because of this, love is our true nature and essence. This being the case, we must adhere and live by the golden rule of treating others as we would like to be treated. To Mango, and to myself, others does not only include other humans, but animals and plants as well. This means that we are not meant to harm anyone or ANYTHING and that we should live our lives caring for all living creatures and doing as little damage to the environment as possible.
Destination Eden is not a scientific book but it is filled with basic facts and proofs that support the proposition that Eden Fruitarianism is the ultimate fruitarian diet and the best diet for every human being, regardless of their age, sex, race or ethnicity. In the book’s introduction Mango explains that he is one of the very few fruitarians who follows a strict 100% fruitarian diet which includes only raw, fresh, ripe fruit and excludes all vegetables, greens, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes and of course, animal products and animal flesh.
On the following pages, Mango explains that the food movement and the medical industry is full of business-minded people and organizations that quote nutritional “science” to suit their needs and leverage information to their favor with the always present goal of making a profit. He also shows the clear truth that nutritional “science” can be used to prove many conflicting theories and that this research is far from complete (and in many cases, ethical). He points out that all research being done on food, diet and nutrition is inaccurate and therefore open to being interpreted in different ways. This is the obvious reason why nutritional “science” is often manipulated and used to convince people of whatever the author desires, which is usually to make a profit.
The first chapter of Destination Eden focuses on the omnivorous diet. We all know that humans are creatures of habit and that these habits are so ingrained that we are often oblivious to them. This is surely the case with certain lifestyle choices, including our diet and what we eat day after day. According to Mango, humans are fruitarians by nature, but we have all been forced to eat animal products and cooked foods since childhood, violating our choices and natural instincts. On top of that, we have been brain washed into believing that animal products are good for our health and even worse, necessary for a healthy life. He concludes this first chapter stating that animal food and cooked food is addictive and that society norms and pressures make it almost impossible to quit those addictions and move on to a healthier, more ethical and more sustainable fruitarian diet.
The second chapter of Destination Eden focuses on the vegetarian diet and that the biggest obstacle for people to achieve this level of nutrition is empathy. Mango is sure that empathy for other animals, plants and the environment is what allows someone to become a fruitarian and stick to the fruitarian diet long term. He defines empathy as the capacity to recognize feelings that are being experienced by other sentient or semi-sentient beings. He points at the fact that humans have a long history of lacking empathy which includes thousands of years of slavery, rape and torture. Thankfully, we have been slowly moving away from these but our specie’s empathy is yet to expand fully to include animals and plants. Some people may have empathy for their pets (usually cats and dogs) but their short sight prevents them from realizing that, when it comes to feelings, there is no difference between a dog and a pic, or a cat and a fish, or even a tree, a bush or a flower. He refers to this paradox as cognitive dissonance, the discomfort that is experienced when two conflicting believes are present simultaneously. This is the reason why 99% of people who eat meat will get angry and defensive every time the ethnicity of their diet is questioned. This is even the case even when there is no instigation by the non-meat eater. The trigger happens automatically, just by being present with the thought that eating animals is wrong and this is why people who eat animals will often attach vegetarians, vegans and fruitarians and argue for hours to avoid the fact that what they have been doing all their lives is murder innocent, beautiful and love deserving creatures.
The third chapter of Destination Eden focuses on the vegan diet but more specifically on veganism itself. The difference between the vegan diet and veganism is that veganism, as it was originally intended, focuses on the practice of not harming or exploiting animals, weather it is for dietary consumption, clothing, transportation or any other reason. In simple terms, veganism is an attempt to avoid being the cause of unnecessary animal suffering. According to Mango the vegan diet can be and has been corrupted with many people taking on this practice for their own benefit without truly considering the animals rights, lives and feelings, again, this is caused by lack of empathy. The rest of the chapter focuses explaining how ridiculous and harmful it is to consuming milk, cheese, honey and eggs and how wool and silk are also harmful and should be excluded from our lives.
The fourth chapter of Destination Eden focuses on the raw vegan diet. This chapter starts by showing the health benefits of not cooking or heating food at all. Mango clarifies that he understand the cooking process makes some food edible, which would not be possible to eat raw, and that, in the past, humans have been forced to eat cooked foods in order to survive, however, this is no longer the case and we have reached a point in human evolution where we can all live of raw fruits and vegetables. He points out that just as we have an ethical duty to not harm other beings we also have an ethical duty to not harm ourselves and our bodies. He then goes on to explain all the reasons why cooked foods are bad for your health and why the raw vegan diet is healthier than the cooked vegan diet. The rest of the chapter is fairly health oriented, touching on the importance of organic food, the reason why mucus exists, our symbiotic relationship to germs and bacteria, the real cause of disease, hereditary issues and the processes of digestion, assimilation, elimination and healing. The chapter also explains the process of detoxification, the miraculous healing powers of fasting and why water fasting and dry fasting are the most powerful forms of healing available to humans. He also advises against enemas, laxatives and all supplements and drugs sold by the drug-dealing doctors and fellow supporters of the medical industry. He closes the chapter explaining that grains and salt are a big no-no when it comes to diet and nutrition, not only because of their adverse effects on human health, but also because of the immense damage that their production causes to the environment and this planet we call home.
Chapter five of Destination Eden is the most exciting chapter of them all and by far my favorite. This chapter focuses on the fruitarian diet, but more so on Eden Fruitarianism. Eden Fruitarianism is a term coined by Mango himself and its purpose is to make a clear distinction between a pure, 100% fruitarian diet and all the other fruitarian diets that have been invented since fruitarianism was discovered. According to mango, there are many people who call themselves fruitarians when in reality, they are not truly following a fruitarian diet. I will admit that I have fallen in this category in the past, stating that I am a fruitarian when in fact, I am actually transitioning to fruitarianism since I still eat, once in a while, a few raw vegetables and some cooked foods. This being said, I do believe Eden Fruitarianism is the ultimate fruitarian diet and I am working on a daily basis to make a final transition into Eden Fruitarianism.
In Destination Eden, Eden Fruitarianism is defined as the original fruitarian diet, once practiced by the mythological couple Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. This diet was based on ethics and the practice of the golden rule which encourages a live of peace among all creatures. This fruitarian diet and way of living can only be attained by realizing that out of all the food that is available in the world, the only nutritional substance that is truly given, and thus has the potential to be totally free of violence is fruit. The book explains that plants are also intelligent beings that can feel and communicate. Some of this plants can reproduce by their own means, such as the case of flowers which expel their offspring into the wind, which carries them to be planted in remote locations. Other plants, such as fruit trees, rely on animals, like humans, to consume the fruit they produce and carry its seeds to a remote location so that the plant can reproduce and ensure the survival of its specie.
For those who do not believe in or understand the emotional and psychological nature of plants, the book recommends to read “The Secret Life of Plants”, a book based on research done in 1970 where findings proved that plants respond to violence and all forms of negative stimuli, including thoughts.
This fifth chapter of Destination Eden continues by defining what fruit is and what it is not. It explains the difference between fruits and nuts and it proves that coconuts, sadly, are not fruit. It also explains that legumes, peas and beans are seeds and that the only type of legumes that can potentially be considered fruit and thus eaten are the flesh surrounding the seeds of carob and ice cream beans (inga beans). The book also touches on mushrooms, explaining that these are not fruit either but that their consumption is not as harmful as other foods such as grains, seeds, nuts and animal products.
The chapter closes by busting a number of myths regarding protein deficiency, B12 deficiency, the health benefits of vitamin tablets, the risks of sugar, the lies about fruit causing diabetes and the arguments in favor of diets for different body and blood types. The final section provides a “food tower” which is Mango’s proposed nutritional guidelines to replace the food pyramid created in 1960. The tower places food at the very top as the #1 source of nutrition and ethical consumption, bellow that level and in order, we can find greens, nuts and seeds, tubers, root vegetables, grains, animal products and animal flesh. He explains that there are also subsets to these groups but keeps it simple for the sake of the explanation. Other topics covered in this chapter are water, mono eating, soil depletion and environmental issues caused by modern agriculture and animal farming. The very final concepts of the chapter include a simple approach to understanding how, when and what to eat as well as proper fitness and exercise.
I consider this first section of Destination Eden as the most import section of the book because it provides enough of a foundation for people to begin their transition towards a fruitarian diet. The following sections, which are important as well, cover topics such as barefootism, naturism, religion, spirituality, nature, food supply, compromises and other miscellaneous ideas.
Needless to say, Destination Eden transformed my life from the moment I read it and I highly recommend and implore all of you to read it as well and share it with your friends, family members, coworkers and members of your community. Within its pages there are countless of reasons to adopt a fruitarian diet and explanations on how to make the transition.
Thank you for readying this summary and review of Destination Eden.
I wish you love, joy and well-being,
– Bruno
Additional Book Recommendations and Reviews:
+ Return to the Brain of Eden by Graham Gynn and Tony Wright
