Tyler, I agree that the beyondveg.com site has a definite bias against raw foods. Although, it seems to me (while searching through the cobwebs in me head) that they have generally looked favorably on Paleolithic diets. It is also true that they assume raw foodists are of the vegan persuasion. Life without animal foods is difficult to sustain long term without major issues.
Mettalica, the author of the piece to which you linked is convinced that:
"A low-fat, semivegetarian diet helps prevent nearly all major illnesses, and more focused dietary interventions can dramatically improve specific health problems."
So first off, he is advocating a completely different diet plan than we are here. Heck, some people here are eating 80% fat and no veggies! Secondly, the raw foodists to which he refers are vegans! Yes, raw veganism causes cravings in the long haul, because nutritional needs are impossible to meet on such a plan. Raw Foodist does not equal Raw Vegan! The result of a major binge on shitty food is not a foregone conclusion on a raw omnivorous or carnivorous diet. The more I center my diet on plants, personally, the harder it is to sustain and the more likely cravings for animal foods occur. So this idea that we need a plant-focused diet to achieve great health has been debunked by a good number of people on this board, me included.
That said, I believe that orthorexia nervosa is a real disorder. Some people do become very idealistic or unnecessarily restrictive with their diets. And that can be a problem. However, many people also are truly experimenting to find what works best for them. I would say that you can tell the difference by witnessing absolute adherence to a plan even though it is obviously failing the person. But hey, we are all individuals, humans can live on a variety of foodstuffs, and we all have our preferences.
Also, I find it quite telling that some of these raw vegans resort to junk foods. When I went raw vegan, I ended up craving eggs and sardines. I ate those, and never went back to vegetarianism again. Craving junk food is something I cannot understand, having not eaten any since I was about 21 and having never fed it to my children (who are now teen and adult). It may be food chemical additives and a lack of necessary fatty acids that causes the junk binges in raw vegans.
