5000 year old tribe still on a vegan diet

[Roxy]

I have tried many westernized versions of Dahl. I would like to try Dahl in India too - just to have an authentic version :D

[Kiran]

I have tried many westernized versions of Dahl. I would like to try Dahl in India too - just to have an authentic version :D

Come over to england Rox. I will give you the authentic dahl.. I am Indian.. remember? So you don't have to fly all the way to India. :D

[Gliondrach]

Roxy and Happy can come with me. My family lived in India for over 100 years. Four generations of them were born there. I have spent 5 weeks there. I'm an old hand there. I drink Indian tea. My contacts in Naini Tal and Murree tell me that Kiran's dahl is rubbish.

[Gliondrach]

This is so interesting. Perhaps we should have a thread about veagn 'communities' all over the world. Does anyone live in a vegan commune?

I do but I'm the only one who lives here.

[Kam]

Roxy and Happy can come with me. My family lived in India for over 100 years. Four generations of them were born there. I have spent 5 weeks there. I'm an old hand there. I drink Indian tea. My contacts in Naini Tal and Murree tell me that Kiran's dahl is rubbish. Can I come please? :)

[Gliondrach]

Yes. The four of us can hire a house boat up in Kashmir. My mother told me that it is very beautiful there. Bags I be captain.

[kriz]

Can I come too? :) I'm looking for adventure and change of environment.

[Gliondrach]

We'll need a bigger houseboat, then.

Actually, you need to be tough to go there. There have been many atrocities committed against the civilian population. There are two Kashmirs, one under Indian control and one supposedly independent but under Pakistan control. Both sides accuse the other of terrorism. Here's a link to some pretty pictures:

http://www.ummah.org.uk/kashmir/iok/iok.htm

[kriz]

Oh, that's right, I forgot about the conflict there...I know I wrote I was looking for adventure...but I'm actually the biggest chicken. :eek: Sure looks beautiful, though.

[Gliondrach]

Well, we could go to Naini Tal, instead. I didn't realise how beautiful it was until I looked it up on the netty. A cousin of mine lived there until she died a couple of years ago. It's near the Corbett National Park.

http://www.shunya.net/Pictures/Himalayas/Nainital/Nainital.htm

I'll pay all expenses for anyone who wants to go. There will just be a service charge of £2.000 each.

[Rozzwellian]

Whilst searching for vegan communities i found this, sounds kind of interesting.
www.g0v.org/ (http://)

[LittleNellColumbia]

Well, we could go to Naini Tal, instead. I didn't realise how beautiful it was until I looked it up on the netty. A cousin of mine lived there until she died a couple of years ago. It's near the Corbett National Park.

http://www.shunya.net/Pictures/Himalayas/Nainital/Nainital.htm

I'll pay all expenses for anyone who wants to go. There will just be a service charge of £2.000 each.

Alright. Im sold. 2 pounds?? what is that, 4 aussie dollars??? yep sure im in!!!:D

[grasshopper]

its so wonderful that their culture revolves around veganism and nature. fabulous article!

[pat sommer]

I think I might be able to handle the trip now... just spent a year in Beijing so my hygiene standards have adjusted downwards.. worse than Borneo where I travelled overland south- north in 98. The Indonesian regime went down while I was all over Java Bali Boreo etc so how bad can Kashmir be? Scarier than walking home after the pubs close hmmm?

As for fads I tell folks my great-great grandmother was vegan: Eve
Maybe that's also why I get my kit off at every opportunity.....

[Hemlock]

The Swastika is not a static picture, it is supposed to represent a moving force or wind that they described as the whirlwind of creation, imagine it as a propeller breathing life into dust.

[veganesh]

thank you Korn..

the Jan 73 National Geographic mentioned that centenarian tribes
around the world were vegetarian.. they singled out the Villcabamba
of Ecuador, the Hunzas of Tibet, and the Azerbaijans of the Caucasus.

Recently s tudy has found that Seventh Day Adventists are the longest
lived community in the US. The international relief of the Adventists is
vegan.

(May they convince their hospitals to stop vivisecting)

[Korn]

the Jan 73 National Geographic mentioned that centenarian tribes
around the world were vegetarian.. they singled out the Villcabamba
of Ecuador, the Hunzas of Tibet, and the Azerbaijans of the Caucasus.
Interesting. Both Donald Watson (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=912&highlight=donald+watson) and Serena Coles (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6893), two of the pioneers of veganism, became 95. Many of the members of the vegan tribe in the Himalayas (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2005/01/07/stories/2005010700080200.htm) are also active at 90. Could it be because they get their B12 from barley grass (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2118) and Omega-3 from walnuts (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=99)? Apricots (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=3), another healthy plant (which by the way contains amygdalin (http://www.anticancerinfo.co.uk/why.htm)), is also essential in their diet.

[Seaside]

My grandfather lived to 101, and ate walnuts from his four walnut trees almost every day. He wasn't vegan, though.

[sproutsfan]

Many of the members of the vegan tribe in the Himalayas (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2005/01/07/stories/2005010700080200.htm) are also active at 90. Could it be because they get their B12 from barley grass (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2118) and Omega-3 from walnuts (http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=99)?
According to this http://www.beyondveg.com/walsh-s/vitamin-b12/vegans-1.shtml and other sites, our barley grass and other plants aren't reliable sources of B12, they just have analogues that are often mistaken for B12 and don't protect against deficiency for more than a decade (adults take a long time to run out). I suspect that like other communities uninfluenced by Western farming methods, they just don't use the pesticides and obsessive hygiene that prevent bacteria from producing B12 in their soil. Just thought I'd point this out in case anyone were thinking of trying to get it from these sources. But if this is true (I'm no expert, just repeating what I've read), then when peak oil happens and current methods are impossible, it should be quite possible to stay as healthy vegans as these people without fortified food or supplements. :)

[Korn]

According to this http://www.beyondveg.com/walsh-s/vitamin-b12/vegans-1.shtml and other sites, our barley grass and other plants aren't reliable sources of B12, they just have analogues that are often mistaken for B12 and don't protect against deficiency for more than a decade (adults take a long time to run out).
Even if beyondveg (the most notorious anti-vegan site on internet) claims that ie. barley grass (or any other plant) is not a reliable B12 source, this doesn't imply that barley grass never is a useful B12 source, or that plants are never useful as B12 sources. Neitehr does it imply that animal products always are reliable B12 sources, or that animal products don't contain B12 analogues, or that B12 analogues mixed with real B12 always is a real problem....

[sproutsfan]

LOL, yeah maybe I could have chosen a better site to link to.

I wasn't saying that plant sources are never useful - obviously that tribe and others avoid deficiency somehow - I was just pointing out that it's not currently accepted by scientists that Western vegans can do the same, and from what I can tell, farming methods are the main theory as to why. As long as people are informed of this uncertainty, I won't argue with any conclusion they come to. Personally, I use fortified foods and yeast extract to be on the safe side, and look forward to the day I can grow my own veg like these people and no longer require them.

[Sergio]

thank you Korn..

the Jan 73 National Geographic mentioned that centenarian tribes
around the world were vegetarian.. they singled out the Villcabamba
of Ecuador, the Hunzas of Tibet, and the Azerbaijans of the Caucasus.
Can you please provide more information about Azerbaijans of the Caucasus? Because Azerbaijan (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/aj.html)is a muslim country and I haven't heard about them being vegans, or even vegetarians.

[archaeopteryx]

I love this tribe. I would love to see a documentary about their way of life. It would make great television and provide a good means of introducing and exploring the idea of veganism in a new way to many people. I hope someone in a position to do this will do this soon. I don't want to see these people interfered with and disturbed but I would love to know and see more about them.

[AndyRain]

Thanks for the article. I printed it. I aspire to go there and see for myself. I am tired of reading nutritional studies that say....

"There has never been a culture of vegans."

or

"There are not enough vegans to make this study conclusive."

In my view, a FABULOUS contribution to animals is to have a few children and from birth to death have epidemiologists study them, so we have more "vegan data."

Thanks again.

[Russ]

The best part is they're 5000 years old. That's proof positive that vegans live longer. I'd love to see omnivores try to argue against THAT one.