For the sake of clarity I thought I should reply to your comments above.

1. Although the info sections are in a lecture style the food demos are around a table. I can honestly say I have never received feedback that our course is overpriced, quite the contrary, I have actually had the exact opposite expressed. I suppose value is a personal thing. People will spend 100 times the course fee to feel just 10x better, but 100 times better? Who knows.

2. I present 1 x 45 minute info section on day 2 of the course on Superfoods. My products, as well as others I trust, are mentioned to offer the possibility of experiential benefits. I started out presenting workshops before I began offering products as I am clear that the products are only a support. The information applied is where the greatest benefits lie.
My experience has been that Superfoods work. People feel better. This excites me. For this I must give the course away for free?

3. I make it clear early on in the workshop that it is beyond the scope of a 2 day event to offer full explanations and site references. The course is simply a basic introduction to the topic. For those who wish to research further the scientific data is freely available in the recommended reading suggested during the event. It is for this very reason that I bring over 20 of my reference books with for people to look through at the event and offer a recommended reading list on my website. I completely agree that I am not a guru and thanks for the compliment. It’s crazy though how many people place their complete trust regarding their own well-being in those who only have a few weeks at best of nutritional training.

Here is a list of books that would be excellent for a seeker to investigate further:

The Sunfood Diet Success System, David Wolfe
Superfoods, David Wolfe
Conscious Eating, Gabriel Cousens
Ph Miracle, Robert Young
The Thrive Diet, Brendan Brazier
Raw Family – A True Story of Awakening, Victoria Boutenko
China Study – The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-Term Health, T. Colin Campbell, Thomas M. Campbell
Blatant Raw Foodist Propaganda, Joe Alexander
The Complete Book of Raw Food, Lori Baird
Enzyme Nutrition, Edward Howell
Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill, Udo Erasmus
Living Foods for Optimum Health – Staying Healthy in an Unhealthy World, Brian R Clement
Green for Life, Victoria Boutenko
12 Steps To Raw Foods, Victoria Boutenko
Eating for Beauty, David Wolfe
Nature’s First Law Raw Food Diet, David Wolfe, Stephen Arlin
Naked Chocolate – The Astonishing Truth About The World’s Greatest Food, David Wolfe
Depression-free for life – a physician’s all-natural 5-step plan, Gabriel Cousens
There Is A Cure For Diabetes, Gabriel Cousens
The Live Food Factor – A Comprehensive Guide To The Ultimate Diet For Body, Mind, Spirit & Planet, Susan E Schenck
Left in the Dark, Graham Gynn, Tony Wright
Living Energies – Viktor Schauberger’s Brilliant Work with Natural Energy Explained, Callum Coats
The Secret Life of Plants, Peter Tompkins, Christopher Bird
Sea Energy Agriculture, Maynard Murray
Wheatgrass – Nature’s Finest Medicine, Steve Meyerowitz
The Sprouting Book, Ann Wigmore

4. The entire event is made up of my personal views or I would not be in my truth. My personal views are an integration of years of research and personal experience inspired by the groundbreaking work of many learned and conscious people in service to the betterment of humanity. AIDS is not a topic generally discussed in the event as it requires a fair amount of background knowledge to avoid knee jerk reactions. There is plenty of scientific data to question the current accepted viewpoint. However, anyone who is versed in nutrition knows that beetroot and garlic merely point in the right direction but a far more sophisticated and considered approach is needed when dealing with a destroyed immune system and a high viral load.

For more info on the topic see:

http://drbenkim.com/articles-aids.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/027631_AIDS_House_of_Numbers.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/027354_AIDS_HIV_immune_system.html
http://www.rethinkingaids.com/

5. What I find highly disturbing is that seriously ill people are lied to and experimented on with highly toxic and expensive treatments, when there are thousands of people who have experienced remarkable results by simply changing their diet and lifestyle. Most oncologists when interviewed have said they would not use the standard cancer treatments on themselves or their loved ones(http://www.naturalnews.com/023663_cancer_health_Oleander.html). It only takes a little research to see the truth in this.

I highly recommend looking into the work being done at the Hippocrates institute(http://www.hippocratesinst.org/) and The William Hitt Centre(http://www.williamhittcenter.com/) as well as the following resources:

http://www.cancerproject.org/diet_cancer/index.php
http://www.cancure.org/directory.htm
http://www.naturalnews.com/027020_cancer_the_AMA_medicine.html
http://www.loot.co.za/shop/main.jsp?page=detail&id=6932606082928
http://www.naturalnews.com/011701_cancer_industry_beating.html
http://www.naturalnews.com/012923_cancer_treatments_world_without.html

6. Competition? It is a sorry state of affairs when those dedicated to healing are said to be competing against each other. I make a point on the course of saying that many MD’s do amazing work with the tools they have been given and that there certainly is a place for allopathic medicine in emergency situations, but in chronic conditions the results are dismal. At the start of the course I make it clear that I am a raw food chef, not a Doctor or nutritionist, and that people need to work with their health care practitioner in perusing healing through lifestyle changes.

Thanks for the opportunity to provide more information to people and I wish you great success and wellness in embracing a raw food and natural nutrition lifestyle.

I have been seriously studying nutrition, health and healing for the past 23 years. During this time I have also developed a refined understanding of the myths related to health and disease and the various agendas behind their propagation.

I have also attended Peter and Beryn’s course and have studied the work of many luminaries within the raw foods, natural healing and integral nutrition paradigms.

I wish to make specific response to Jan’s points to provide a balancing point of view:

1. Fair enough – expectation not met. I found the course format with a large number of people fine (about 60 in my group) – more enjoyable with a larger group actually. I don’t feel anything was lost by not having a smaller group. Lectures + demonstrations and group interaction made for good experience.

2. I disagree that product was “pushed”. Certainly direct references were made to the products that Peter and Beryn sell, but that is logical since they believe in what they sell and they have obviously found these products very useful within the raw food paradigm. Personally I agree that their products (a growing line of superfoods) have a meaningful place within a raw food lifestyle. They should not dominate a raw food diet necessarily (especially products like cacao) but do have a place there. I did not feel that their products were inappropriately emphasized, and was comfortable hearing about them in that context.

3. I agree Peter is not a guru. But as someone who has over 2 decades of study in the field, I found his understanding of the subject excellent. I agree with you that referral was generally not made to scientific substantiation, but I don’t think the format of the course would allow for this (unless the course went to 10 days instead of 2). I disagree however with the comment that Peter’s comments lacked scientific basis. All the science is there for the study if one has the will and patience to do it. Nothing Peter said was “off” in my opinion.

4. On this issue I agree entirely with Peter’s point of view on HIV / AIDS. Dr. “Beetroot”, though unsophisticated in her approach, was correct. HIV is one of the biggest and most sophisticated and insidious hoaxes ever played out on the world stage. AIDS (as a breakdown of the intelligence of the immune system) is real. HIV as the supposed sexually transmitted bug-cause is horseshit. ARV’s, as, the purported “cure” or “treatment”, are also nonsense. See the work of Peter Duesberg, Christine Maggiore and the movie House of Numbers as an educational starting point.

5. Actually in many cases it can be a cure. Not always obviously, but the human body-mind has a profound innate ability to self-correct when given the opportunity to do so. The raw vegan diet, intelligently applied, provides maximal support for this. Of course its real value is in prevention in the first place.

6. The Medical Profession is a noble and well-intended endeavour. I do not exactly recall Peter’s comments in this regard, but my own critique of Western allopathic medicine has to do with its sometimes simplistic, relatively immature (and often arrogant) point of view in relation to disease, and the causes and treatment thereof. I am 100% in agreement with Peter that pharmaceutical medicines are toxic substances (and are so by definition even). They all work by disrupting natural bodily processes to accomplish their results, and I feel they are way over-prescribed in our culture. I believe they can serve a purpose as life-or-death emergency treatment, as for example in the case of major systemic infection which will lead to death if not treated with antibiotics. However, I consider them health-compromising in all other situations and would personally never use them (and have not for 15 years). There are more benign and ecological ways to positively adjust bodily bio-chemistry using naturally occurring substances.

I think it is great that you are noticing how raw food (and I hope organic too) is improving your health and helping eliminate your ailments. Good on you for making the change and I trust you will go from strength to strength.

1) I expected a small group for R1500 (2 day course). There were 50 people and it was lecture style.

2) A lot of the course was used to push product sold by their company. The course should have been free or with a minimal fee.

3) Comments during the course were unsubstantiated and lacked any scientific basis or referral to such. I do agree with a lot of the stuff but it is clear that Peter is a sales man and not a guru (having only been involved for 3 or 4 years does not make someone an expert).

4) I was most disappointed to hear Peter airing his views that HIV doesn’t cause AIDS and found this incredibly irresponsible as he has no scientific background or experience in this area and should not use this professional forum to air his personal views. His comments that Manto Shabalala Misimange had been correct about Beetroot and Garlic was even more disappointing.

5) Peter attested to the ability of raw food diet to cure cancer and other serious illnesses was again highly disturbing. Obviously, a healthy diet helps to reduce illness but it is not a cure.

6) Peter is highly critical of the Medical profession. He criticizer the use of medication as a toxic substance that has no place in your body. This is rather like – throwing the baby out with the bath water and is either ignorance or merely knocking the competition.

Having said all this, I still walked away with some good stuff. Raw food is definitely improving my health and helping eliminate my ailments. I feel a hundred times better. If you choose to do the course then try to keep an eye on what is fact and what is sales talk.