Fruitarianism is usually lumped into one pigeonhole with raw foodism - one of the definitions I had read before I looked it up online defined 'fruitarian' as: "Will eat only fruits, raw vegetables, nuts, seeds and sprouted beans and seeds." ('Eat Well, Stay Well' cookbook, in association with the Royal College of General Practitioners). This is like calling a vegan a vegetarian and probably really gets on fruitarians' tits.
Purist fruitarianism involves eating ONLY fruit: no nuts, green vegetables, grains or pulses. I didn't have any idea why but after looking at www.fruitarianvibes.com, and emailing David (the fruitarian webmaster) I see there are valid reasons, but since people have so much trouble with even the vegan ethos, I can't see it becoming mainstream anytime soon. From what I've read the fruitarian and raw food diets seem to be more to do with health and spiritualism than animal rights, but it may just be that once you go beyond veganism an empathy and respect for all life is assumed and they don't feel the need to harp on about it and piss everyone off with animal rights propaganda like me. Here's some basic info from the FV site:
A Fruitarian is someone who eats predominantly fruit and ideally 100%. "Fruits" include all tree fruits, all berries, watermelons, vine fruits like kiwis and grapes and vegetable-fruits like tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. Fruitarians living in tropical environments would consume coconuts although coconuts are often thought of as a nut.
Some Fruitarians will consume nuts and vegetables to a certain extent, although these rarely would be consumed in any great amount by a Fruitarian, however we promote a true fruitarian diet, 100% fruit with no nuts and no vegetables or greens.
Why Fruitarian?
To most Fruitarians, the diet is simply a natural progression, from omnivore to vegetarian, vegan, raw foods and finally Fruitarian. To some it is the chosen diet for health reasons. Others follow it because they believe humans were always destined to eat fruit, starting from the Garden of Eden.
Benefits of being Fruitarian
Cooked food is an unnatural human creation and is toxic to the body. Fruitarians eat 100% raw food as close as possible to its natural state. It is never possible to improve upon nature, a fact that many humans find hard to accept. When our diet is in harmony with nature, our health excels and our consciousness expands.
Protein shmotein
Vegetarians have been drilled with the age old question time and time again, "but where do you get your protein?" Oddly enough, vegetarians actually consume more protein than meat eaters. (According to Vegetarian Times) The question is about as ridiculous as asking, but where do you get your cholesterol? Americans are dying en masse because of overconsumption of protein rich foods. The World Health Organization recommends that you get about 4.5 % of your calories from protein. Other organization put the figure a little higher, at about 6%. Most people assume that fruit has NO protein. Guess what, most fruits have between 3 and 9% protein, averaging around 6%. The only way to not get enough protein on a fruit diet is to not eat enough. Get enough calories from fruit and you automatically get enough protein. It's as simple as that. People will continually argue that you'll die of protein deficiency on a fruit diet, but the facts are there for those who wish to see them. Don't take our word for it, do your own research and you'll discover the truth for yourself. "
"The Fruitarian Diet
The one thing that more Fruitarians mention above all others is a knowingness, an internal feeling that the Fruitarian diet is the diet meant for mankind.
Vegetables, while they can be consumed raw, are not very appealing without dressings or some kind of unnatural thing done to them. Consuming most vegetables involves the killing of the plant, whereas fruits are freely given. Fruit is the one thing that appeals to humans in every way and provides every possible nutrient, making us fruitarians.
Many will attack the diet, (just like vegetarianism and veganism was attacked for decades) and will say that it is deficient in calcium or protein... Without trying, it is easy to get more than sufficient amounts of all nutrients on a fruitarian diet, even calcium and yes even protein. For those who do not believe us, please contact us and we will clearly dispel the myth for you.
Most of the fears and myths are a result of ignorance or misinformation. When we become informed and educated, we realize that the fruitarian diet does supply us with everything we need and not only is the best diet for humans, but (not coincidentally) it is the more environmentally sound diet for the planet.