An interview with raw food experts: Urs Hochstrasser

Verena: Hello, we're at the Rohvolution in Berlin today. I'm standing here with Urs Hochstrasser.

Urs, you used to have your own restaurant, ate meat normally, smoked, drank alcohol - you name it. Then, 25 years ago, you found your way into raw food. Now you run your own raw food centre in Switzerland with your partner Rita. It's fair to say that raw food - especially gourmet raw food - is close to your heart.

You could have said, when you found your way into raw food, this is my way, this is what I do for myself. But you said, no, I want to pass on my knowledge and enthusiasm to other people. Why is that?

Urs Hochstrasser: Yes , I am not alone in this world, but it is something of a soul contract that the knowledge you have is also worth sharing. And my aim was not just to find an optimal form of nutrition for myself, but for humanity.

And of course, the more people find this form of nutrition, the better I feel. In my opinion, you can't be happy on your own. You need a bunch of people around you.

Verena : Now you have your own stand at the fair. Yesterday, people were already overrunning your stand. How important is it to you to be present here and promote raw food?

Urs Hochstrasser: I wouldn't consider the word 'advertising' as such, but we prefer to promote raw food as advertising. It is of course the case that many people who find their way to raw food need motivation and just a bit of something new and a bit of a boost. And that's what we're here for, of course.

It's important to us that we can be of service to people somewhere and there's a lot going on here, there are a lot of people. But it's also nice to see that, compared to the beginning, when we started with raw food, so many people have joined us today. That makes us happy, it's a wonderful thing!

Verena: Nice, nice. In your article for the current trade fair magazine - I'll read it briefly - you wrote: "It's worth getting the best out of your personality". So, for you, raw food is a holistic concept. What does it all involve for you?

Urs Hochstrasser: Yes , we don't actually live for the raw food, but the raw food lives for us. In and of itself, we have found a form of nutrition that allows us to connect with our higher self, if we can put it that way, and to fully utilise the possibilities that we have as human beings. Raw food is a wonderful part of this.

I always compare it like this: you can also run a 1000 metre race in heavy hiking boots. But you can also do it with light running shoes. I think you can do it much more elegantly with light running shoes than with heavy hiking boots. But at the end of the day, the aim is to get over those 1000 metres as quickly, as elegantly and as joyfully as possible. And that's how it is here in life too, that you have an opportunity to realise your magnificence as a human being. Ultimately, it's about being able to share the joy and happiness and freedom and magnificence with each other. I think that's what life is all about.

Verena : The people who are now coming here to the raw revolution are already interested in raw food and are enthusiastic. What would you say to people who say that raw food is a sacrifice for me, it's not a pleasure and I just want pizza, cake, pie, ice cream, chocolate - all of that in my life.

Urs Hochstrasser: Yes , well, of course if someone says I want to or I don't want to, then that's their decision, that's what they want. That's the end of the big discussion for me, because I'm not overriding another person's free will. So he has to be willing to do that and invite me to help him. If someone doesn't want to, they don't want to, that's it!

But if someone says, yes, I would like to, but then of course you can find ways. I mean, we also have this raw food pizza and this raw food lasagne in the raw food sector. Some of them are really tasty.

However, you have to be a bit careful not to make the mistake of saying that this is raw spaghetti and then - even if it tastes good - it just tastes different to cooked spaghetti.

And if we then come up with a name and people think, ha, spaghetti, yes, now I've got the consistency of spaghetti, then they'll be disappointed, we don't want that. But still, we have so many options today, we have so many great ingredients that you can make a great raw diet and not really go without.

You can't get rid of an addiction without discipline. You can't get rid of a favourite habit without discipline. Instead, you have to look forwards and see the news, the benefits, the greatness of what's still out there. Looking back is always dangerous. Then you can't see what's coming, right? (laughs)

Verena: You also give instructions for normal raw food, simple raw food and gourmet raw food in your seminars and courses. However, many people who are interested say, no, that's too time-consuming for me, I can't integrate it into my everyday life. Do you have any tips for beginners?

Urs Hochstrasser: Yes , well, of course there are ways to prepare something really quickly. I'm thinking of soups, I'm thinking of shakes, I'm thinking of smoothies. I mean, nowadays you can prepare a full meal in a flash, you can take it with you. So it's also worth setting yourself up properly and then making a decision.

What do you mean, I don't have time? If someone doesn't have time for a diet, then they are very well served with raw food. There are no cooking times involved. We realised that raw food takes much less time. And you still have a better meal than if you do anything else. And if you have to queue at a fast food outlet, it takes longer, right? (laughs)

Verena : You've been eating a raw food diet for 25 years. In that time, the raw food diet has changed and developed quite a bit. How do you think it will continue to develop?

Urs Hochstrasser: Unfortunately, I 'm not a fortune teller and I don't know the future exactly. But the way I see it, the trend and realisation will develop in the same way as the vegan movement today. It will become fully established.

However, it's also possible that the gap will widen a little. People are turning to raw food, not just for health reasons, but actually because of their awareness. We have more and more conscious people, as well as people who haven't quite found their way to consciousness yet. We have to live with that, we will live with that. And everyone has to see where they stand.

I do think that we have now reached a stage where this will actually develop. When I see how many people have now joined in this short space of time - it's gigantic. And of course I really hope that it continues like this.

Verena: So, you're looking into an exciting future, we're all looking into an exciting future. How do you see your role in it and what do you have planned for the future?

Urs Hochstrasser: I think my role in the future will also be to promote the benefits of raw food a little more and also the benefits that you have as a human being, as a creative being, if you eat an optimal diet, if you eat a living diet, that you bring this a little closer to people.

I also believe that I will work a little on the finer points of raw food. After all, it's not just a question of simply having some kind of artistic food in raw food, as we used to have in the catering industry, which we want to make into raw food. Ultimately, it has to serve a purpose.

We all want to be able to fulfil our potential. And so it makes sense for us to know the finer points. And I think we all need motivation and I see myself embedded in that.

Verena: So, you'll be staying with us. Thank you very much, that was a nice closing. Thank you for taking the time. Now you have to continue preparing your stand. Yes, that was the interview with Urs Hochstrasser and I'll say goodbye!

Urs and Rita Hochstrasser recommend: