George Julius Drews (January 20, 1873 - October 17, 1945) was a German American naturopath and writer associated with the natural hygiene and

raw food Raw foodism, also known as rawism or a raw food diet, is the dietary practice of eating only or mostly food that is uncooked and unprocessed. Depending on the philosophy, or type of lifestyle and results desired, raw food diets may include ...

movements.

Biography

Drews was one of the pioneers of the raw foodism movement in America.Berry, Rynn. (2007). "Raw Foodism". In Andrew F. Smith. ''The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink''. Oxford University Press. pp. 493-494. Drews authored the

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

raw food book ''Unfired Food and Tropho-Therapy'' in 1912. The book was reprinted ten times by 1927. Drews argued that mans natural diet should consist of uncooked

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

s, cereals, herbs,

nut Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Co ...

s and

root In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...

s. A negative review in the ''Medical Advance'' journal commented that "we are unable to find any proofs of the position taken, no experiments are offered by which conclusions may be reached, and arguments upon a logical basis are not present." Drews invented a Greek-based nomenclature for his raw foodism and founded the Apyrtropher Society in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He utilized the term "Apyrtrophy" for his raw food philosophy.''Apostle of Raw Food Explains Belief of Sect''
''Bismarck Daily Tribune''. (October 9, 1913). He hosted lectures and meetings about Apyrtrophy. His agenda was to convert people to eating only uncooked food, spread the practice of eating vegetables in their natural state and oppose the use of the

gas stove A gas stove is a stove that is fuelled by combustible gas such as syngas, natural gas, propane, butane, liquefied petroleum gas or other flammable gas. Before the advent of gas, cooking stoves relied on solid fuels such as coal or wood. The first ...

. It was described as a cult by critics. Drews opposed the consumption of

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

s and meat, but was not a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...

. In his book ''Unfired Food and Tropho-Therapy'' he wrote that "milk is only naturally beneficial and wholesome for

emaciated Emaciation is defined as the state of extreme thinness from absence of body fat and muscle wasting usually resulting from malnutrition. Characteristics In humans, the physical appearance of emaciation includes thinned limbs, pronounced and protrud ...

adults when it has become curdled. A cup of churned thick milk or buttermilk along with a dish of green salad may be served to convalescents with good results." Drews influenced

John and Vera Richter John Theophilus Richter (June 10, 1863 – January 24, 1949) and Vera May Richter ( Weitzel, December 11, 1884 – January 13, 1960) were an American married couple who ran an early raw food restaurant in Los Angeles, the Eutropheon, which ...

to open America's first raw food restaurant "The Eutropheon" in 1917. He was the owner of ''Apyrtropher Magazine''.

Personal life

Drews married Elizabeth Bristle in September, 1911.''Love and Raw Potatoes''
''The Ogden Standard''. (August 7, 1915). She originally weighed 119 pounds which was a fair weight for her stature. Influenced by Drews, she embraced a strict raw food diet and a daily menu plan that he had created. The diet consisted of fruit

juice Juice is a drink made from the extraction or pressing of the natural liquid contained in fruit and vegetables. It can also refer to liquids that are flavored with concentrate or other biological food sources, such as meat or seafood, such as ...

, water, vegetable

salad A salad is a dish consisting of mixed, mostly natural ingredients with at least one raw ingredient. They are typically served at room temperature or chilled, though some can be served warm. Condiments and salad dressings, which exist in a va ...

s, nuts, fruit, herbs,

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

and raw

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es. Her weight decreased to only 105 pounds. Bristle complained that she was losing too much weight and she was feeling ill. Bristle described Drews as a "crank on the matter of food", he also tried to convert her to "back to nature" ideas, including nudism. Bristle went back to live with her mother Katharina who was concerned about her health. She weighed 135 pounds on her mother's cooking, ate the occasional piece of

steak A steak is a thick cut of meat generally sliced across the muscle fibers, sometimes including a bone. It is normally grilled or fried. Steak can be diced, cooked in sauce, such as in steak and kidney pie, or minced and formed into patti ...

and enjoyed wholesome cooked vegetables. Drews denied that his daily menu of raw food made his wife ill. They divorced in June, 1915.''Fireless Food Costs Him Wife''. ''Chicago Examiner'' (June 11, 1915).

Selected publications

''Unfired Foods and Hygienic Dietetics''
(1909)
''Unfired Food and Tropho-Therapy''
(1912) *''The Improved Mono-Diet'' (1921)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drews, George J. 1873 births 1945 deaths American health and wellness writers American naturists American nutritionists American vegetarianism activists Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States Naturopaths Orthopaths Pseudoscientific diet advocates Raw foodists