with death). In addition to evading contact with death, Rastas prevent their own death by eating “Ital” in their quest for perpetual wellbeing and purity. By eating “Ital,” Rastas take an active role in staving off death and confirm their I-n-I status.

The term “Ital” derives from “vital.” Rastas believe that Ital food increases vitality. Given that practitioners eat to generate wellness, they reject the term “diet” on the basis that it includes “die” and instead employ the term “livit,” which is rooted in

“live.” 360 A proper “livit” consists of foods that promote spiritual and physical wellbeing.

Rastafari consider Ital the ancient dietary way of Jah’s elect people, the natural “livit” of their ancestors. Consuming a “livit” defined by African dietary practices, Caribbean growing conditions and agricultural practices, and passages from the Hebrew Bible, including Genesis 1:29 (“Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat”), Exodus 10:12 (“Eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left”), and Leviticus 11 (a chapter that details proper consumption for

Israelites) assures Rastas a body capable of functioning as a deific vessel.361 Sistren

Angela Gunn explains that an “Ital diet is based on the spiritual belief and interpretation from biblical references in Genesis, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, that the body is a temple and must be kept clean and pure.”362

An Ital livit is generally vegetarian and consists largely of fruits and vegetables.

Rastas eschew processed, canned, and unnatural foods in favor of that which comes directly from the earth. Common ingredients include callaloo, coconut, tofu, breadfruit, and tamarind. Coconut oil, herbs, spices, and hot peppers flavor popular dishes such as

Ital stew, tofu curry, and peas and rice. Rastas eschew white flour, dairy, eggs, and most

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