Rasta Culture in New York

Rastafari culture stems from the desire to become self-sufficient and independent from the rest of society (Kutler, Goyan, Sucher 2000). People who identified with this movement disassociated themselves from the urban world and retreated to live a more natural life in the mountains. Moving into the jungles and the forests and away from cities and modernized civilization, Rastas turn their focus on positive thought and healthy living. They consume only natural food products such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, and occasionally small fish, steering away from meats, flesh and diary products. In this way, Rastas are able to live entirely off of what they found growing in nature, or what they could plant and harvest themselves (Tuff 2003).

The word ital is derived from the English word vital. Since Rastafarian thought is characterized by the use of the letter I to show “the divine principle that is in all humanity” and to show unity with nature, Rastafarians often replace significant syllables with this character (Murrell, Spencer, McFarlane 1998). The word vital was therefore transformed into the word ital. The term took on the new meaning of “springing from earth, earthy, natural, or organic” (Murrell, Spencer, McFarlane 1998). Much as the meaning of the word vital, the expression ital is represents an essential part of a healthy and positive human existence. More generally however, the phrase ital most frequently refers to the type of no-animal product cuisine Rastafarians consume.

There are many restrictions on what Rastas can consume. Rastafari are firm believers of consuming only natural goods, eliminating any unnecessary additives or preservatives.  Ital food proscribes any “synthetic materials and chemically treated foods” in addition to salt, meat, especially pork, shellfish, scale less fish, manufactured products such as canned goods, alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs not including marijuana, which is considered an herb (Stein-Barer 1999).