Product Description

Here, the man who started the "food revolution" with the million-plus-selling Diet for a New America, boldly posits that, collectively, our personal diet can save ourselves and the world. If, according to chaos theory, the beating of a butterfly's wing can cause a hurricane in another part of the world, try this out for chaotic cause and effect: monarch butterflies are dying in droves due to genetically-engineered corn growing in the Midwest. There is also a direct correlation between the Big Mac in your hand and the mile-wide river now running across the North Pole. Learn the truth about foods we are eating that are, in Robbins' words, "unsafe on any plate."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4392 in Books
• Published on: 2001-07-11
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 340 pages

From Publishers Weekly
What can we do to help stop global warming, feed the hungry, prevent cruelty to animals, avoid genetically modified foods, be healthier and live longer? Eat vegetarian, Robbins (Diet for a New America) argues. Noting the massive changes in the environment, food-production methods, and technology over the last two decades, he lambastes (in a manner less tough-mindedly restrained than Frances Moore Lapp,'s classic Diet for a Small Planet) contemporary factory-farming methods and demonstrates that individual dietary choices can be both empowering and have a broader impact. Robbins, heir to the Baskin-Robbins ice-cream empire (he rejected it to live according to his values), takes on fad diets, the meat industry, food irradiation, hormone and antibiotic use in animals, cruel animal husbandry practices, the economics of meat consumption, biotechnology and the prevalence of salmonella and E. Coli. Some details are downright revolting (euthanized dogs and cats often are made into cattle feed), horrific (some 90% of cows, pigs and poultry are still conscious when butchered) and mind-boggling (it takes 5,214 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef). Despite all this and more distressing information, Robbins ends on a hopeful note, detailing growth in organic farming, public awareness and consumer activism worldwide, as well as policy changes, especially in Europe. Well researched and lucidly written, if sometimes overly sentimental and burdened by clich,d rhetoric, this book is sure to spark discussion and incite readers to examine their food choices. (July 2)Forecast: Diet for a New America was both controversial and influential; Robbins's name (and that of Dr. Dean Ornish, who provides a foreword) should draw readers, particularly to the author's six-city western U.S. tour. Global warming, animal rights, meat safety and genetically modified food are being recognized as important issues, but the kind of sea change the book calls for is unlikely to find a mass audience.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Robbins, author of the classic Diet for a New America, believes that plant-based nutrition and particularly vegan diets (free of meat, milk, and eggs) lead to long life and good health. Citing statistics, research studies, and selected quotes that extol the benefits of such diets, he also argues that animal products are responsible for such diseases as obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and cancer. Robbins deplores the inadequate sanitation and inspection in meat-processing plants and argues that many of the illnesses and stomach ailments that people complain about result from animal agriculture and the pathogens it introduces into our bodies. He also raises concerns about the dangers of fad diets that advocate high carbohydrates, high protein, or high fat. Robbins's zealous advocacy of plant-based nutrition and his refusal to consider the need for animal products in human nutrition throws his book off balance. Nevertheless, those who want to know more about vegan diets will gain many insights from his provocative book. Recommended for large nutrition collections with a diversity of viewpoints. [For more diet and nutrition books, see Anne Tomlin's "A Balanced Diet of Nutrition Resources" in LJ's May 1 consumer health supplement. Ed.] Irwin Weintraub, Brooklyn College Lib., New Yor.
- Irwin Weintraub, Brooklyn College Lib., New York
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile
Robbins, the only son of the Baskin-Robbins ice cream tycoon, decided not to enter the family business and instead devoted himself to the creation of a healthy lifestyle. He has a large following among vegetarians as well as other ecology-minded individuals. Although he is the main narrator in this production, other male and female voices randomly chime in, bombarding listeners with alarming statistics about meat consumption and chemical use in food production. All readers reflect the serious tone of the grave information they impart. The message is enough to scare you straight off processed foods. R.I.G. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Great!!!!!
I ordered The Food Revolution as a gift. I had absolutely "zero" problems with this transaction. PS. I love this book/author.
Wendy

Important book for its time with a real message.
The Food Revolution has a message for anyone who never thinks twice about the consequences of their food choices. It will even enlighten those who feel confident that they make the right food choices because they listen to their doctors. And its message is strong even to those who think vegetarians are prudes and are missing out on "the finer things." Robbins lays out the facts, using research articles as evidence, to criticize the food industry's claims and present the contradicting findings resulting from good sound science. Using this method he exposes the stark realities of the American diet that for the most part will get you to wonder why you have lived your life without ever wondering about such things as where your food comes from, how it was made, and what impact it has on the environment. Robbins explains to you the enormous impact that the single act of eating has on your body, the human population, and the planet itself. This book is huge in its scope and contains facts from hundreds of sources, and its rather objective delivery makes it a necessary read for anyone interested in studying diet, nutrition, disease, environmental protection, science, and agriculture. His sources are sometimes repetitive, be it the same person or organization, and as a result at these times his arguments lack clout. But these sources are solid and true, therefore not taking very much away from Robbins' message to America about the hazards of the current American diet.

The Book That Convinced Me
While it was vegan ultra-runner Scott Jurek who convinced me to change my diet, about 6 months later a friend recommended this book to me, and for the most part it's this man and this book that have convinced me plant-based nutrition is the future.

In answering a question for me that I submitted on his website, John Robbins led me to Vegsource and the rest of the gang. While it took a little time for a response to my question, when I did receive it, it came directly from John Robbins. I was quite surprised by this, and felt that I shouldn't "needlessly" bother him again, even with a thank you.

THANK YOU JOHN ROBBINSHealthy at 100: The Scientifically Proven Secrets of the World's Healthiest and Longest-Lived Peoples