Diet for a New America [Paperback]

John Robbins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 14, 1998

From John Robbins, a new edition of the classic that awakened the conscience of a nation. Since the 1987 publication of Diet for a New America, beef consumption in the United States has fallen a remarkable 19%. While many forces are contributing to this dramatic shift in our habits, Diet for a New America is considered to be one of the most important. Diet for a New America is a startling examination of the food we currently buy and eat in the United States, and the astounding moral, economic, and emotional price we pay for it.
In Section I, John Robbins takes an extraordinary look at our dependence on animals for food and the inhumane conditions under which these animals are raised. It becomes clear that the price we pay for our eating habits is measured in the suffering of animals, a suffering so extreme and needless that it disrupts our very place in the web of life.

Section II challenges the belief that consuming meat is a requirement for health by pointing our the vastly increased rate of disease caused by pesticides, hormones, additives, and other chemicals now a routine part of our food production. The author shows us that the high health risk is unnecessary, and that the production, preparation, and consumption of food can once again be a healthy process.

In Section III, Robbins looks at the global implications of a meat-based diet and concludes that the consumption of the resources necessary to produce meat is a major factor in our ecological crisis.

Diet for a New America is the single most eloquent argument for a vegetarian lifestyle ever published. Eloquently, evocatively, and entertainingly written, it is a cant put down book guaranteed to amaze, infuriate, but ultimately educate and empower the reader. A pivotal book nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction in 1987.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This well-documented expose of America's "factory farms" should prompt even die-hard meat-and-potatoes lovers to reevaluate their diets. Asserting that "we are ingesting nightmares for breakfast, lunch and dinner," Robbins, who is medical director of the California Institute for Health and Healing, details how livestock is raised under increasingly industrialized conditions by "agribusiness oligopolies." Grazing and foraging have given way to debeaking, tail-docking, dehorning and castration, and treatment with pesticides, hormones, growth and appetite stimulants, tranquilizers and antibioticswhich, in turn, are assimilated by humans. The author correlates our "protein obsessed" society with a higher incidence of arteriosclerosis, osteoporosis, cancer and other degenerative diseases, as well as freakish occurrences like premature puberty from estrogen contamination. As Robbins debunks nutritional myths perpetuated by the powerful meat and dairy industries (indicting as well his family's Baskin-Robbins ice-cream empire), this is sure to prove controversial. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Diet for a New America is a powerful indictment of our dietary practices that should be read by everyone interested in healthy living. It is a well-researched, well-documented and eye-opening account of the myths and truths about meat, milk, fat and protein. I will recommend this book to patients, friends, and relatives. -- Andrew Weil, M.D., Author, Spontaneous Healing

Diet for a New America is a powerful tool on the journey towards consciousness and compassion. I recommend it without reservation, and hope that many, many people will read it. -- Gary Zukav, Author, The Dancing Wu Li Masters

Diet for a New America will vitalize the awakening of America. This easy-to-read yet mind-boggling book has its place in the kitchen and in the doctors office, in every classroom, from preschool to university. For those involved in ecological and political issues, this book is a mustso it is for all of us who long for a practical economical way to foster a more sane, ethical and loving world. -- Laura Huxley, Author, This Timeless Moment

A reading must for all caring Americans. -- Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, Authors, Fit for Life

Diet for a New America is excellent! I can't speak highly enough of it. This book is a breakthrough in the science of health and a joy to read. No one who suffers (or whose loved ones suffer) from the diseases of our time can afford to ignore this potent message. In his captivating style, John Robbins shows us how to create health for ourselves, our children, and the world we live in. -- Dr. John McDougall, Author, The McDougall Plan

Every so often a book comes along which has the capacity to awaken the conscience of a nation. Silent Spring was one such book: I believe John Robbins volume is destined to be another. With consummate intelligence, thoroughness and skill, Robbins takes us on a multifaceted journey which should cause all sensitive people to question their eating habits most searchingly. I couldnt put it down. -- Cleveland Amory, President, Fund for Animals, Author, The Cat Who Came for Christmas

From the outset of reading this volume I was enthralled. The book is a pleasure to read, as engrossing as the most exciting novel. Yet this is no novelit deals directly with the most important personal issues and decisions of our lives. When I finished reading Diet for a New America, I knew that in my hands lay one of the most profound studies ever written of how our eating habits affect our lives, and indeed all of life on our planet . . . If you read only one book this year, let it be this one. -- Vegetarian Times magazine

In a tender, not strident, voice Robbins shows us why a humane society cannot be built upon an inhumane system of food production. Robbins does not play on our guilt, but shows us how our own well-being is linked to the development of radically new sensibilities to non-human life. I promise youwhat you perceive behind the supermarket meat counter will never be the same after reading Diet for a New America. -- Frances Moore Lapp, Author, Diet for a Small Planet

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: HJ Kramer; 2nd edition (April 14, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0915811812
• ISBN-13: 978-0915811816
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.2 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (172 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #189,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Robbins is the author of No Happy Cows: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Food Revolution, and the co-founder and co-host of The Food Revolution Network, http://foodrevolution.org.

He is also author of the international bestseller DIET FOR A NEW AMERICA: How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness, and the Future of Life on Earth, THE FOOD REVOLUTION: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World,The New Good Life: Living Better Than Ever in an Age of Less, HEALTHY AT 100: The Scientifically Proven Secrets of the World's Healthiest and Longest-Lived Peoples, THE AWAKENED HEART: Meditations on Finding Harmony in a Changing World, and RECLAIMING OUR HEALTH: Exploding the Medical Myth and Embracing the Source of True Healing.

John's work has been the subject of cover stories and feature articles in The San Francisco Chronicle, The Los Angeles Times, Chicago Life, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and many of the nation's other major newspapers and magazines. His life and work have also been featured in an hour long PBS special titled Diet For A New America.

The only son of the founder of the Baskin-Robbins ice cream empire, John Robbins was groomed to follow in his father's footsteps, but chose to walk away from Baskin-Robbins and the immense wealth it represented to "...pursue the deeper American Dream...the dream of a society at peace with its conscience because it respects and lives in harmony with all life forms. A dream of a society that is truly healthy, practicing a wise and compassionate stewardship of a balanced ecosystem."

Considered by many to be one of the most eloquent and powerful spokespersons in the world for a sane, ethical and sustainable future, John has been a featured and keynote speaker at major conferences sponsored by Physicians for Social Responsibility, Beyond War, Oxfam, the Sierra Club, the Humane Society of the United States, the United Nations Environmental Program, UNICEF, and many other organizations dedicated to creating a healthy, just, and sustainable way of life. He is the recipient of the Rachel Carson Award, the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award, the Peace Abbey's Courage of Conscience Award, and lifetime achievement awards from groups including Green America. The widespread media attention he has received has included numerous appearances on national shows including Oprah, Donahue and Geraldo. When John spoke at the United Nations, he received a standing ovation.

John serves on the Boards of many non-profit groups working toward a thriving, just, and sustainable way of life. He is the Founder and Board Chair Emeritus of EarthSave International (earthsave.org), an organization dedicated to healthy food choices, preservation of the environment, and a more compassionate world.

John's life is dedicated to creating an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just human presence on this planet. He lives with his wife Deo, their son Ocean and his wife Michele, and their grandsons River and Bodhi in the hills outside Santa Cruz, California. The Robbins' offices and home run on solar electricity.

For information about John, for access to his articles and posts, or to sign up to be notified of his future posts and events, visit http://www.johnrobbins.info, or join the Food Revolution Network at http://www.foodrevolution.org

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

297 of 307 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The critics are wrong, for the most part July 29, 2001

By Paul Doland

Format:Paperback

I just read John's newest book, The Food Revolution. In many ways, it makes Diet for a New America obsolete. The Food Revolution is basically a rewrite of Diet for a New America with new information.

I looked at some of the reviews here for Diet for a New America. Almost all of the reviews are either 5 stars or 1 star. John certainly does generate rather extreme responses. So, I thought I'd take a look at the negative reviews and see what they have to say.

I read some of the reviews of other books made by those who gave Diet for a New America negative reviews to see where they are coming from. One of the negative reviewers gave a 5 star rating to a Protein Power book. So much for that reviewer's knowledge of nutrition. Doctors of both mainstream and alternative medicine virtually unanamously condemn Atkins and his clones.

Some of the reviews complain that John's presentation is too emotional. Nature isn't always so kind. Not all animals are cute little puppies to play with. Fair enough - I'm not going to go pet an aligator any time soon. But does that then mean we have the right to engage in systematic torture of animals? I'd say that is a rather extreme leap. So is the fact that John tries to tug at our hearts so bad? I guess some readers believe that we humans are merely more "protein conversion machines" that the meat industry thinks of the aninimals it tortures.

Some critics would say that John isn't qualified to talk like an expert in nutrition, the environment, animal husbandry, etc. Okay, except for one thing. People who ARE experts in these fields, such as former cattle rancher Howard Lyman (of Oprah Winfry "McLibel" fame,) nutrition experts Dr. T. Colin Campbell of Cornell University, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Neal Barnard, etc. all readily endorse John Robbins work.

Possibly the most controversial subject matter would be John's environmental statistics. Even many vegetarians feel that John is too one-sided on this and try to distance themselves from John for this reason. I'm not an environmental expert, so I guess I can't legitimaly argue with authority who is right. However, even taking more conservative numbers, such as the 450 gallons of water per pound of beef, (instead of John's 2,500 to 12,000 gallons per pound,) even the conservative number is many times less efficient than vegetables. And the vegetables are much more healthy too. So, even conservative numbers are damning enough.

In John's latest book, he give more information as to why he feels the conservative numbers are faulty. And I feel that John makes a credible case for his position. But in the end, it doesn't matter, the conservative numbers are bad enough!

Even so, I'd still say that some of the material in Diet for a New America is dated. If you haven't read it yet, skip it and go for The Food Revolution. Also get Reclaiming Our Health.

Oh, and as far as the video of Diet for a New America, well, I know that nobody could do justice to Diet for a New America in one hour. So perhaps I was expecting too much. But I just found the video version just way too skimpy. I wish I knew of a better video on the environmental issues, but I don't. Sadly, I really can't recommend the video.

64 of 73 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A classic of environment-friendly literature August 4, 2004

By Dennis Littrell HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This is a radical polemic with a clear intention: to increase the number of vegans in the world. In a way it is a throwback--with similar effect--to Upton Sinclair's famous novel, The Jungle, about the filth in the Chicago stockyards, except that it is non-fiction (mostly, anyway). John Robbins wants to rub our nose in the filth, neglect and cruelty characteristic of the meat and poultry industries. He wants an end to the mass production and consumption of animal foods.

He begins with some amazing and heart-warming stories about the courage and selflessness of animals and how much they do for us. Then he turns his focus to the way we treat the animals we use for food. It is difficult to read this part of the book, and indeed I confess that I skipped ahead. I already know about those appalling conditions having seen them on TV. Next he argues that we need less protein than the "protein empire" wants us to believe. He goes on to show how we can get all the protein our bodies require through a vegan diet. Then he argues that many cancers can be prevented with a proper diet that excludes animal products while implicating the products of the meat and poultry industries in the development of many diseases, especially the chronic diseases epidemic in the Western world. He concludes with a general manifesto in favor of an agrarian kind of heaven on earth.

I am sorry to report, as other reviews have, that there are many errors and misconceptions in the book. In a minor error on page 176, for example, Robbins writes that "wheat...is 17% protein." Actually (as the USDA chart on the next page shows) 17% of the calories from wheat are in the form of protein, which is decidedly not the same thing. That chart also shows that 49% of the calories from spinach come from protein, but this does not mean that if you ate a pound of spinach you would eat almost half a pound of protein. Spinach is not 49% protein. It has water and fiber, etc. and it doesn't have a lot of calories.

More important than the outright errors are the misrepresentations in the way Robbins sometimes presents his facts. For example on pages 266-267 he writes that instances of cervical cancer are "highest among women who consume diets high in fat, particularly animal fat." He adds that "cervical cancer in women in developing countries who began intercourse before age seventeen is two to three times higher than for those who began later." What he doesn't say (and probably didn't know) is that cervical cancer is caused by a papillomavirus and as such is a sexually transmitted disease.

He also writes about the deforestation of America. The rate he gives from 1967 to 1986 when he wrote the first edition of this book is "one acre every five seconds." (p. 361) Actually, the amount of forested lands in the United States has increased by quite a bit since 1967 and some of that increase was during the years in question.

I mention these shortcomings because I want to be fair, even though I realize that Robbins is more intent on serving his cause than being fair. I can put that aside because I believe that Robbins has done a fine public service in writing this book because it is a much-needed counterpoint to the billions of dollars worth of pro-meat and poultry industry propaganda and advertising that is constantly intruding upon our lives.

Bottom line: for all its faults this is a classic of environmentalist literature and an extraordinary book that changed the lives of untold thousands of people by persuading them to adopt a more environment-friendly diet. However I wish that there was an updated edition (instead of just a reprint of the edition of 1987) that corrects some of the errors and takes cognizance of what has happened since then.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The American Diet is in Trouble April 2, 2002

By Elizabeth

Format:Paperback

When I became a vegetarian, I talked with a lot of people. Many of these people were talking about a book entitled "Diet For A New America" by John Robbins. Everyone was saying it was a 'must read' so I read it.

This book is broken up into three parts. The first part deals with animals. He tells stories of animals that do amazing feats and he also speaks of the horrible things that are done to them for the sake of human consumption. He talked of them all: Cows, Pigs, Birds and Fish. You don't often read about 'fish' being mistreated, as if they were some sub-specie, but Mr. Robbins covers this with compassion.

After I was able to stop crying, I moved to Part Two. I was able to put the Kleenex away for this chapter, which talks of the health risks of eating the bi-products of animals. He goes into detail about everything you may want to ask. He talks of protein intake, fat consumption, calcium requirements, heart disease, stroke, and cancer...the list goes on and on.

He has included many graphs for the reader to compare and make up their own mind.

The last part, Part Three, deals with the poisons in our food. He talks of the pesticides that have caused illness in the past and many that are poisoning us as we breathe.

This book left no stone unturned. Everyone should read this book, not just vegetarians or people considering that route, but everyone in America. I knew quite a bit about the meat industry and about the ill health it can cause, but I learned some stuff that I hadn't known before.