Customer Reviews

May All Be Fed: Diet for a New World

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With a more personal style than Diet For a New America, John Robbins teaches us about the production and consumption of meat, chicken, fish, dairy and eggs. What I like about this book is how he comes from a spiritual rather than statistics-only perspective. Robbins encourages us to remember the simple health-nourishing habits like giving thanks and chewing your food slowly, those simple things we can easily forget in our modern ironic eat-quick-so-you-can-make-it-to-yoga-class lifestyles. I especially like the "What You Can Do" section, inspiring readers to educate themselves and others, giving tips on shopping/ cooking healthy foods and a listing of resources.

Jia Patton's recipes make the book for me. I had the privilege of taking some of her cooking classes with gourmet vegan food which melts your taste buds in its richness and diversity of flavor. In May All Be Fed, Jia abolishes stereotypes of vegan food being bland. Every time I have made the "Cream of Broccoli Soup" for friends they ask for the recipe and love it, deservedly so, with its creamy cashew base. The "Spinach Tofu Quiche" is wonderful too (people don't seem to miss the dairy); the "Plum Cobbler" feels healthy yet satisfies the sweet tooth going down. I recommend this book for anyone who is open to learning about the vegan diet, and who enjoys cooking and eating fulfilling and jazzy meals.

A friend kept bringing delicious vegan dishes to potlucks. Every time I asked her for a recipe, it was out of "May All Be Fed: Diet for a New World." I pulled this book off the shelf and into the kitchen, and now people are complimenting my cooking and coming back for seconds--even meat eaters. At a recent party, meat lovers kept coming back for seconds of the Vegetable Tofu Loaf, and I knew I had a goldmine of a cookbook. Every recipe I've tried has worked out great. I cut the oil in half in the Lemon Rice and Peas, because it didn't need 2 tablespoons for 4 servings, and it was still delicious.

The cookbook portion is the second half of the book. The first half is full of well referenced, easy-to-read information on a variety of nutritional and health topics, including protein (ch. 3); chicken, fish, dairy, and eggs (ch. 5); the marketing of infant formulas (ch. 6); and what individuals can do about the problems discussed in chapters 2 - 6 (ch. 7). I found the charts and graphs great for concisely conveying Robbins' points. Although he discusses serious societal and individual problems, the tone of the book is positive: all these problems are correctable and here's what you can do to help solve them.

Whether one uses this as a just a cookbook, a reference book, or both, this book is worth having!

Wonder what one person CAN DO to improve not only your own life but that of the entire planet? Read this book. It is filled with understandable information that can radically change your health, the health of the planet itself and give the opportunity for life to others as well. This book has changed my life...so much so that, after reading the library's copy, I am buying one.

John Robbins is a great author. Everyone must read this if they are not a vegetarian or do not understand or respect the intelligence of our fellow creatures who share this earth. Robbins' sensitive look into the meat industry and the propoganda behind it sheds light on the coruptness and greed of the business, not to mention the deception and lengths for which they are willing to go to keep certain information virtually hidden from the masses.

The second half of the book is filled with wonderful recipes. Not a bad one yet...best thing is, it's vegan. The cream of broccoli soup is absolutely the best, and no one can believe there is no dairy in it! I reccommend this book to everyone. After reading this book, one must go on to read Robbins other book, Diet for a New America.

I loved the hints and tips for mainting a cupboard and kitchen, and the nice recipes that I have been using/modifying for my own use. The information in the beginning is nice, too, although mostly a reprint of Diet for a New America.

The updated sections on fish and milk were very interesting, however, especially fish, which is touted today as a wonder-food for older people hoping to live longer. Many fish today arrive at your supermarkets having previously been mold-contaminated from sitting out in the open too long, and many contain high concentrations of Mercury, which also has been documented in a recent Reader's Digest article.

Just like what Marianne Williamson said on the front cover of this book: "I hope everyone reads this book!"

This is the first book on becoming vegan and the first vegan cookbook I ever bought. I'll be needing a new one soon, as the one I have now (second copy) is getting too dog-eared and stained to read. Robbins concisely presents every reason for becoming vegan, and backs them all up with extensive, useful footnotes. And the recipes are just plain delicious! The Mexican Black Bean Dip & Eggplant, Vegetable & Tahini Spread are addictive. The Caramel Apple Crunch makes a cold, sad day all better. The Plum Cobbler is just the thing to make when Italian prune plums are in season. The only sad thing is that he lives in Santa Cruz & I don't, so the delicious recipes focusing on what is in season don't work as well for me as for him.

Think Baskin Robbins and you see where the author Robbins is from. Better yet read both his books and get a better idea what he gave up. Not only meat and animal products in his diet but some major wealth as well. Which to me is as valuable a lesson as the one he teaches about food, how it is raised, and what the real price is to planet earth as well as our bodies.

I have the 1st edition of May All Be Fed : A Diet for a New World : Including Recipes by Jia Patton and Friends and this simply is a bit better. Both rate high marks. The other interesting and very profound thing that has happened since he as well as other writers like Dr Dean Ornish, Dr mcDougal and even Frances Moore Lappe have done with their quiet manner in educating the masses is we can now go to our supermarket and find vegetarain foods that even ten years ago were unheard of and unknown. Sometimes it is in taking the time to see where we are and where we have come from that we see how the John Robbins' of this world are the Thomas Jeffersons of the food world. And I mean world and not just the United States.

I am vegan and it is really hard to stay positive in our meat and dairy country. I find John Robbins to be so inspirational and hope filled. This book will not disappoint you. It is half politics and half recipes. Every recipe I have used from this book was so wonderful. It is worth every penny and even more...

The commentary on the food industry, our choices, and our health are all quite interesting. The crowning achievement of this book, though, is the recipes. I would never have guessed that vegan cookies could be so delicious -- the best I've ever tasted. My family has made half a dozen of these recipes so far, and all of the meals have been absolutely scrumptious.

This is probably the best and most important book I've read in many years. It is both a manual for living and a wonderful cookbook -- thus a little difficult to categorize! John Robbins alters our perceptions about what we eat and how it affects the world around us. Don't be a passive participant in the destruction of our health and our environment. Read this book and become empowered to actually do something about it.

And by the way -- the recipes are WONDERFUL!