The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and Our World [Deluxe Edition] [Paperback]

John Robbins (Author), Dean Ornish M.D. (Foreword)

Book Description

Release date: September 15, 2010

In 1987, John Robbins published Diet for a New America, which was an early version of this book, and he started the food revolution. He continues to work tirelessly to promote conscious food choices more than 20 years later.

First published in 2001, The Food Revolution is still one of the most frequently cited and talked about books of the food-politics revolution. It was one of the very first books to discuss the negative health effects of eating genetically modified foods and animal products of all kinds, to expose the dangers inherent in our factory farming system, and to advocate a complete plant-based diet.

The book garnered endorsements by everyone from Paul Hawken to Neal Donald Walsch, Marianne Williamson to Julia Butterfly Hill. After ten years in print, The Food Revolution is timelier than ever--and a very compelling read. The 10th anniversary edition has an updated, new contemporary look and a new introduction by the author.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Groomed to succeed his late father (cofounder of the world's largest ice cream company, Baskin-Robbins), bestselling author Robbins (Diet for a New America) chose to walk away from ice cream earnings for a "deeper dream," staying true to his belief in health and environment over corporate profit margins. Now chairman and director of several nonprofit organizations, Robbins offers compelling evidence to support his plant-based diet. Appalled by the proliferation of high-protein, fad diet books, he advocates eating locally, organically grown fruits and vegetables, incorporating whole grains and drinking lots of water while avoiding animal products and processed, refined and fatty foods. Divided into five ambiguously named parts ("Our Food, Our World"; "Our Food, Our Future"), this work nimbly covers such diverse topics as agricultural chemical pollution, the diet/disease connection, genetic engineering and inhumane corporate farming practices, while maintaining a conversational, nonjudgmental tone. Robbins's experience as a speaker and his use of personal anecdotes and persuasive arguments are complemented by several professional readers who frequently interject relevant statistics, information and research, both pro and con, including sometimes sarcastically read statements from the Cattlemen's Association, which will leave listeners thinking twice before picking up their next hamburger. Based on the Conari Press paperback (Forecasts, May 21).

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Conari Press; 10 Anv edition (September 15, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573244872
• ISBN-13: 978-1573244879
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.1 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (179 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,861 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #27 in Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Agricultural Sciences > Food Science

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

175 of 181 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Food Bible July 26, 2002

By J.W.K

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is the most important book about food to date. That said, it is not a detailed dietary plan. It is an environmental manifesto, a factory farm expose, and the most up-to-date and scientifically sound presentation of:

1) the health benefits of a plant-based diet;

2) the pitfalls of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food and the biotech industry in general;

3) the underlying dietary and environmental causes of cancer;

4) the threat of food-borne illness and how it can be avoided;

5) the most humane solution to world hunger;

6) and the billions of dollars worth of PR lies the public is fed to counter the truth that might set us free.

This book absolutely blew me away. Critically acclaimed author John Robbins earns full marks in terms of his passion to social justice, his unbridled commitment to quality scientific evidence, and highly-readable, compassionate, and straight-forward writing style. In every sense of the term, he has earned the title of "food prophet".

For those of you who read and loved "The Food Revolution" I also recommend Frances Lappe's "Hope's Edge" and Erik Marcus's "Vegan" and "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Polen.

Imperative reading.

j.w.k.

144 of 149 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will save many lives July 8, 2001

By LA FAM

Format:Paperback

Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines revolution as a fundamental change in the way of thinking about something. The title for John Robbins new book is very aptly named. This book will change not only the way you think about food -- it will change the way you eat.

Twenty chapters, with over nine-hundred footnotes, track the studies and statements of top researchers from around the world as they respond to the public relation claims of the meat and dairy industry. When we see the industry claims refuted, time and again by the best minds in the diet and environmental community, we start to see why there is a revolution going on.

I cannot count the number of times I have been asked to provide the study that supports the facts I use. The Food Revolution provides a convenient method of proving issues that the majority of Americans have never realized to be true. It is not what we know that is the problem; it is what we know that isn't so, that is the problem.

The Food Revolution will shine light on those "facts" that industry hopes you won't believe. Interesting facts such as: half of all the fish caught in the world are fed to livestock or that 2.5 acres of crop land can produce enough vegetables for twenty people, enough grain for fifteen people, enough chicken for two people or enough beef for one. These revelations really make you stop and think about how we are using our resources.

Dr. Patricia Griffin, a government official, from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention states, "It is reasonable that if a consumer undercooks a hamburger that their three-year-old dies?"

Placing the total responsibility on the shoulders of the consumers for food safety explains why USDA would accept test results indicating that 89% of hamburger tested containing E.coli 0157:H7 to be accepted as normal. This bacterium is known to kill young children.

If your main interest is the environment, The Food Revolution has something for you. For instance cattlemen claim that global warming evidence is inconclusive while at the same time forty -nine Nobel Prize winners, in a letter to the President, stated that it is the most serious environmental threat of the 21st century. We must educate ourselves and as the Prizewinners state, " Only by taking action now can we insure that future generations will not be put at risk."

John's first book, Diet for A New America, changed the way many folks were eating. The Food Revolution will give those who are still eating the standard American diet documented facts about their junk food addiction while there is time for a change.

John Robbins has written a book that can save more people from an early death than were saved by the use of penicillin. Do yourself a favor and read, The Food Revolution and pass it on to someone you love before it's too late.

109 of 115 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I've ever read in my life (and I've read alot) July 1, 2001

By Martin Reed

Format:Paperback

I read Robbins' Diet For A New America some years ago. Over the years since then, I've wondered what he would have to say about current issues such as genetic engineering, mad cow disease, and the many dietary approaches that have become popular in recent years (Sears, Atkins, D'Adamo, etc.). Well, The Food Revolution certainly answers such questions, and much much more. It really put a lot of things together for me, and without being for a second preachy or fanatical, both informed and inspired me. In my opinion, this is a truly life-giving book. I felt so whole in my heart and soul after I finished it. I believe that this book will be immensely helpful to anyone wanting to live a healthier life. There are a lot of things that make this book special. I can't get over how beautifully Robbins writes, and what a fine human being he is. There is so much human depth and understanding, as well as important information, on every page. His many stories about his life and learnings are marvelous. Reading The Food Revolution is a way of being in the presence of a wonderfully compassionate and loving person. Some people who know a lot transmit their knowledge, and somehow I feel burdened or cluttered by it. Robbins has a way of putting things in context so that he imparts important information in a way that makes you feel uplifted and strengthened. To say The Food Revolution is motivating would be a total understatement. It is incredibly compelling. Once I started reading it, I was completely enthralled. I've read many many books over the years (I'm in my sixties, and I read a lot), and I have enjoyed and benefitted from many of them. But I am delighted to say that The Food Revolution is the best book I've ever read in my entire life. I wish I could tell you how much value I have gotten from the experience that I had reading this book. I wish I had words to express it. Robbins is a national treasure, with extraordinary integrity, who walked away from the Baskin Robbins fortune. With The Food Revolution, he has given us a truly fabulous gift. If you want to do something good for your body, heart and soul, read The Food Revolution. And then share it with as many people as you can.