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Book Review: The Food Revolution by John Robbins
Rev Malkmus, editor of the Hallelujah Newsletter

(Ed: this is a long, hard-hitting review, reflecting the book itself.) Here are some quotes from the Introduction:-

"I was born into ice cream. Well, not literally, but just about. My father, Irv Robbins, founded, and for many years owned and ran what would become the world's largest ice cream company: Baskin Robbins. . . . Along with my uncle . . . he built an empire, with thousands of stores worldwide and sales eventually measuring in the billions of dollars."

"We had an ice cream cone-shaped swimming pool . . . and I sometimes ate ice cream for breakfast. Many people in the family struggled with weight problems; my uncle died of a heart attack in his early fifties, my father developed serious diabetes and high blood pressure and I was sick more often than not.

"None of that showed up on the balance sheets, however, and my father was grooming me to succeed him. I was his only son, and he expected me to follow in his footsteps. But things did not develop that way. I chose to leave behind the ice cream company and the money it represented, in order to take my own rocky road. I walked away from an opportunity to live a life of wealth to live a different kind of life, a life in which I hoped I might be able to be true to my values and learn to make a contribution to the well-being and happiness of others. It was a choice for integrity. Instead of the Great American Dream of financial success, I was pulled forward by a deeper dream." And thus begins this exciting book.

John Robbins continues: "My father was not pleased. He had worked hard his whole life and had achieved a level of financial success most people can only fantasize about, and he wanted to share his success and his company with his only son . . . "

"But turn it down I did, and, hungering for connection to the natural world and life's deeper rhythms, I moved with my wife, Deo, in 1969, to a little island off the coast of British Columbia. There we proceeded to build a one-room cabin, where we lived for the next ten years, growing most of our own food. We were financially poor, some years spending less than $1,000 total, but we were rich in love. Four years into our time on the island, our son was born into my hands. . . ."

"During this time we began to live by the values that would culminate, in 1987, with the publication of my book "Diet for a New America." I was learning to perceive the immense toll exacted by the standard North American diet, and the benefits that might be gained by a shift in a healthier direction. . . . In the five years immediately following the book's publication, beef consumption in the United States dropped nearly 20 percent."

"But in the last few years there's been a backlash. Fad diet books have sold millions of copies telling people they can lose weight and obtain optimum health while eating all the bacon and sausage they want. The U. S. meat industry has managed to divert attention away from the fact that the animals raised in modern factory farms are forced to endure conditions of almost unimaginable cruelty and deprivation. The USDA is proposing to irradiate increasing numbers of foods to combat the deadly food-borne diseases such as E.coli . . . that increasingly breed in today's factory farms and slaughterhouses."

"Rather than clean up the conditions that produce these pathogens in the first place, the U.S. meat industry has strongly supported food disparagement laws that make it illegal to criticize perishable food products, and then has used such legislation to sue those who challenge their control over your wallet. They even sued Oprah Winfrey for saying that, based on what she'd learned about meat production in the United States, she was never going to eat another burger."

"Meanwhile, the chemical industry has mounted an aggressive campaign to discredit organic food. And without the knowledge or consent of most Americans, two-thirds of the products on our supermarket shelves now contain genetically engineered ingredients. . . ."

"I have written THE FOOD REVOLUTION to provide solid, reliable information for the struggle to achieve a world where the health of people and the Earth community is more important than the profit margins of any industry, where basic human needs take precedence over corporate greed. . .. I have written this book so that you might have clear information on which to base your food choices. It will show you how to attain greater health. . . ."

"Not that long ago, the average American mother would have been more concerned to learn that her son or daughter was becoming a vegetarian than to learn that he or she was taking up smoking. Not that long ago, organic food products could only be found in specialty stores. Blood cholesterollevels of 300 . . . were considered normal, and patients in hospital coronary care units were fed bacon and eggs, and white toast with margarine and jam for breakfast. Not that long ago, people who ate food that was healthy, environmentally friendly, and caused no animals to suffer were considered health nuts, while those who ate food that caused disease, took a staggering toll on the resource base, and depended on immense animal suffering were considered normal. But all this has changed. . . .

"I have written THE FOOD REVOLUTION in the belief that - wounded and human as we are -we can still create a thriving and sustainable way of life for all. The restorative powers of both the human body and the Earth are immense."

And that is just a small part of the beginning chapter! In chapter two, titled "Healthy Heart, Healthy Life," the book shows, with abundant documentation, how what we eat affects our heart and the length of life. Following is just one of the hundreds of quotes contained in the book, and it comes from the American Dietetic Association's Position Paper on Vegetarian Diets:

"Studies indicate that vegetarians often have lower morbidity and mortality rates. . . . Not only is mortality from coronary artery disease lower in vegetarians than in non-vegetarians, but vegetarian diets have also been successful in arresting coronary artery disease. Scientific data suggest positive relationships between a vegetarian diet and reduced risk for obesity, coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and some types of cancer."

Chapter 3 is titled "Preventing Cancer." This chapter clearly shows how what we eat affects the number of people developing various cancers. Following are just a few of the statistics regarding breast cancer found in this chapter:

Death Rates From Breast Cancer:
* In the United States: 22.4 (per 100,000)
* In Japan: 6.3 (per 100,000)
* In China: 4.6 (per 100,000)

PRIMARY REASON FOR THE DIFFERENCE: people in China and Japan eat more fruits and vegetables and less animal products, weigh less, drink less alcohol, and get more exercise than people in the United States.

Chapter 4 is one of my favorite chapters as it deals with "The Great American Diet Roller Coaster." First, here are a few statistics:

* Americans killed annually by disease due to excess weight: 280,000.

* Increased risk of heart disease for obese people: double to triple.

* Increased risk of colon cancer for obese people: triple to quadruple.

* Increased risk of diabetes for very obese people: 40 times greater.

Then John Robbins goes into various "Weight Loss Programs," and concludes the chapter by naming and exposing various weight loss programs popular in today's society-- including the Dr. Atkins Diet, Barry Sears' Zone Diet (and) Eat Right for Your Type Diet. Following is a quote concerning the Atkins Diet:

"Atkins says, 'My diet will correct most of the risk factors for heart disease.' But a study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found quite the opposite. People who followed the Atkins Diet for 12 weeks showed significant increases in LDL ('bad' cholesterol) . . . indicating markedly increased risk for heart attacks.

"There's a strange irony to the Atkins story. Atkins said in 2000 that he had been on his own diet for 36 years . . . yet Dr. Atkins himself is so overweight that he exceeds the upper limits of weight recommended by federal guidelines."

You will find equally interesting information concerning the "Zone Diet" and "Eat Right for Your Type Diet."

There are very few books I consider a MUST READ, but this is one of them. I highly recommend this new book to everyone who is interested in their own health, as documentation supporting a plant-based diet, and as tremendous ammunition to use in encouraging others to consider what they are creating in their body. It is also packed full of powerful debating material.

© Copyright Wholistic Research Company 2001
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Thanks John Robbins and thanks Reverend Malmus. I agree completely, this is a MUST READ book (Editor).

The Food Revolution: How Your Diet Can Help Save Your Life and The World
by John Robbins, published by Conari Press, 2001

Note : this new, definitive and groundbreaking book is available from Wholistic Research, price £14.99. It's not yet on the on-line shop, however. Please phone the Hatfield Team on 01707 262686 to get your copy.
John Morley, Editor