I was so inspired by John Robbins’ personal story he told at an IIN conference I attended recently, that I returned home to immediately put his book, Diet for a New America (which I had already bought), on the top of my stack.  A synopsis of his story:  After declining the opportunity to follow in his dad’s footsteps in the family business and declining the trust fund that went with it, John Robbins, son of the Robbins of Baskins-Robbins ice cream, was true to himself and followed his own path, one of the results of which was writing Diet for a New America, published in 1987.  When John’s dad became ill, the only advice his doctor could give the senior Mr. Robbins at this point in Mr. Robbins’ illness was to read his son’s book.  John’s dad followed the doctor’s advice and read Diet for a New America, made the necessary diet and lifestyle changes he needed to make and lived a quality life for the next 20 years!  WOW!

I just finished reading Diet for a New America and am disappointed that, not only has there been no progress in how we are treating and what we are feeding the animals we consume, it has gotten worse, for us and for our environment.  In writing Diet for a New America, I’m sure John Robbins was hopeful that people would consider changing their way of eating by decreasing or eliminating animal protein.  Instead we adopted the SAD diet rich in animal protein that has promoted epidemic increases in what we now call the Western diseases – heart disease, diabetes, inflammatory bowel diseases, obesity, autoimmune diseases and many forms of cancer.

I believe that we are in the process of a cultural shift in our food and lifestyle choices. People like John Robbins and now a spunky Brit named Jaime Oliver are leading us in this country’s first Food Revolution, the positive outcome of which is going to be a “New America”.  Be sure to participate in any way you can in Jaime Oliver’s Food Revolution Day this Saturday, May 19.

The Atherton Market, http://www.facebook.com/athertonmillandmarket, is an approved host for this special day and I will be there from 9 a.m. until 12 Noon.  Come by to see me at my table or join me at the cooking demo tent at 10 a.m. where I will be preparing and sharing one of my healthy kale recipes.