{"id":30654,"date":"2025-06-27T17:17:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T17:17:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=30654"},"modified":"2025-06-27T17:28:04","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T17:28:04","slug":"john-robbins-author-of-diet-for-a-new-america-dies-at-77","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=30654","title":{"rendered":"John Robbins, Author of \u2018Diet for a New America,\u2019 Dies at 77"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><\/div>\n<p id=\"article-summary\" class=\"css-79rysd e1wiw3jv0\">He walked away from his family\u2019s hugely successful ice cream business to crusade for a plant-based diet and against cruelty to animals.<\/p>\n<section class=\"meteredContent css-1r7ky0e\">\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">John Robbins, an heir to the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1976\/02\/18\/archives\/baskinrobbins-at-31-from-vanilla-to-here-comes-the-fudge.html\" title>Baskin-Robbins ice cream<\/a> empire who rejected the family business to advocate plant-based nutrition, environmentalism and animal rights, died on June 11 at his home in Soquel, Calif., near Santa Cruz. He was 77.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">His son and collaborator, Ocean Robbins, said that the cause was complications of <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/conditions\/post-polio-syndrome\/#:~:text=What%20causes%20post%2Dpolio%20syndrome,likely%20to%20develop%20the%20condition.\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">post-polio syndrome<\/a>, which resulted in muscle weakness and other symptoms nearly seven decades after he contracted polio as a boy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Robbins was best known for his book <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/john-robbins\/\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cDiet for a New America,\u201d<\/a> published in 1987. The book, which is said to have sold more than a million copies, drew a link between the heavy consumption of animal-based products and the increased risk of chronic illnesses like heart disease and obesity; examined the environmental damage caused by factory farming; and raised ethical concerns about the treatment of animals in confined conditions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Dropzone-1\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The book\u2019s message, Mr. Robbins wrote, was \u201cthat the healthiest, tastiest and most nourishing way to eat is also the most economical, the most compassionate and least polluting.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"ImageBlock-3\">\n<div data-testid=\"imageblock-wrapper\">\n<figure class=\"img-sz-medium css-1hs5yzu e1g7ppur0\" aria-label=\"media\" role=\"group\">\n<div class=\"css-1xdhyk6 erfvjey0\" data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-figure\">\n<div class=\"css-nwd8t8\" data-testid=\"lazy-image\">\n<div data-testid=\"lazyimage-container\" style=\"height:583.8666666666667px\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption data-testid=\"photoviewer-children-caption\" class=\"css-gbc9ki ewdxa0s0\"><span class=\"css-jevhma e13ogyst0\">\u201cDiet for a New America\u201d has been called \u201cgroundbreaking\u201d and \u201cthe bible of the anti-meat campaign.\u201d Its impact has been compared to that of Rachel Carson\u2019s \u201cSilent Spring,\u201d which helped spur the modern environmental movement.<\/span><span class=\"css-14fe1uy e1z0qqy90\"><span><span aria-hidden=\"false\">Stillpoint<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The Washington Post columnist Colman McCarthy in 1988 compared \u201cDiet for a New America\u201d and its impact on the way we think about food to Rachel Carson\u2019s classic <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nrdc.org\/stories\/story-silent-spring\" title rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cSilent Spring\u201d<\/a> (1962), which warned how the unlimited use of agricultural pesticides like DDT had contaminated the soil and water and threatened the health of wildlife and humans, and which helped spur the modern environmental movement.<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-kbghgg\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171quhb\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F06%2F27%2Fhealth%2Fjohn-robbins-dead.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F06%2F27%2Fhealth%2Fjohn-robbins-dead.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F06%2F27%2Fhealth%2Fjohn-robbins-dead.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\" data-tpl=\"t\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F06%2F27%2Fhealth%2Fjohn-robbins-dead.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>He walked away from his family\u2019s hugely successful ice cream business to crusade for a plant-based diet and against cruelty to animals.John Robbins, an heir to the Baskin-Robbins ice cream empire who rejected the family business to advocate plant-based nutrition, environmentalism and animal rights, died on June 11 at his home in Soquel, Calif., near Santa Cruz. He was 77.His son and collaborator, Ocean Robbins, said that the cause was complications of post-polio syndrome, which resulted in muscle weakness and other symptoms nearly seven decades after he contracted polio as a boy.Mr. Robbins was best known for his book \u201cDiet for a New America,\u201d published in 1987. The book, which is said to have sold more than a million copies, drew a link between the heavy consumption of animal-based products and the increased risk of chronic illnesses like heart disease and obesity; examined the environmental damage caused by factory farming; and raised ethical concerns about the treatment of animals in confined conditions.The book\u2019s message, Mr. Robbins wrote, was \u201cthat the healthiest, tastiest and most nourishing way to eat is also the most economical, the most compassionate and least polluting.\u201d\u201cDiet for a New America\u201d has been called \u201cgroundbreaking\u201d and \u201cthe bible of the anti-meat campaign.\u201d Its impact has been compared to that of Rachel Carson\u2019s \u201cSilent Spring,\u201d which helped spur the modern environmental movement.StillpointThe Washington Post columnist Colman McCarthy in 1988 compared \u201cDiet for a New America\u201d and its impact on the way we think about food to Rachel Carson\u2019s classic \u201cSilent Spring\u201d (1962), which warned how the unlimited use of agricultural pesticides like DDT had contaminated the soil and water and threatened the health of wildlife and humans, and which helped spur the modern environmental movement.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0log into\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0subscribe\u00a0for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?\u00a0Log in.Want all of The Times?\u00a0Subscribe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30656,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=30654"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30657,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30654\/revisions\/30657"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/30656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=30654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=30654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=30654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}