''Diet for a New America'' is a 1987 bestselling nonfiction book by John Robbins. The book links the impacts of factory farming on human health, animal welfare and the environment, in an "

animal-rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...

, pro-environment, vegetarian message." It was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction in 1987. In 1991 KCET, the Los Angeles

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

affiliate, produced a film documentary based on the book called ''Diet for a New America: Your Health, Your Planet''. The film is narrated by John Robbins and features interviews with

Michael Klaper Michael A. Klaper (July 19, 1947) is an American physician, vegan health educator, conference and event speaker, and an author of articles and books of vegan medical advice. Graduating from medical school in 1972, Klaper became a vegan ten yea ...

, T. Colin Campbell, and

John A. McDougall John A. McDougall (born May 17, 1947) is an American physician and author. He has written a number of diet books advocating the consumption of a low-fat vegan diet based on starchy foods and vegetables. His eponymous diet, called ''The McDouga ...

Critical reception

Colman McCarthy Colman McCarthy (born March 24, 1938 in Glen Head, New York), is an American journalist, teacher, lecturer, pacifist, progressive, anarchist, and long-time peace activist, directs the ''Center for Teaching Peace'' in Washington, D.C. From 1969 to ...

and

Cleveland Amory Cleveland Amory (September 2, 1917 – October 14, 1998) was an American author, reporter, television critic, commentator and animal rights activist. He originally was known for writing a series of popular books poking fun at the pretensions an ...

compared the book to

Rachel Carson Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservationist whose influential book '' Silent Spring'' (1962) and other writings are credited with advancing the global environmental ...

's ''

Silent Spring ''Silent Spring'' is an environmental science book by Rachel Carson. Published on September 27, 1962, the book documented the environmental harm caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides. Carson accused the chemical industry of spreading d ...

''. In an editorial for ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' and ''Finger Lakes Times'' McCarthy writes: "Robbins has written a book that is the pioneering match of Aldo Leopold's ''

Sand County Almanac ''A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There'' is a 1949 non-fiction book by American ecologist, forester, and environmentalist Aldo Leopold. Describing the land around the author's home in Sauk County, Wisconsin, the collection of essa ...

'', John Rawls' ''

A Theory of Justice ''A Theory of Justice'' is a 1971 work of political philosophy and ethics by the philosopher John Rawls (1921-2002) in which the author attempts to provide a moral theory alternative to utilitarianism and that addresses the problem of distributi ...

'', and Rachel Carson's ''Silent Spring''."

Marian Burros Marian Burros (born in Waterbury, Connecticut) is a cookbook author, and food columnist for ''The New York Times'', a position she has held since 1983. Previously, Burros was ''The Washington Posts food editor and a consumer reporter for an NBC ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' writes: "Much of what Mr. Robbins has to say about diet in this country is unremarkable: we eat too much meat and dairy products. Much of what Mr. Robbins has to say about the inhumane treatment of animals on factory farms is correct. But Mr. Robbins undermines his case by exaggerating; facts mix with factoids and anecdotes." In 1990, the ''

Phil Donahue Show ''The Phil Donahue Show'', also known as ''Donahue'', is an American television talk show hosted by Phil Donahue that ran for 26 years on national television. Its run was preceded by three years of local broadcast on WLWD in Dayton, Ohio, and i ...

'' featured celebrities and John Robbins talking about vegetarianism and ''Diet for a New America''.

Influence

In 1988, Robbins founded EarthSave, a non-profit organization promoting vegetarianism. Its purpose was to channel into action the overwhelmingly positive reader response to ''Diet for a New America.'' At its height in the early 1990s, there were perhaps 10 chapters across the United States that did outreach to the non-vegetarian public, with information tables and vegetarian social activities, and activism on vegetarian, animal, and food system issues. The book and the documentary film based on the book have influenced many people to adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet. People who have said the book or film influenced them include Emily Deschanel,

Davey Havok David Paden Marchand (born David Paden Passaro, November 20, 1975), known professionally as Davey Havok, is an American singer and musician who is the lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band AFI (band), AFI, the synth-pop band Blaqk Audio, the ...

, Avery Yale Kamila, Russell Simmons, and

Weird Al Yankovic Weird derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Wyrd, meaning fate or destiny. In modern English it has acquired the meaning of “strange or uncanny”. It may also refer to: Places * Weird Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. People *"Weird Al" Yankovic ...

Editions

In 2012, a 25th anniversary edition of the book was released in paperback, audiobook, and electronic formats.

References

External links

*
Diet for a New America: Your Health, Your Planet
' (1991) – Film documentary at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

* {{Portal bar, Books, Animals, 1980s 1987 non-fiction books Baskin-Robbins family Books about animal rights Books about veganism Books about vegetarianism Dieting books Environmental non-fiction books Food and drink in the United States Vegetarian-related mass media Vegetarianism in the United States

Critical reception

Influence

Editions

See also

References

External links