The Food Revolution

The tenth anniversary edition of an essential text on food politics: “Well researched and lucidly written . . . This book is sure to spark discussion” (Publishers Weekly). When John Robbins first released The Food Revolution in 1987, his insights into America’s harmful eating habits gave us a powerful wake-up call. Since then, Robbins has continued to shine a spotlight on the most important issues in food politics, such as our dependence on animal products, provoking awareness and promoting change. Robbins’s arguments for a plant-based diet are compelling and backed by over twenty years of work in the field of sustainable agriculture and conscious eating. This timely new edition will enlighten those curious about plant-based diets and fortify the mindsets of the already converted.

Our reliance on industrial agriculture has resulted in a food supply riddled with hidden environmental, economic and health care costs and beset by rising food prices. With only a handful of corporations responsible for the lion's share of the food on our supermarket shelves, we are incredibly vulnerable to supply chain disruption. The Urban Food Revolution provides a recipe for community food security based on leading innovations across North America. The author draws on his political and business experience to show that we have all the necessary ingredients to ensure that local, fresh sustainable food is affordable and widely available. He describes how cities are bringing food production home by: Growing community through neighborhood gardening, cooking and composting programs Rebuilding local food processing, storage and distribution systems Investing in farmers markets and community supported agriculture Reducing obesity through local fresh food initiatives in schools, colleges and universities. Ending inner-city food deserts Producing food locally makes people healthier, alleviates poverty, creates jobs, and makes cities safer and more beautiful. The Urban Food Revolution is an essential resource for anyone who has lost confidence in the global industrial food system and wants practical advice on how to join the local food revolution.

Previously published as a Gotham Books hardcover edition.

A step-by-step guide to revolutionize your diet and launch you on the path to long-term health in just one month, written by Ocean Robbins, CEO of the Food Revolution Network. The 31-Day Food Revolution is an eater's guide to liberation from a toxic food world. It offers readers an action plan to eating food that is healthy, humane, sustainable, and delicious. In recent years, we have seen people beginning to seek out more wholesome and natural diets to combat ill health, but with all the information available out there, finding the right path to health can be confusing and frustrating. In this book, Ocean Robbins, CEO of the Food Revolution Network, reveals the dark secrets the food industry doesn't want you to know that are making you and the people you love sick. He then shows you how, in just 31 days, you can use the healing power of foods to heal your gut, lose excess weight, dramatically lower your risk for diseases including cancer, heart disease, dementia, and diabetes - and contribute to a healthier planet. This is not a typical diet book: it doesn't fit into a particular 'diet' like vegan, paleo or sugar-free. Rather, it aims to educate the readers about the impact of nutrition on their long-term health, and does so from a strong scientific foundation. The steps in this book have been field-tested on the Food Revolution Network community and have been proven to work in medical studies as well as in Robbins' own body of work. But these are presented in a digestible way, so that however little knowledge you have of food and the food industry, you can begin to make healthier choices right now. The book is divided into 31 chapters - one for each day, to help readers adopt new healthy habits until they became the new normal.

Did you know that: More than 80% of the foods you eat in restaurants and buy at supermarkets contain genetically engineered ingredients, and that these ingredients have been linked to toxic and allergic reactions in people; sickness, sterility, and fatalities in livestock; and damage to virtually every organ studied in lab animals?If you don't count French fries, ketchup or pizza as vegetables, more than half of Americans eat no vegetables at all?Cows raised for meat are impacting our climate more than cars?It’s possible to be a positive food revolutionary without sounding like a self-righteous nag? Join John and Ocean Robbins for 21 intimate, game-changing conversations with some of the world’s leading “food revolutionaries”: scientists, doctors, teachers, farmers, economists, activists, and nutritionists working on food issues today. Introduced and with commentary by John Robbins and his son Ocean, the book features luminaries such as: Dean Ornish, MD, on his years-in-the-making breakthrough with Medicare (his program for healing heart disease is now covered)Kathy Freston on making incremental, manageable changes to how we eatT. Colin Campbell, PhD, (author of the famed China Study) with the latest research on animal protein and human healthJoel Fuhrman, MD (author of the bestselling Eat to Live), on achieving excellent health through dietCaldwell Esselstyn, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic on wiping out heart disease by changing what we eatVandana Shiva, PhD, on GMOs and Big AgRory Freedman on how to stop eating misery and start looking fabulousRaj Patel on building a saner global food policy Each contributor discusses his or her work in depth, but together they make one rallying cry: for a healthy, sustainable, humane, and delicious revolution in how we and the world are fed. Over twenty-five years ago John Robbins started a revolution. This book is proof of how far we’ve come, a fascinating look behind the scenes of the multi-faceted food movement, and a call to join in the work of ensuring our health and food future.

'The School Food Revolution is an important book that deserves success.' Journal of Organic Systems 'A great new book that describes how 'the humble school meal' can be considered as 'a litmus test of... government's political commitment to sustainable development.' Peter Riggs, Director, Forum on Democracy & Trade 'The School Food Revolution should be an inspiration for policy makers and for school heads and school canteen operators.' Tom Vaclavik, President, Organic Retailers Association School food suddenly finds itself at the forefront of contemporary debates about healthy eating, social inclusion, ecological sustainability and local economic development. All around the world it is becoming clear - to experts, parents, educators, practitioners and policy-makers - that the school food service has the potential to deliver multiple dividends that would significantly advance the sustainable development agenda at global, national and local levels. Drawing on new empirical data collected in urban and rural areas of Europe, North America and Africa, this book offers a timely and original contribution to the school food debate by highlighting the potential of creative public procurement - the power of purchase. The book takes a critical look at the alleged benefits of school food reform, such as lower food miles, the creation of markets for local producers and new food education initiatives that empower consumers by nurturing their capacity to eat healthily. To assess the potential of these claims, the book compares a variety of sites involved in the school food revolution - from rural communities committed to the values of 'the local' to global cities such as London, New York and Rome that feed millions of ethnically diverse young people daily. The book also examines the UN's new school feeding programme - the Home Grown Programme - which sees nutritious food as an end in itself as well as a means to meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Overall, the book examines the theory, policy and practice of public food provisioning, offering a comparative perspective on the design and delivery of sustainable school food systems. The cover illustration is by a Roman child. The authors would like to thank the City of Rome (Department for School and Educational Policies) for permission to reproduce it.

Today a buck gets you a quick burger (or two), but what’s the real cost of that meal? The rates of chronic disease—specifically diseases like diabetes, caused by our lifestyles—have grown exponentially in recent years, edging medical expenses ever higher while threatening to give America its first generation to actually live shorter lives than their parents. Unfortunately finding good nutrition is no walk in the park, with more and more Americans living in cities, far from a farmer’s field. To overcome distance and undercut price, we rely on industry to put dinner on the table— yet this system has valued efficiency and short-term profits over our own health and the health of our environment. So how do we keep America thriving? Congressman Tim Ryan may have a soft spot for chicken wings and ice cream, but he also knows the joy of farm-fresh produce and the feel of soil between his fingers. Here he presents easy, actionable steps that anyone can take, from starting an herb garden on your windowsill to helping implement food education in your child’s school to petitioning your elected officials. Ryan also introduces some of the current food revolutionaries, who are shining examples of people who saw a problem with how we think about food today, rolled up their sleeves, and raised a crop of positive change. The commonsense ideas in these pages come big (replacing dilapidated neighborhoods with farms) and small (sitting down for a fresh, healthy meal with your family), and each will help you improve the quality of life for you and future generations.

A global movement to take back our food is growing. The future of farming is in our hands—and in our cities. This book examines alternative food systems in cities around the globe that are shortening their food chains, growing food within their city limits, and taking their "food security" into their own hands. The author, an award-winning food journalist, sought out leaders in the urban-agriculture movement and visited cities successfully dealing with "food deserts." What she found was not just a niche concern of activists but a global movement that cuts across the private and public spheres, economic classes, and cultures. She describes a global movement happening from London and Paris to Vancouver and New York to establish alternatives to the monolithic globally integrated supermarket model. A cadre of forward-looking, innovative people has created growing spaces in cities: on rooftops, backyards, vacant lots, along roadways, and even in "vertical farms." Whether it’s a community public orchard supplying the needs of local residents or an urban farm that has reclaimed a derelict inner city lot to grow and sell premium market veggies to restaurant chefs, the urban food revolution is clearly underway and working. This book is an exciting, fascinating chronicle of a game-changing movement, a rebellion against the industrial food behemoth, and a reclaiming of communities to grow, distribute, and eat locally.