Diet for a New America: How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness and the Future of Life on Earth Second Edition

From John Robbins, a new edition of the classic that awakened the conscience of a nation. Since the 1987 publication of Diet for a New America, beef consumption in the United States has fallen a remarkable 19%. While many forces are contributing to this dramatic shift in our habits, Diet for a New America is considered to be one of the most important. Diet for a New America is a startling examination of the food we currently buy and eat in the United States, and the astounding moral, economic, and emotional price we pay for it. In Section I, John Robbins takes an extraordinary look at our dependence on animals for food and the inhumane conditions under which these animals are raised. It becomes clear that the price we pay for our eating habits is measured in the suffering of animals, a suffering so extreme and needless that it disrupts our very place in the web of life. Section II challenges the belief that consuming meat is a requirement for health by pointing our the vastly increased rate of disease caused by pesticides, hormones, additives, and other chemicals now a routine part of our food production. The author shows us that the high health risk is unnecessary, and that the production, preparation, and consumption of food can once again be a healthy process. In Section III, Robbins looks at the global implications of a meat-based diet and concludes that the consumption of the resources necessary to produce meat is a major factor in our ecological crisis. Diet for a New America is the single most eloquent argument for a vegetarian lifestyle ever published. Eloquently, evocatively, and entertainingly written, it is a cant put down book guaranteed to amaze, infuriate, but ultimately educate and empower the reader. A pivotal book nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Non-Fiction in 1987. Review. 'Should be read by everyone interested in healthy living.'. - Andrew Weil, MD , author ofSpontaneous Healing. 'Profoundly fulfilling and moving... the pioneering match of... Rachel Carson'sSilent Spring.'. - Washington Post 'A reading must for all caring Americans.'. - Harvey and Marilyn Diamond , authors ofFit for Life. 'A breakthrough in the science of health and a joy to read.'. - John A. McDougall, MD , author ofThe McDougall Program. 'This well-documented expose of America's 'factory farms' should prompt even die-hard meat-and-potatoes lovers to reevaluate their diets.'. - Publishers Weekly 'One of the most profound studies ever written of how our eating habits affect our lives and indeed all of life on our planet.'. - Vegetarian Times 'Robbins takes us on a multifaceted journey which should cause all sensitive people to question their eating habits most searchingly. I couldn't put it down.'. - Cleveland Amory , author ofThe Cat Who Came for Christmas. 'I promise you what you perceive behind the supermarket meat counter will never be the same.'. - Frances Moore Lappe , author ofDiet for a Small Planet About the Author. Author and activist John Robbins is considered by many to be one of the world's most eloquent spokespersons for a sane, ethical, and sustainable future. His work has been featured in all major print and broadcast media. He lives near Santa Cruz, California.