John Robbins: Healthy Body, Healthy World?

We live in society unlike any before us in history.  The power of technology and the global interconnectedness of so many cultures has brought us to an entirely new frontier; a frontier in which our power to affect the world around us, for better or for worse, is far greater than anything our ancestors might have faced.  One does not need to look at the dropping of the atomic bomb, the meltdown at Chernobyl, or the advancement in computer technology to see how we humans have drastically changed not only the society in which we live, but also the natural world around us.  John Robbins, well-known advocate for environmentalism and author of several books on the subject points to an unlikely culprit that might be causing the greatest change to our planet: our diet.

                Robbins, once the sole heir to the Baskin-Robbins ice cream franchise, walked away from his family’s dairy empire to become an activist for the environment. He has since become a bestselling author and, in the eyes of many, an expert on the link between our choices of diet and lifestyle and the startling effects we are currently experiencing on our health and in our environment.  In his first bestselling book, Diet for a New America, Robbins investigates the plight of the animals in the meat industry.  Through a persuasive and graphic narrative, he expounds on the ethical, environmental, dietary, and global consequences of our current food industry practices.  In his next book, The Food Revolution, he expands on these ideas and tackles the dilemma of genetically modified foods.  To paraphrase Dr. Dean Ornish Robbins intentionally provokes the reader in order to garner attention and make his point.  He paints a new picture of the relationship of dietary choices to the environment.  If we accept this picture, there are major ramifications for our use of natural resources, our care for the environment, and care for ourselves.  Robbins thinks we have to chart a new path in order to avert the potential crisis of climate change that we seem to be rushing headlong into.

                Robbins’ debut onto the scene of diet and the food industry was his internationally best-selling book, Diet for a New America in 1987.  In this 350 page narrative, Robbins recounts his experiences investigating the factory farms of America.  He describes in detail the plight of the animals that are raised for slaughter.  He uses vivid imagery and even a few pages of pictures to paint a scene of cruelty and inhumane treatment for the cattle, chickens, and pigs that supply the majority of our meat consumption. 

This heart-wrenching appeal to pathos is a clear attempt by Robbins to question not the actual slaughter of the animals, but the process by which we acquire our meat.  In fact in his introduction, Robbins’ emphasizes “It is not the killing of the animals that is the chief issue here, but the rather unspeakable quality of the lives they are forced to live.” In this regard, he sidesteps the perhaps overused argument that “eating meat is murder” and avoids the oft ignored pleas of the self-righteous vegetarians.  He handles the emotional suffering of animals, and those people who work in the slaughter houses, with intelligence, forming a very persuasive argument against our treatment of the sources of our food.

One would assume this contentious message would spark debate or controversy.  While there may have been some when the book was first released, a quick Google search now will produce only glowing reviews of a book many consider to be essential and eye-opening.  Any criticism for Robbins’ first book faded away in less than a decade.  I suspect his choice compassionate tone over an argumentative or accusatory tone led to a more grateful response from his readers for enlightening them with the details of the food industry.

  Moving on from the success of his first book, Robbins published The Food Revolution in 2001.  This book expanded on the ideas and problems presented in Diet for a New America and addressed the changes to the industry that had happened in the sixteen years since his first book.  In this book Robbins’ tone shifts slightly.  The plea for empathy and his emotionally persuasive style are still evident; however he takes a more scientific approach, marshalling a plethora of statistics about the overall effects of our Western meat-eating habits.

Robbins incorporates two reoccurring sections which appear in every chapter, and sometimes several times per chapter, in order to strengthen his argument.  The first section is entitled “What We Know,” in which he lists statistics pertinent to the topic at hand.  For example, in his chapter on heart disease, Robbins illustrates:

 

In another instance, Robbins takes an argumentative stance and juxtaposes two quotations, typically one from a member of the meat or dairy industry and one from someone who is implied to be an impartial expert.  For example, in his chapter on “Preventing Cancer”, Robbins poses:

The use of these two sections gives this book a much more scientific, informed tone.  However, the extensive use of such surprising statistics may provoke some skepticism in readers.  For example, on his chapter on “Choices for a Healthy Environment,” Robbins lists statistics about the amount of water it takes to produce one pound of California beef from several different sources; these numbers range from 441 gallons to 5,214 gallons per pound.  Using these numbers, Robbins estimates that you could save more water by not eating one pound of beef than by not showering for anywhere from six months to one year. (Food Revolution, 236-237)

These statistics, which border on shock-value, can cause skepticism by their extreme numbers.  Robbins, to his credit, cites sources for each statistic.  However, with over forty pages of references, it is much too daunting of a task for the average reader to validate his claims.  Although they should be validated as they are in a published and reviewed work, it is understandable that some have difficulty accepting Robbins’ claims.  Yet, there is no apparent evidence of other intellectuals contradicting his claims, simply many who opine that the numbers cannot possibly be right.

The only true critique of Robbins’ work that I found to be intelligent was that of his book Healthy at 100, in which he compares four indigenous cultures around the world and compares their diet and lifestyle to our own.  Jain Blair and Ron Schmid of the Weston A. Price Foundation had this to say on the subject:

Robbins' dogmatic belief in vegetarianism makes a mockery of his research and his alleged search for truth. He ignores the importance of animal foods in the cultures he cites, contradicts himself as to the nature of diseases in an effort to place the blame for their causes on animal protein, and attempts to create a wildly illogical association between meat-eating and the practice of torture and human sacrifice.

In this book, Robbins may have overstepped his bounds as a public intellectual as he got carried away with his specific vegetarianism agenda.  While he paints a beautiful picture of each indigenous population, the reader gets the feeling that he is romanticizing premodern culture.  The harsh life of people who live without our modern conveniences should not be overlooked when approaching the subject of diet and nutrition.  We are fortunate to have a choice of what to eat in this country; Robbins may have been lead astray by his own personal biases in this particular instance, but he is certainly still a voice of reason and thought-provocation in regards to our food industry.

                Unfortunately, the realm of nutrition and healthy eating is not nearly as clear or rational of a debate as one would hope.  Especially given the growing interest and believed importance of such a field, it is astounding how much bickering and irrational discourse can be found on this topic. 

                One of the fundamental causes for such embarrassingly immature behavior is the misuse or misinterpretation of scientific data.  This is such a frequent occurrence the most intelligent response to new nutritional data is simply to ignore it.  On the most basic level, everyone from desperate dieters to mischievous news stations take a potential new avenue for scientific inquiry, and accept it as conclusive fact.  One day eggs are bad because they have too much cholesterol.  The next they are good because they have complete proteins.  Then they are bad because they contain growth hormones.  But wait, they have an abundance of vitamins and minerals.  Hold on, isn’t animal protein bad for you?  The debate rages on.

                I am not arguing that the meat and dairy industries do not play a significant role in such confusion.  They have the money to spin information with purported experts no matter what the data may actually say.  However, the labyrinth of government laws, regulations, and subsidies relating to the food industry; along with the possible corrupt politicians or “behind-closed-doors” influence of the industries; in addition to the advertising and propaganda, both for and against, animal products; when added to a desperate nation who’s people continually succumb to obesity, heart disease, and diabetes; all combine to form a very unhealthy and ineffective breeding ground for discussion and actual intellectual progress.

                Even the “experts” or “diet gurus” argue with each other over the best approach to diet.  Take Dr. Dean Ornish, who publicly criticizes the Atkins’ low carbohydrate diet as an unhealthy method to lose weight, while promoting his own, low fat diet as a healthy method to lose weight.  Dr. Atkins’ response is to criticize Dr. Ornish’s program while defending his own by showing exemplary instances of weight loss by his clients.  Both of these “diet gurus” have their own agenda, and their constant bickering adds to the already mounting confusion over a truly simple question: What should we eat?

                To this end, John Robbins is one of the most clearly spoken and persuasive voices of reason in this heated debate.  While he may have slipped from rational discourse here and there, the majority of his writing shows that he thinks through the scientific evidence, and makes the most reasonable conclusions he can draw.  His biases are limited, and his passion for a healthier America is evident on every page.

 Although he, too, falls prey to the fundamental error I mentioned before, his actions appear to have positive effects on the populous.  Instead of goading the reader to jump onto a fad diet, or adopt a specific exercise or lifestyle regime, Robbins attempts to raise awareness about food.  His books have the effect of planting questions in the readers mind.  One starts to wonder: Where did my food actually come from? What was this before it was dinner? How do I know what is food, and what is a foodstuff, a processed and artificially concocted morsel designed to fool our biology into thinking it is food?

These questions are difficult, but the environmental consequences of our factory farming are undeniable.  The variables in “healthy eating” are almost infinite; it is not so with consumption of natural resources.  While there will always be someone claiming contention against the numbers, it is fairly straightforward math that allows us to track how much oil, land, or water we use.  Robbins’ illustrates the contribution to climate change mainly through the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers for feed and methane production of livestock.  In doing so, he illuminates the single greatest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, which today are taken to almost directly correlate to climate change.

It is obvious that questions of the dietary link to health do not have an immediate answer, and likely will not have one for a long while.  There is evidence to support the health claims in Robbins’ books, but just as the food industry can twist evidence to fit their agenda, so too can the vegetarian community skew the data to prove their point.  However, Robbins voice has begun to clear the fog surrounding the mystery of diet and nutrition.  He asks clear and poignant questions which equip his readers to challenge health claims and decide on a more intelligent basis what food to eat.  Perhaps one day, this will lead to an greater understanding of what exactly we are eating, how we got it, and whether or not we as a society can accept feeding it to our children.