May All Be Fed: Diet for a New World

by John Robbins

The author of Diet for a New America shows how we can significantly improve ourselves and the world by changing the way we eat. May All Be Fed explains why so few have so much to eat and why so many have so little, and it shows how everyone can make a difference by altering food choices. 8 charts.

Genres: Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Food, Health, Vegetarian, Vegan, Ecology

416 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 1993

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: John Robbins

John Robbins was an American author, who popularized the links among nutrition, environmentalism, and animal rights.
He was the author of the 1987 Diet for a New America, an exposé on connections between diet, physical health, animal cruelty, and environmentalism. Robbins founded the organization EarthSave in 1988 and co-founded the Food Revolution Network with his son, Ocean, in 2011. He was a leading voice in the plant-based movement.

Reviews

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was one of the books my doctor recommended to me before going vegan. I could have just dismissed it and went on to eat meat, but reading books such as this one really opened my eyes. I had no reason to turn back afterwards. It was educations, for a book from 1992, found in a bargain bin. There's a difference between a plant-based diet and what today's version of vegan is and this is truly plant-based; less junky and more healthy. It's rumoured that to be vegan is extremely healthy, but if you're vegan long enough, you'll find a way around them, veganizing all sorts of desserts, candies and comfort foods, meanwhile seeing your butt widen. I like to go back to this book now and then, so even though I've finished reading it from cover to cover, I dip into the recipes in the back.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This includes what I consider to be one of the best collections of vegan recipes anywhere. Reading this book actually prompted a two-year militant and proselytizing vegan stint, literally Cold Turkey: I had an in-flight turkey sandwich in my stomach when I read it. Despite the author's overly sensational approach, it was two years before I started eating anything animal-related again, and at least six more (and still counting) to figure out how one can actually restore communities and the environment by including meat and animal products in the diet. As for humane treatment of food animals... well, I'm still working on that too. Definitely thought-provoking, and with far better suggestions on what to actually DO than Diet for a New America.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not vegeterian or vegan, and never will be. It's unhealthy and unnatural, especially being vegan. People who say that meat/dairy is bad for you are throwing the baby out with the bathwater. The reality is that too much meat/dairy, and the too much of the wrong kinds, is what's bad for you. For example: McDonalds hamberger is bad for you; fresh-caught salmon baked in the over, fantastic for you. Now, because I don't eat a lot of meat, I enjoy veggie cookbooks like this, and this one has a lot of my favourite recipies. So I love it for that. But the preachiness of Mr. Robbins is totally off-putting, and the 'science' in this books out-of-date, and taken out of context as well. Use it for the great recipies, ignore the preaching.

[Plant Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great resource for me when I first became vegetarian then vegan. The chapters on meat production, environmental impacts of meat, the dairy and meat industries and their impacts on public health and the consequences of an animal based diet on health/well-being were all very informative and helped to make me feel I had made a positive decision. It's good to know also that the facts are backed up and based on actual studies. The recipes are great too, simple, healthy and delicious.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess I read this book when I got it as a gift in the early 90s - but I'm so happy to have re-read it now. If you ever want a good, well-rounded argument for vegetarianism - this is it! It's been demonstrated scientifically time and time again that eating too much meat is bad for our health and the root cause of many diseases in 1st-world countries. Although the info in this book is a little dated now, I still hardly recommend reading it - the message remains the same today.

[Nancy Rector · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by John Robbins, heir to the Baskin Robbins ice create fortune (he turned it down) write a book that should be required reading for all. Full of well documented facts it gives the sometimes horrible truth of how we are not only treating animals used for food in our society but how we are killing the earth and ourselve but our glutoney for meat. Riviting.

Must read for anyone concerned about the earth, their family and their future.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

informative, but not up to date; could definitely benefit from a new edition. the language and style is a bit sensationalist, but definitely conveys the egregious extent of political perversity involved in nutrition education. our preconceptions of what is good and bad for one's health is very much shaped by the power of certain food industries and not by objective science. Robbins challenges the reader to question these preconceptions. also, the vegan recipes are superb!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book for anyone who is or is considering being vegetarian. Very informative and eye opening. Again, one of those books that changes the way you eat, and at the time was a vegetarian. I am not now, however, make healthier and more conscious choices when buying animal products (treatment/living conditions etc). Lots of excellent recipes that I still use.

[Nephyr · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I hand anyone who is interested in going vegan. First half of the book is information, the second half is lovely earthy recipes. easy and dependably good. They are not fancy, just good. And John Robbins is simply one of the warmest sweetest authorities on veganism, animal rights and food politics I have ever encountered.

[Marni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't like to cook, but I make several recipes from this book regularly. My relatives ask me to make Creamy Butternut Squash soup every Christmas. Vegetable Tahini soup is good hot or cold. Vegetarian bean chili is another regular. Tangine of Moroccan vegetables is a bit of work (for me), and it makes a lot, so we reserve it for when we have guests, and it's always a hit.

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have not actually tried any of the recipes in this book, I've just read the text. John Robbins' style is a little New-Agey mushy, but the information is good, and he's passionate about his subject.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Used this constantly when I was vegan. I still use it occasionally for the recipes, but now with meat/dairy, or when I cook for vegan friends. I recall liking the Moroccan stew a lot -- nice mixture of spices.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rediscovered this one on my bookshelf recently. I first read it in high school, and it is a big part of the reason I eat the way I do. Very well written, this book is definitely food for thought!

[Amanu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone should read this.

[Jasmine]

Fantabulous

Although
now i want to move out of my beloved city and grow my own food...forever. and considering the vegan path again

bye bye mac & cheese...I'll miss you the most

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good scientific research about the benefits of a vegetarian diet, the drawbacks of a high protein low fiber diet, and how the meat industry keeps the world from being fed.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not much brand-new information, but it is extremely well-cited, which makes it a good resource.

[Lisa]

My mother's going to conference where he is speaking this weekend, so I better take a look. The son of the Baskin Robbins family who gave up the fortune to preach health.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

You will never want to eat dairy again. I still use this for the recipes!

[Kdaca]

Such an eye-opening read for me as an impressionable teen. I passed on the pizza dough recipe to my son who regularly made his own personal pies.