From Ice Cream Heir to Vegan Visionary: John Robbins’ Legacy

The world lost a visionary and a kind man with the passing of John Robbins. Groomed from an early age to help take over the family ice cream company, he chose another path. After visiting large commercial dairies and seeing the tremendous suffering of cows and their calves, Robbins found the idea of profiting from such cruelty appalling. As he wrote in his seminal book Diet for a New America, “I had to say no, because something else was calling me, and no matter how hard I tried, I could not ignore it.”

Robbins was among the first to make a strong case for how animal agriculture is harmful to animals, the environment, and human health. He then spent decades spreading awareness of how animals suffer on factory farms. Robbins and his son, Ocean, founded the Food Revolution Summit with a mission to change the way Americans eat. His work shared the latest breakthrough insights and up-to-the-minute research on the ways in which diet, health, animal welfare, and the environment are interrelated.

How You Can Honor John Robbins’ Legacy

Robbins drove home the message that every ethical decision one makes may be a “drop in the bucket” but that the bucket soon overflows and becomes the tide of history turning. Follow his example by making kind choices every time you eat and shop.