Facts About The Diet For A New America

"Diet for a New America" is a book about the animal food product industry in the United States. The author, John Robbins, rejected his family's fortune derived from his father's development of the Baskin Robbins ice cream franchise, and pursued a vegetarianism advocacy career. The book explains the negative impacts the meat and dairy industry imparts on the health and environment in the United States.

Animal Foods and Disease

"Diet for a New America" provides information about the high cholesterol and saturated fat nutrient intake in the United States and its correlation to cancer. It points out that women develop breast cancer in China one-sixth of the rate American breast cancer develops. According to the theory, meat and dairy increase estrogen in women and testosterone in men. The physicians that Robbins interviews in his book report that animal foods also cause calcium depletion and osteoporosis.

Nutrition and the Government

In "Diet for a New America," Robbins suggests that the United States government designed the USDA food pyramid as a result of pressure from the cattle and dairy industry. According to the theory, the disproportionate level of animal foods the pyramid promotes is detrimental to long-term health.

Livestock Pollution and Resource Depletion

The livestock industry leaches nitrates from manure into groundwater, according to Robbins. Nitrates inhibit oxygen utilization in the human body causing systemic oxygen depletion in infants and children living in proximity to cattle stockyards. The American fixation on cattle production disproportionately consumes resources. The book points out that 12 lbs. of grain produces 12 loaves of bread, or 1 lb. of red meat. America uses 50 percent of water to grow grain to feed livestock. In an interview with "Woman," a Canadian magazine, Robbins says that vegetarianism is the new Prius because reducing meat consumption saves more fossil fuels than reducing automobile emissions.

Changes

The "Diet for a New America" encourages Americans to consume fewer servings of meat and dairy products for improved cardiovascular health, environmental impact and allocation of American financial and natural resources. The vision he proposes involves making an ideological statement by choosing foods that support a more compassionate and reasonable approach to feeding the nation's population.