John Robbins turned down his family's Baskin-Robbins fortune to start the Food Revolution Summit. He argues that U.S. agricultural subsidies make junk food cheaper than fresh produce, trapping low-income people in unhealthy eating patterns. His choice reflects a belief that wealth means nothing without purpose.
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John Robbins is the son of the founder of Baskin Robbins. But he walked away from a billion dollar empire to start something called the Food Revolution Summit. How on earth did you walk away from 31 flavors of ice cream?
Because ice cream is not a health food. You know, it's not. Ice cream cone isn't going to kill anybody. And it gives a lot of people momentary pleasure, temporary pleasure, but at a cost. My uncle Bert Baskin, my dad's brother in law, the co founder and co owner of Baskin Robbins, died of a heart attack at the age of 54. He was a very big guy. He ate a lot of ice cream. And when he died, I asked my father, do you think there could be a connection between my uncle's the amount of ice cream he'd eat and his fatal heart attack? And my father said, no, no, no, don't ever ask that question again. He just didn't want to even consider the possibility that there could be a link. And there is a link. And so I saw that and I saw that, well, working at Baskin Robbins, I'd be a rich guy. I'd be very wealthy and I'd be very unhappy. I'd probably be fat also, but I definitely would be miserable because I wouldn't have done what I'm on this earth to do. I wouldn't have lived in alignment with what I experienced to be the calling and the mission of my life and the purpose of my life. And so there wasn't any choice for me.
Sixteen hours ago, Michelle Obama got on the Daily Show. She said something really interesting.
When I first got to America, I was like, how much is an avocado?
That's right.
I was like, this is. How much is this? Cause in South Africa, the treat is the McDonald's. Your family can't just buy you that every day. In America, it's like, no, the fast food is affordable.
Yeah, that's how it was for us growing up, you know, so this is also generational. I mean, the whole notion of going out wasn't something that you did. People couldn't afford it and it wasn't available like that. So going to a fast food place was a treat. But for the most part, being able to afford to live meant you had.
To cook for the poor in America. Right. It's cheaper to eat at McDonald's than to. Because many of them are working two, three jobs. It's cheaper to eat at McDonald's than to come home, cook, take care of the kids. What is a sustainable solution where, yes, we can be humane to the animals. But we can also ensure that people in America who cannot afford to cook healthy food at home, who cannot afford organic, can also get a nutritious meal.
Michelle Obama is, I admire her a lot. People may not know that the first date she ever had with Barack, when they first met, he took her to Baskin Robbins. And the reason he did that was because his first job was working in a Baskin. There's a lot of people that have stories like that. But you mentioned her, and I found that fascinating. So she makes a really great point that healthy food is not as available, not as accessible, and not as affordable as it needs to be. And one of the reasons for that you mentioned in the US I'll give a US example. In the US the government subsidizes high, high fructose corn syrup, and it subsidizes soy production, genetically engineered soy production. The result of that is, is that we're making the worst foods, the least healthy foods, and also the least compassionate foods, the most unethical foods, the cheapest for people to buy. And then so people who are very price sensitive, people who are struggling financially, have to are forced to buy at McDonald's because it's cheap and it's quick and they don't have a lot of money and they don't have a lot of time. And that's their answer. And I understand that it's not their fault at all. We need to change things. I think we need to subsidize healthy food. What if we, instead of subsidizing high fructose corn syrup, subsidize fresh fruits and vegetables so they would be more affordable for the people who are struggling financially, who have limited means and they deserve as much as anyone else, have healthy food available to them. Sadly, it's actually easier to find a pack of cigarettes than it is to find an organic banana or apple. And that says something about our values and what we've subsidized and what corporations are controlling our policies. And that doesn't have to be. We can eat food that will actually give us the highest possibility of living our life purpose full, fully and beautifully and lovingly and caringly with other people. We can do something about the mess our planet's in. We can do something about the biodiversity loss and the species extinction. We can do something about the greenhouse gas emissions. We can do something about our own health all at the same time. Yes, I left enormous financial security and I moved into a lot of financial insecurity. And people could think, well, why would you do that? And the answer is because I felt so much more emotionally secure and spiritually secure because I was now living in accord with who I am, to be who I really am in my heart and soul and who I am in this world that needs so much healing and help.
