Like Son, Like Father
John Robbins' story about his father going vegetarian
(The former owner of Baskin Robbin's Ice Cream)

Recorded at the L.A. Whole Life Expo Oct. 1993

John Robbins:

Twenty-five years ago my uncle Burt Baskin my Dad's partner and brother-in-law died of a heart attack and when that happened I asked my father do you think there could be any connection between the amount of ice cream that uncle Burt would eat, I mean this is a big fella, and the heart attack that killed him and my father said, "Nooo... his ticker just got tired and stopped working." And I looked at my father and I saw the denial, the implacable commitment, you know and I could see how it would be because he had made more ice cream than anybody in the history of the world - and any insinuation that there might be a connection between ice cream and a heart disease - my father didn't want to think of himself as a killer and or diet and health but particularly ice cream.

Now ice cream is basically frozen butter fat and sugar I mean that's for the most part that's what it is. Butter fat is a highly saturated fat and there is a very direct correlation between saturated fat intake and heart disease rates there's no question about that. The most congruent, consistent, convincing body of medical research is unanimous about that - this is not a matter of conjecture or even controversy. Sugar - my father has diabetes - you see the two partners one with the heart attack the other with diabetes - it's interesting how the karmic loop goes. I have a friend Patrick Reynolds, grandson of RJ Reynolds. His grandfather died of emphysema his father died of lung cancer. Patrick to his credit I think is on a anti-smoking campaign, you may hear of him or meet him he's a lovely guy. He and I have done shows together, "rebels with a cause". But his father and grandfather are dead, my father - still alive, so it's a different dance.

Five years ago when Diet For A New America came out I sent him a copy. I knew he didn't read it you know we had very distant relations, respectful but distant. That's the way we kept it respectful because there was not a whole lot we could talk about without getting argumentative or getting on each others nerves so we just kept it distant, but it was a mutual decision such as it was. But I sent him the book but then something happened. My father at that time, his cholesterol level was 300, extremely dangerous. His weight was a constant problem to him, he called it the battle of the bulge and he was losing it.

His diabetes had progressed to a point that the likely prognosis was that he would go blind at a certain point and could very well lose a foot or even a leg to gangrene. That is the eventuality of the type of diabetes he has if it - you know - develops the way his was going. His blood pressure was so high that he had to take twelve horse pills these huge capsules everyday that had very serious side effects that he hated - that he was told he'd have to take those pills the rest of his life and all they did was cover the symptoms, they did not effect a cure. This was the best that the western medical establishment could offer him - he went to the highest paid people this is the best the could do for him.

Because at that period of time he went to a cardiologist in Palm Springs who.. said to him "Well Mr. Robbins if you are really serious about wanting to get well and not just control the symptoms a little bit with more drugs but actually get well.. There is a book..." and he hands him Diet For A New America and the amazing thing is he did this not knowing that the John Robbins that wrote the book was any relationship to his famous patient - just happened to be the same last name as far as he was concerned.

Now I wish, I devoutly wish I could have been a fly on the wall in that room and seen my fathers face. Cause this is the kid that said no to him that rejected his values - who he pretty much wrote off you know. Now the high priest of western medicine is telling him he should read my book I mean it's amazing (From the audience) "Did he?" He did, in stages but he did and he started making little changes and keeping charts - my father is very practical he keeps charts and he got results, so he made additional changes - he got additional results - he made further changes - he got further results. Well now today my father's cholesterol is 150.

His diabetes is in complete remission, his blood sugar level have lost all Brittleness- he will not go blind - he will not lose a foot or a leg to gangrene - he will not be on insulin - he does not even have to take diabetic pills anymore. (audience claps and cheers) His blood pressure has improved so much that instead of taking 12 of these horse pills everyday he takes one of them every other day and he told me recently that he's sure he doesn't need that anymore and needless to say the side effects from that medication are no longer bothering him. He's lost thirty pounds and I think perhaps most important to him, his golf game has improved ten strokes (audience laughs).

It's marvelous - so he says to me now I'm not a card carrying vegetarian. My dad recently wrote me and he said "When you left the family and the business I knew you were smart but I also thought you were crazy but time has proved you right and thank God you had - that you followed your own star even when I did everything I could to criticize you and put obstacles in front of you and thank God some of us have lived long enough to learn a few new things."

Now for me to hear my father to say these things to the one person in the world that really said no to him in a quite profound way. I respect the inner strength from which he has done that more than I respect his business achievements because it's of the heart. I really respect that.

What would allow a man like this to make changes - believe me where he was coming from before.. it's just totally a miracle and I think there is a collective body of good will. You could call it soul force or truth force that is strengthened every time one of us make a higher choice, every time one of us makes a decision that we follow through on that makes our lives more vivid with spirit and more clear, and more balanced, and more whole, and more free. When we do that something is strengthened within all of us and we are contributing to one another in ways that are not visible to us all the time.