John Robbins, the influential author and activist whose work transformed mainstream understanding of plant-based diets, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability, has died. He was 77. News of his death was confirmed by the Food Revolution Network and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Robbins was best known for Diet for a New America, the 1987 bestseller that examined the connections between food, health, the environment, and ethics. The book positioned Robbins as one of the earliest and most effective voices advocating for the plant-based movement in the US. It also marked a dramatic break from his family’s legacy: Robbins was the only son of Irv Robbins, co-founder of the Baskin-Robbins ice cream empire.

Food Revolution Network

“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,” PETA stated in a tribute. 

Raised in Southern California, Robbins studied at the University of California, Berkeley and Antioch College. In his early thirties, he began to distance himself from the family business, turning instead to meditation, writing, and holistic living. Diet for a New America—which drew upon epidemiological studies, environmental research, and personal testimony—criticized the American food system for promoting diets high in saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein, while obscuring the suffering of animals and the climate impact of meat and dairy.

Within months of publication, Robbins became a sought-after speaker and media guest, appearing on national programs including Oprah, Donahue, and CBS This Morning. The book would go on to sell more than one million copies and has been cited by many activists, doctors, and public figures as foundational to the modern vegan and environmental health movements.

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Following the book’s success, Robbins launched EarthSave International in 1988, a nonprofit aimed at promoting plant-based eating as a solution to global food and ecological crises. The group developed school outreach programs, community potlucks, and youth-led initiatives including Youth for Environmental Sanity.

In 1991, Robbins expanded his message with the PBS documentary Diet for a New America: Your Health, Your Planet, which featured appearances from then-rising voices in the plant-based medical community, including T. Colin Campbell, PhD and John McDougall, MD.

Robbins’s later books expanded on the themes of his debut. The Food Revolution (2001) tackled issues of factory farming, GMOs, and food labeling. Healthy at 100 (2006) explored longevity in cultures with largely plant-based diets, including Okinawa, Abkhasia, and the Hunza Valley. The book was among the first to be printed on one hundred percent post-consumer recycled, non-chlorine bleached paper—a move Robbins advocated for as part of his broader environmental mission.

Other works included The New Good Life, a personal reflection on financial ethics in the aftermath of the 2008 economic collapse; No Happy Cows, a collection of essays on factory farming and food marketing; and Voices of the Food Revolution, which compiled interviews with leaders in the plant-based and environmental health space.

Food Revolution Network

In 2012, Robbins co-founded the Food Revolution Network with his son Ocean Robbins. The organization rapidly grew to more than one million members globally, offering summits, online courses, and public advocacy campaigns that continued to push forward the plant-based agenda Robbins had helped ignite. According to the organization, Robbins remained actively involved in strategic planning and editorial content until shortly before his death.

Robbins had a long history of health challenges, having contracted polio as a child. Though he recovered enough to later become a marathon runner and triathlete, he was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome as an adult and experienced increasing complications in his later years.

Throughout his life, Robbins received numerous awards for humanitarian and environmental work, including the Rachel Carson Award, the Peace Abbey’s Courage of Conscience Award, and the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award.

News of Robbins’s death spread quickly on social media among vegan advocates, authors, and environmental groups. Longtime colleagues and readers praised his lifelong commitment to advocacy that bridged science, compassion, and personal integrity.