Re: seminar lineup summary

last interview wrap up of the first food revolution summit

Today we completed the 2012 Food Revolution Summit. What a week it’s been!

Thank you for all the ways that you participate in this rapidly growing movement. It's a movement that grows stronger…

Every time you choose tomatoes over Twinkies...

Every time you choose organic and locally grown over chemical-laden genetically engineered pseudo-foods...

Every time you choose to set a positive example instead of succumbing to the status quo...

Every time you make a nourishing meal and enjoy it with reverence...

Every time you support healthier food systems by signing a petition or lobbying a representative or organizing in your community...

Every time you speak out instead of being dumbed down....

And every time you look at food as an opportunity to take a stand for the life you want and the world you love.

Thank you for your participation in the Food Revolution.

Final Day Dispatch

John and Ocean Robbins In case you missed it, today I got to interview my dad, John Robbins. We had a lively dialogue that brought together many of the key ideas that have emerged during the Summit, and then took them a next step. If you want to hear it, you’ll find it on replay linked here for a short time http://foodrevolution.org/calendar.html


I was touched to hear my dad talk about having polio as a child, and being constantly sick growing up. This experience imbued in him a deep appreciation for the value of health. He said he never takes the ability to walk, to breath, or to be healthy, for granted. His childhood illnesses inspired him to take care of his body, and eventually to help others do the same.

He talked about the epic struggle between two great forces today. On the one side is Monsanto, factory farms, and big agrichemical companies. These forces are profiting from putting family farmers out of business and from producing food that is harmful to our health and to our world.

On the other side, we have a rising tide of people who want food that is healthy, that is produced in harmony with the earth, and that is a celebration of life.

He defined himself as a reporter, but also an advocate. “As for me,”, he said, “I have made a choice. I have taken a side.”

No Happy Cows I asked him why he had chosen to title his latest book “ No Happy Cows,” and to join in the lawsuit against the California Milk Producers Association for their “Happy Cows” ad campaign. He answered that the ads, which depict happy cows grazing in lush green pastures, are a fabrication and were actually shot in New Zealand. In reality, there aren’t any happy cows in industrialized modern agribusiness. California’s dairy industry is concentrated in the state’s hot and dry San Joaquin valley, with 20,000 animals often housed in a small area. Many of them never see a blade of grass in their lives. Many consumers care about animal well-being, and for that reason are willing to pay extra for humanely raised products. My dad is engaged in suing the California industry, because he says:

“I think they are attempting to take an unfair advantage of the public. I would consider their dishonesty to be criminal. I don’t think we should allow campaigns to portray animals has humanely treated when they are not.”

When I asked my dad for his advice to Summit participants who want to take the inspiration of the summit forward in their lives, he said:

“I think you’ll know what to do. I think you do it a step at a time, a day at a time, a mouthful at a time, a food choice at a time, a purchase at a time, an order at a time, a meal at a time. And I think we will change the world one heart at a time.”

“The primary agent of social change, to my way of seeing, is the human heart. As it awakens, as it becomes engaged, as it becomes alive with its responsibility, with its capacity for wisdom, for caring and for action, then our prayers start to manifest as our lives. Then our caring starts to be expressed in the way we are with each other. Then we bring out the best in one another. Then we live in a way that’s worthy of the suffering we experience, and that transforms the suffering into strength.”

Gratitude and Going Forward

As we come to the completion of an extraordinary week, my dad, John Robbins, and I feel so grateful for all the people who helped us make this possible, including Lionel Church, Greg Boggs, Kaia Van Zandt, all our speakers and affiliates, and so many more friends and allies. And of course, we want to thank Deo Robbins (my dad’s partner for 45 years and my mom for 38) and the love of my life and wife for 17 years, Michele Robbins.

Most of all, we want to thank you. Thank you for your participation in the Summit, and more importantly, in the vital work of our times.

We wish you radiant health, abundant joy, and a life filled with meaning. And we wish you good, delicious, nourishing food.

Ocean Robbins

Yours for healthy people and a healthy planet,

Ocean Signature



Ocean Robbins

P.S. The first-ever Food Revolution Summit is coming to completion, but our work together is just beginning. I’ll be in touch soon to share next steps of how you can be involved as we continue to build the Food Revolution into an even GREATER success!

P.P.S. Don't miss out on this last chance to get your Empowerment Package of the summit interview recordings and transcripts for a special 50% discount until midnight tonight! It will still be available after the Summit for the regular price.

P.P.P.S. Does your mom LOVE healthy food? Remember, the Empowerment Package is a gift you can keep giving, and sharing with loved ones. With Mother's Day next week- it can be the perfect gift for your mom! (She'll appreciate it more than flowers, believe me.) Take advantage of your 50% discount now.

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