Love
Over
Money
From an early age, John Robbins was groomed as the heir apparent to the Baskin-Robbins ice-cream empire, which was founded by his father Irv Robbins, and uncle Burton Baskin in 1945.
Growing up John had it all: money, prestige, and unlimited ice cream along with an ice-cream-cone-shaped swimming pool.
By the time John was in his early 20s, Baskin-Robbins had grown to become the largest ice-cream company in the world, and John, as his father’s only son, was the heir apparent to what had become a billion dollar company. But John was growing apart from the company and from his father, and felt called to a more meaningful life than inventing another flavor of ice cream and accumulating more wealth. He was concerned about the health and environmental impacts of the family product. And there was a growing generational divide emerging with his father over the Vietnam war and the civil rights movement.
John decided to walk away from the company, and from any money or trust funds connected to his father. Along with his wife, Deo, he then moved to a tiny one-room log cabin they built in the woods on a small island in British Columbia, where they lived for the next 15 years.
What happened next took him, his father, and the world completely by surprise. Little did John know that he would eventually write a best-selling book that would be nominated for a Pulitzer and be read by millions of people, but the biggest surprise of all, was that John's book would accomplish something far more important to him: it would help save his father's life.
John Robbins
John Robbins (1947–2025) was the author of nine best-selling books that collectively sold more than 3 million copies and were translated into 31 languages. As the cofounder and president of the Food Revolution Network, he helped inspire a global movement for healthy, sustainable, and compassionate food choices — reaching more than 2 million people through the annual Food Revolution Summit that he cohosted.
Throughout his life, John received numerous awards, including the Rachel Carson Award, the Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award, and the Peace Abbey’s Courage of Conscience Award. He was also a sought-after keynote speaker at major conferences sponsored by Physicians for Social Responsibility, the Humane Society of the United States, and the United Nations Environmental Program.
John’s life and work are featured in the award-winning PBS special based on his paradigm-shifting book, Diet for a New America. His vision and voice continue to inspire millions to live with greater awareness, compassion, and purpose.
