A Legacy of Ahimsa: Honoring John Robbins
Ocean and John Robbins
Food Revolution Network
On June 11, 2025, the world lost one of its most courageous and compassionate voices John Robbins, bestselling author of Diet for a New America and a true pioneer of ethical living.
John Robbins gave up an inheritance to the Baskin-Robbins fortune to pursue a higher truth advocating for a plant-based lifestyle, environmental justice, and spiritual integrity. Through his books and the Food Revolution, John ignited a movement that helped millions awaken to conscious choices about food, compassion, and health.
His story became personal for many of us. In a deeply moving video, John and his son Ocean opened up about his diagnosis with Post-Polio Syndrome (PPS), a little-understood condition affecting many polio survivors. In sharing his truth, John once again brought clarity, healing, and comfort another act of grace and courage from a man who led with his heart.
What John leaves behind is not only a body of knowledge, but a legacy of love, one that lives on through the tireless and radiant work of Ocean Robbins and the global community they cultivated.
Veganism is Ahimsa in Action. John showed us that peace begins with what we put on our plate, in our minds, and into the world.
We honor John Robbins not only for the life he lived, but for the love he gave, and the light he leaves behind.
Resources & Tributes:
Lynnea Bylund, Founder
Lynnea Bylund established Catalyst House in 1999. She is the Founder and President of Ahimsa Peace Institute (a dba of Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute “GWEI”) Nevada based 501c3, author of Health IS Wealth!, Gandhi Legacy Tour of India ‘The Book’, and Seeds of Light, Planting Seeds of Love. She served on the Board of Directors of Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute, an Illinois based non-profit, beginning in early 2010, the organization formally closed in Illinois as of the end of 2020. GWEI is in Consultative Status with the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since July 23, 2015. Lynnea is the UN ECOSOC representative for the organization. She represented Arun Gandhi, and her company partnered with Arun in the Gandhi Legacy Tour company. Lynnea completed a Nonviolence Course led by Ela Gandhi at the Metta Center for Nonviolence in May 2023, an Introduction to Peacebuilding Micro at the United States Institute of Peace in July 2023, and a Religious Engagement in Peacebuilding course at USIP in October 2023. She was recognized as an Ambassador for Peace by the Universal Peace Federation on September 21, 2023. Lynnea received certificates of completion from the Metta Center and USIP.
She has four decades of experience in administration, marketing and business development in the start-up, telecommunications, and information processing industries nationally and internationally. In the 1990’s she served as a nationally recognized spokeswoman for the emerging wireless, alternative video, and information delivery industries and has appeared on CNN, PBS, NBC, as well as in numerous trade and national publications including Wall Street Journal, Barons, Radio Communications Report, Wireless Week, America’s Network and Private Cable Magazine. During that time she founded two small business Washington DC-based wireless trade associations and has lobbied on Capitol Hill and at the FCC where she has spoken out strongly against the cable TV monopoly, illegal spectrum warehousing and ill-conceived congressional schemes to auction our nation’s precious airwaves to the highest bidder. Adrian Cronauer, real life character portrayed by Robin Williams in the movie Good Morning Vietnam served as Lynnea’s general counsel and lobby partner on Capitol Hill. USIMTA Legislative History
Lynnea Bylund is a founder and former CEO of a Washington DC telecommunications consulting and management company with holdings in several operating and near operating wireless communications systems and companies. In 1995 Lynnea became the first female in the world to be awarded a Broadband PCS operating permit – she was one of only 18 winners, along with Sprint, AT&T, Pacific Bell, etc. in the biggest cash auction in world history, raising a whopping $7.7 billion. Her company was awarded licenses to operate wireless systems in Kauai-Niihau Hawaii, Western, and American Samoa – South Seas Satellite Communications Corporation and Proteus, Inc. NuaNuaTV.
Lynnea is key founding team member who spearheads the successful effort to launch the first cable TV network in the South Pacific islands. We brought CNN International+ first to the island. In 1995, our company partnered with American Samoa Community College “ASCC” to file for ITFS licenses which allowed the college to offer for-credit courses to ASCC enrolled students. Subsequent development phase was transmissions of the colleges programming to private residences and other locations in the community in order to provide adult education and training. Through the use of ITFS frequencies, ASCC offered courses that had been unavailable in the region for budgetary reasons. Through our partnership ASCC accomplished this without significant additional expense to the school.
In early 2010 Lynnea Bylund accepted an invitation from Dr. Arun Gandhi, grandson of the Mahatma, M.K. Gandhi, to join the Board of Gandhi Worldwide Education Institute. Lynnea served as the Managing Director of Gandhi Legacy Tour founded by Arun Gandhi 2012-2019.
Timeline | Slideshow Photos
