Frances Moore Lappé

City Arts & Lectures

This week, we’ll hear from Frances Moore Lappé, whose groundbreaking book “Diet for a Small Planet” was controversial when it first came out in 1971. World hunger was a major news topic and a genuine concern; many believed there simply wasn’t enough food to feed the planet. But Lappé argued that hunger wasn’t caused by a scarcity of food, but a scarcity of power among those who go hungry. She believed democracy – and a plant-centered diet – could solve the problem. On September 9, 2021, Frances Moore Lappé spoke to her daughter, Anna Lappé, about what drove her to write the book, and what she’s learned in the intervening 50 years. Anna Lappé is also an author and an advocate for sustainability and food justice.