Diet for a Small Planet arrived like a rolling earthquake in sunny California in 1971.
50th Anniversary Edition
In 1971 (when I first read Diet for a Small Planet), Frances Moore Lappe’s research brought to light the nature of capitalism in creating hunger and poverty. I recall her riveting question then, and just how relevant it remains today:
How much is enough?
Frances Moore Lappe
Instead of the world not producing enough food to feed everyone, she demonstrated how we produce enough food to feed everyone and that remains true today. Then why hunger? Unregulated capitalism and concentration of wealth to a few people and companies causes many problems including hunger. Access to nutritious food remains an issue of human rights. In the introductory remarks to the 5th edition, Frances doesn’t hold back on the perilous point in history in which we are poised. She titles it: Our Choice, Our Promise. Ever positive, Lappe shows us how most of our current ills are a question of democracy.
What is Democracy Anyway? For me, at the heart of democracy are the rules and norms for living together that meet our deepest needs–bringing forth the best in our species while keeping our destructive capacities in check.
Introductory Remarks, Diet for a Small Planet, 50th Edition, xx1.
Frances centers her work in food justice within democratic norms. She describes humanity’s greatest needs: personal power (voice), meaning (our lives matter), and community.
No one understands the problem of hunger and its solutions better than Frances. I highly recommend her book, Diet for a Small Planet. See also 22 other books Lappe has published at this link.
Susan Feathers 
This was a watershed book for me also, Susan. One of the eyeopeners as to how things really were in the world and taught me to start questioning “the party lines”, that people were lazy, or communist, or whatever and that’s why there wasn’t “enough” food for everyone. And of course Big Ag was really ramping up and they wanted to control food production and distribution – not for everyone’s benefit but for “the bottom line”. It IS a complex issue however and there are many parts to consider. However, I feel Lappe’s books are to be considered in any discussion on feeding the world.
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Thanks, Eleanor. It is complex. Yesterday, on NPR a program discussed the loss of the number of farmers primarily because young would be farmers cannot afford access to land and that large industrial farms are more common than ever. I think Kentucky may be in better shape with the advent of Land Trusts that level the playing field and often will lease only with farmers who intend to regenerate the land or practice conservation measures. Black Soil Kentucky is such a group and when I left they were growing and making it possible for farmers of color to farm on a 99-yr lease. But, at its heart, like any capitalist model system, it tends to concentrate wealth in the hands of a few unless regulated to make it work for everyone. We are playing with fire. We’re already seeing the effects of climate change on farming. It concerns me greatly.
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