Frances Moore Lappé

"Some of the 20th century’s most vibrant activist thinkers have been American women—Margaret Mead, Jeanette Rankin, Barbara Ward, Dorothy Day—who took it upon themselves to pump life into basic truths. Frances Moore Lappé is among them.” —The Washington Post

Frances Moore Lappé is the author of sixteen books, beginning with the 1971 three-million-copy bestseller, Diet for a Small Planet, which awakened a whole generation to the human-made causes of hunger and the significance of our everyday choices. Her newest book, Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity, & Courage in a World Gone Mad, arrived in bookstores in September, 2007.

Her other recent works include the 2006 Democracy’s Edge: Choosing to Save our Country by Bringing Democracy to Life (Wiley/Jossey-Bass) and, in 2004, You Have the Power: Choosing Courage in a Culture of Fear (Tarcher/Penguin), co-authored with Jeffrey Perkins. In 2002, Lappé and her daughter Anna Lappé published the 30th anniversary sequel to Diet, entitled Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet (Tarcher/Penquin). In it, the two pick up where the original Diet leaves off. Through a chronicle of their five-continent journey, the two Lappés explore answers to our planet’s most urgent questions of sustainability and democracy. Jane Goodall called Hope’s Edge “absolutely one of the most important books as we enter the 21st century.” While writing Hope’s Edge, Lappé was a visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Lappé and her daughter are co-founders of the Cambridge-based Small Planet Institute, whose publishing arm is releasing Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity, & Courage in a World Gone Mad, and the Small Planet Fund, which channels resources to democratic social movements worldwide. In addition, Lappé is co-founder of two other national organizations.

In 1975, with Joseph Collins, she launched the California-based Institute for Food and Development Policy (Food First) to educate Americans about the causes of world hunger. Still making waves after 32 years, the Institute was described by The New York Times as one of the nation’s “most respected food think tanks.” Its publications continue to shape the international debate on the root causes of hunger and poverty.

In 1990, Lappé co-founded the Center for Living Democracy, a ten-year initiative that helped make visible and accelerate the spread of democratic innovations in which regular citizens contribute to problem solving in all dimensions of public life. Lappé served as founding editor of the Center’s American News Service, which over five years placed solutions-oriented news stories in more than 300 newspapers, including almost half of the nation’s top one hundred newspapers by circulation.

Lappé’s books have been used in a broad array of courses in hundreds of colleges and universities and in more than 50 countries. They have been translated into over a dozen languages. Lappé’s 1989 book Rediscovering America's Values, written as a dialogue, has sparked discussion on democratic values in thousands of settings. The Los Angeles Times called the book “original” and “provocative”…a “remarkable and valuable resource. It will help individual readers clarify their own personal values.”

Lappé’s life and work have been featured in O Magazine, Glamour, People Magazine, The Boston Globe Magazine, The Utne Reader, Vegetarian Times, Orion Magazine, and many other publications. Lappé’s articles have appeared in publications as diverse as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Readers' Digest, Christian Century, Chemistry, Le Monde Diplomatique, National Civic Review, Tikkun, and Harpers.

Her television and radio appearances have included a PBS special with Bill Moyers, The Today Show, CBS Radio, and National Public Radio. Lappé’s work has been featured in several television documentaries, including Democratic Allsorts, an hour-long special devoted to her life that aired in Australia and Great Britain. She lectures widely to university audiences, community groups, and professional conferences. Lappé has received 17 honorary doctorates from distinguished institutions, including the University of Michigan, Kenyon College, Allegheny College, and Lewis and Clark College.

In 1987 in Sweden, Lappé became the fourth American to receive the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes called the “Alternative Nobel,” for her “vision and work healing our planet and uplifting humanity.” In 2007, Lappé was chosen as a founding councilor of the fifty member World Future Council, a global voice for a sustainable future, based in London and Hamburg.

In her 30s, Lappé received the annual Mademoiselle magazine award, honoring young American women leaders. In 2000, she was inducted into Natural Health Magazine's Hall of Fame. In 2003 she received the Rachel Carson Award from the National Nutritional Foods Association.

Lappé’s book awards include the World Hunger Media Award and the Henry George Award as well as, in 2003, the Nautilus Award for Hope’s Edge in the category of social change from NAPRA, the network of alternative publishers and retailers. She is a contributing editor to Yes! Magazine, a member of the International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture, and serves on the National Advisory Council of the Union of Concerned Scientists. Folow Lappé on Twitter @fmlappe.