Best known for: Being the daughter of Frances Moore Lappe, author of the 1971 book Diet for a Small Planet; for co-founding the Small Planet Institute; and for writing Diet for a Hot Planet.
Most likely to be heckled by: Tea Partiers and fast food lovers
Most likely to dominate the Q&A session: Paul Haeder and other contentious greenies
Lappe's book summed up in a sentence: Ill help you draw a line between your pork chop, your Pop-Tart, and the rising mercury on the planets thermometer, taking you through the food chain. Its a chain of events we tend to be blind to when we pull up our shopping carts to the cereal aisle to ponder whether well go for Special K or Honey Toasted Oats.
Facts from her book that make you go, Hmmm:
- By 2005, one in four of our food dollars was spent at Wal-Mart.
- I also like to use the rule of thumb. If the ingredients list is longer than the width of your thumb retreat.
- Americans today consume 222 pounds of red meat and poultry annually for every man, woman and child. That's more than three times the global average and roughly equivalent to an order of Chicken McNuggets, a Quarter Pounder, and a side of bacon every day of the year for every single one of us.
One reviewer said: Much of this will sound familiar to Michael Pollan's readers, and unfortunately, Lappe pales by comparison. Her stories tend to be shallow, unfinished, and sometimes marginally relevant, and her prose is sloppy. And although the book's message may have been ripe when Lappe began her research, extensive media coverage on the subject since may have put this book past its freshness date. (Publishers Weekly)
What Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation, said: As Anna Lappe reveals in this important book, we must be conscious of what we eat not only for our own health, but for the health of the planet. When it comes to climate change, junk food may prove even more destructive than S.U.V.s. Lappe's message is timely and empowering. Instead of waiting for politicians to do the right thing, we can make simple changes to our diet, enjoy it, and help change the world.
Anna Lappe discusses Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do About It on Wednesday, April 14, at 7 pm at SCCs Lair Auditorium, Bldg. 6, Mission Ave. and Greene St. Free.
