Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé

Book Description Featuring recipes from vegetarian, organic, and whole-foods culinary pioneers, Hope's Edge is also a celebration of a cuisine that has emerged in the past thirty years -- one that brings us back to the sensuous pleasure of eating and reconnects us to the earth and those who care for it. At once an account of an intimate mother-and-daughter journey and a far-reaching vision for social and environmental transformation, Hope's Edge helps each of us find new courage to trust ourselves and choose the world we want.

Reviews

Publishers Weekly (Jan. 28, 2002)
Thirty years ago, Frances Moore Lappé's groundbreaking Diet for a Small Planet challenged Western assumptions about hunger. Lappé was the first to argue systematically for the rejection of meat-based easting and cultivation in favor of a system where "corn becomes filet mignon" and eating lower on the food chain (i.e. more grains and vegetables) is a crucial key to ending worldwide hunger, since non-meat proteins are much more efficient and sustainable to producer. Her new book, co-written with her daughter, comes into a world still grappling with the problem.

Describing their journeys through Brazil, India, Holland, and the U.S., the Lappés continue to question the economic status quo as well as discuss the ways different countries handle food production in times of scarcity and plenty. By focusing on their individual journey and choices, the Lappés bring intellectual concepts to a personal level, and in doing so, challenge us to do the same. What we eat directly, they argue, connects us to the earth and people around the globe: "Food has a unique power," Lappé writes. "With food as a starting point we can choose to meet people and to encounter events so powerful that they jar us out of our ordinary way of seeing the world, and open us to new, uplifting and empowering possibilities. They call us to travel 'hope's edge.'"

Recommended for those interested in a better understanding of the world hunger crisis and personal ways to make a difference-and for healthy cooks too: a recipe section features delicious vegetarian, organic and whole-foods dishes from celebrated restaurants such as Chez Panisse and Angelica Kitchen.

From Amazon.com, by Jill Lightner
Thirty years after Frances Lappé's Diet for a Small Planet changed eating habits around the world, she and her daughter Anna bring us a new round of iconoclastic recommendations that break overwhelming issues down to a simple matter of personal choice. Hope's Edge presents many of the same issues of the original title, but it also provides a wealth of new discoveries and possibilities in this era of genetically engineered foods, worldwide famine, and growing rates of obesity-related health issues.

Beyond discussing a wide range of reasons to become a vegetarian (and that means no fish or chicken either, folks), the authors introduce you to a number of individual reasons for hope--Bob, the Wisconsin cheese maker; Jean-Yves, the farmer from Brittany who created the Sustainable Agriculture Network; and Muhammad Yunas, who has changed the lives of countless living in poverty with his remarkable microcredit programs. Along with these stories and the theories they're based on, you'll also find luscious recipes calling for grains, fruits, vegetables, and a handful of dairy products that will delight your taste buds and your conscience.

The Lappes firmly believe that the choices of low-level consumers have the potential to make positive changes, both in the world economy and in our physical health. By eating a vegetarian diet, shopping with care, and cooking with love, we might all brighten our future tremendously.

Library Journal
Frances Moore Lappé is the well-known author of Diet for a Small Planet (1973), a manifesto of global food politics. For this follow-up, she and daughter Anna unblinkingly document an international journey they undertook to see how things stand nearly 30 years later (unfortunately, not too well). In nine countries, the Lappés meet and talk with prodemocracy organizers, farmers, villagers, educators, and other people working to create life outside of corporate globalization. Some of their stories from Bangladesh, Kenya, India, and elsewhere are terrifying, but they never lose their nerve. Tough-minded but optimistic, they capture the ills of genetic engineering, pesticides, and corporate concentration, as well as successful efforts by local people to restore their dignity and interconnection to life. The main focus is food (recipes from vegetarian, organic, and whole-foods advocates are included), but it quickly becomes obvious that for the Lappés eating well and responsibly means living the same way, with true democracy for all. An extensive bibliography of sources and contact organizations is provided. Essential for all public and academic libraries.

To view a more complete list of Generation Green's recommended adult reading, click here.