Frances Moore Lappé’s writing and research have had a profound impact on civic participation, democratic movements, and social justice.
Her best-seller Diet for a Small Planet changed how people think about the global food supply, agriculture, and environmental degradation.
Since Diet for a Small Planet, she has gone on to author or co-author 19 books that spread the understanding of democracy, food systems, transparency in public affairs, and fighting against inequality.
She has co-founded three organizations that explore the roots of hunger, poverty, and environmental crises.
She is co-founder of the Small Planet Institute, a collaborative network for research and popular education to bring democracy to life, as well as the Small Planet Fund, which channels resources to democratic social movements worldwide. She is co-founder of the Oakland based think tank Food First.
Frances is the coauthor of Daring Democracy: Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want with Adam Eichen.
In 1987 Frances received the Right Livelihood Award (considered an “Alternative Nobel”) “for revealing the political and economic causes of world hunger and how citizens can help to remedy them.” Frances is also the recipient of 19 honorary doctorates from distinguished institutions, including The University of Michigan. She was a visiting scholar at the Institute for the Study of Social Change, University of California, Berkeley, and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is a recipient of the James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year Award for her lifelong impact on the way people all over the world think about food, nutrition, and agriculture.
Other notable awards include the International Studies Association’s Outstanding Public Scholar Award, and the Nonino Prize in Italy for her life’s work. She is founding member of the World Future Council, based in Hamburg, Germany. Frances also serves on the National Advisory Board of the Union of Concerned Scientists, on the International Board of Advisors of Grassroots International and on the Value [the] Meal Advisory Board of Corporate Accountability International. She is also a member of the Sisters on the Planet network, part of Oxfam America.
Other recent books include World Hunger, EcoMind, Hope’s Edge (written with Anna Lappé), and You Have the Power: Choosing Courage in a Culture of Fear.
Her books have been translated into 15 languages and are used widely in university courses.
She has been featured on the Today Show, Hardball with Chris Matthews, Fox News’ Fox & Friends, WSJ.com, The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s ‘The National’, Frost Over the World, NPR, and the BBC, among other news outlets. Frances appears frequently as a public speaker and is a contributor to Medium and Common Dreams. She is also a contributing editor at Yes! Magazine and Solutions Journal. Articles featuring or written by Frances have also appeared in The New York Times, O: The Oprah Magazine, Harper’s, The Los Angeles Times, The Nation, People, Huffington Post, BillMoyers.com, and more.
