Synopses & Reviews
A crucial piece of the conversation about climate change,
Diet for a Hot Planet makes the disturbing connection between food production and global warming.
In 1971, Frances Moore Lappé's Diet for a Small Planet sparked a revolution in how we think about hunger, alerting millions to the hidden environmental and social impacts of our food choices. Now, nearly four decades later, her daughter, Anna Lappé, picks up the conversation. In her groundbreaking new book, the younger Lappé exposes another hidden cost of our food system: the climate crisis.
While you may not think global warming when you sit down to dinner, our tangled web of global food — from Pop Tarts packaged in Tennessee and eaten in Texas to pork chops raised in Poland, with feed from Brazil, shipped to South Korea — contributes to as much as one-third of the global warming effect. Livestock alone is associated with more emissions than all of the world's transportation combined. Move over Hummer. Say hello to the hamburger.
If we're serious about the climate crisis, says Lappé, we have to talk about food.
In this groundbreaking book, Lappé exposes the interests resisting this conversation and the spin-tactics companies are employing to defuse the heat. She also offers a vision of a food system that can be part of healing the planet — and the climate. Lappé explores how food can be a powerful entry point for tackling our most pressing environmental problems. With seven principles for a climate-friendly diet and success stories from sustainable food advocates around the globe, Lappé dishes up strategies and stirring inspiration to bring to life food that's better for people and the planet.
An engaging call to action, a spirited call for a food system for tomorrow, Diet for a Hot Planet delivers a hopeful message during this troubling time.
Review
"Accessibly written, rationally argued and focused on action over rhetoric, the book will interest parents, foodies, economists...and anyone interested in actually doing something about climate change while government responses stagnate." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Lappé decodes food labeling, dissects Big Ag's greenwashing tactics, and offers seven principles of a climate-friendly diet in an impeccable, informative, and inspiring contribution to the quest for environmental reform." Booklist (Starred Review)
Synopsis
Beyond what we already know about food miles and eating locally, the global food system is a major contributor to climate change, producing as much as one-third of greenhouse gas emissions. How we farm, what we eat, and how our food gets to the table all have an impact. And our government and the food industry are willfully ignoring the issue rather than addressing it. In Anna Lappé's controversial new book, she predicts that unless we radically shift the trends of what food we're eating and how we're producing it, food system-related greenhouse gas emissions will go up and up and up. She exposes the interests that will resist the change, and the spin food companies will generate to avoid system-wide reform. And she offers a vision of a future in which our food system does more good than harm, with six principles for a climate friendly diet as well as visits to farmers who are demonstrating the potential of sustainable farming. In this measured and intelligent call to action, Lappé helps readers understand that food can be a powerful starting point for solutions to global environmental problems.
Synopsis
Beyond what we already know about "food miles" and eating locally, the global food system is a major contributor to climate change, producing as much as one-third of greenhouse gas emissions. How we farm, what we eat, and how our food gets to the table all have an impact. And our government and the food industry are willfully ignoring the issue rather than addressing it. In Anna Lappé's controversial new book, she predicts that unless we radically shift the trends of what food we're eating and how we're producing it, food system-related greenhouse gas emissions will go up and up and up. She exposes the interests that will resist the change, and the spin food companies will generate to avoid system-wide reform. And she offers a vision of a future in which our food system does more good than harm, with six principles for a climate friendly diet as well as visits to farmers who are demonstrating the potential of sustainable farming. In this measured and intelligent call to action, Lappé helps readers understand that food can be a powerful starting point for solutions to global environmental problems.
Synopsis
Nearly four decades after her mother, Frances Moore Lappé, published Diet for a Small Planet, sparking a revolution in our thinking about the social and environmental impact of our food choices, Anna Lappé picks up the conversation, examining another hidden cost of our food system: the climate crisis. From raising cattle in industrial-scale feedlots to razing rainforests to make palm oil for Pop-Tarts, the choices we make about how we put food on our plates, and what we do with the waste, contribute to as much as one third of total greenhouse-gas emissions. Lappé exposes the interests resisting this crucial conversation while she educates and empowers readers and eaters committed to healing the planet.
Praise for Diet for a Hot Planet:
"[An] important book … When it comes to climate change, junk food may prove even more destructive than SUVs. Lappé's message is timely and empowering."-Eric Schlosser, author of FastFood Nation
"Accessibly written, rationally argued and focused on action over rhetoric, the book will interest parents, foodies, economists, committed vegetarians, moral omnivores, environmentalists, health enthusiasts and anyone interested in actually doing something about climate change while government responses stagnate. An essential toolkit for readers looking for a pragmatic climate-response action plan of their own."-Kirkus Reviews
About the Author
Lappé has worked in South Africa, England, and France. She is a graduate of Brown and holds an MA from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. She is co-founder of the Small Planet Fund.