Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet (Paperback)

~ (Author), Anna Lappé (Author) "You can still buy tie-dyed T-shirts on Telegraph Avenue, and "Question Authority" bumper stickers may forever be in vogue here, but I discovered that something..." (more)
Key Phrases: delicious revolution, parsnip patties, apple confit, Green Belt, Joao Pedro, Max Havelaar (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Thirty years after Frances Lappe'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. --Jill Lightner --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Thirty years ago, Frances Moore Lappe's groundbreaking Diet for a Small Planet challenged Western assumptions about hunger. Lappe was the first to argue systematically for the rejection of meat-based eating 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 crucial the key to ending worldwide hunger, since non-meat proteins are much more efficient and sustainable to produce. Her new book, co-written with her daughter, comes into a world still grappling with the problem. Describing their journeys through Brazil, Pakistan, Holland and the U.S., the Lappes continue to question the economic status quo as well as discuss the way different countries handle food production in times of scarcity and plenty. By focusing on their individual journeys and choices, the Lappes 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," Lappe 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. (Feb.1)Forecast: The first Diet was a foundational book for modern vegetarianism, finally providing a thoroughly argued rationale that did not rely on the cruelty-to-animals argument. Many boomers will pick up the new edition to see that argument updated for the era of globalism, and younger browsers will recognize the authors from their parents' battered copies. Expect strong, steady sales.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (April 24, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585422371
• ISBN-13: 978-1585422371
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #38,471 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

64 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars risking hope, February 12, 2002

By	Richard R. Rowe (Boston MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet (Hardcover)

Be careful. This book could change your life. The people you meet and the ideas you encounter here will challenge your perceptions about the world and the choices you make every day, not only about the food you eat but about the other priorities in your life as well. This dynamic mother/daughter team use their journeys through five continents to introduce to you people and communities who have broken out of their boxes, who have chosen to create life-sustaining alternatives to corporate globalization. You meet today's pioneers in Brazil, Kenya, Bangaladesh, Kerala, Michigan, The Netherlands who have transformed their lives and their communities into vibrant greenhouses of sustainable democracy.

But even more important than these inspiring examples of the possibilies for nurturing our planet, as well as ourselves, the Lappes provide us with new ways of thinking about the mental prisons in which most of us live our daily lives. They ask us, why do we as a society blithly permit hunger and suffering and disease in the lives of others on our small planet that we as individuals abhor and would never permit? Why do we daily make choices that run counter to our inner values? Their answer is that we habitually make invalid assumptions about the way life must be. They uncover several powerful "mind traps" that, like landmines, keep us fearful of choosing different pathways. They show us that we, like the remarkable people we meet in this book, can choose more caring, sustainable and hopeful lives by simply having the courage to choose a new possibility.

This is not a cookbook, even though it has many recipies for delicious vegetarian dishes from some of the world's greatest chefs. Rather it is a map of the Lappe's journeys to greener, more hopeful pastures than most of us have imagined. This is a journey that you too will be tempted to follow. So, be careful. Don't buy this book unless you are ready to choose a new and different life for yourself and your community. You are forewarned.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book that changes the way you think, May 7, 2002

By	Susan Bumagin (Gloucester, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet (Hardcover)

I wanted to give you some feedback about an extraordinary book that you sell. Just out a few months ago, written by Frances Moore Lappe (author of Diet for a Small Planet), Ms. Lappe and her daughter Anna traveled 5 continents to write the stories of people in communities that are"doing the right thing" - benefiting their communities in sustainable ways as well as themselves and serving as inspiration for those of us who work to create more healthy and sustainable communities. Hope's Edge is even better than Diet for a Small Planet, and serves as a remarkable guide in a world that has become much harder to live in.

Two books that have really changed the way I think about the world are Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point and Hope's Edge, by Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe. Thank you for carrying books that introduce constructive avenues toward social change and move people to positive action.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book!, March 25, 2002

By	Creative Source ""CS writer"" (Santa Clara, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet (Hardcover)

This is one of the most creative, courageous books I've read in a long time, drawing lessons from something as essential as food to renew our hope in an era of anxiety, cynicism, and learned helplessness. Hope's Edge offers a welcome alternative to a world increasingly dominated by global capitalism, where more is often spent on processing, packaging, and promotion than on the nutritional value of the food itself and where American citizens are becoming unwary guinea pigs for GMO foods.
From their grassroots research spanning five continents, Frances and Anna Lappe bring heartening evidence that democracy is still alive, that our personal choices can add up to make a tremendous difference, and that, as Margaret Mead once said, "a small group of highly committed people can change the world." I recommend this book highly for its compelling vision of creativity, community, and positive social change.