Diet for a Small Planet

Author	Frances Moore Lappé
Illustrator	Kathleen Zimmerman and Ralph Iwamoto
Subject	Cookbook,vegetarianism
Publisher	Ballantine Books
Publication date	1971
Publication place	United States
Pages	301
ISBN	9780307874313
OCLC	247743
Dewey Decimal	641.6/3/1
LC Class	TX392 .L27

Diet for a Small Planet is a 1971 book byFrances Moore Lappé. It was a bestseller in the West, and argues for the potential role ofsoy as a superior form of protein. It demonstrates theenvironmental impact of meat production and a contributor to global food scarcity.^[1] She argued forenvironmental vegetarianism—practising a vegetarian lifestyle out of concerns over animal-based industries and the production of animal-based products.

The book has sold over three million copies and was groundbreaking for arguing that world hunger is not caused by a lack of food but by ineffective food policy. In addition to information on meat production and its impact onhunger, the book features simple rules for a healthy diet and hundreds of meat-freerecipes. "Its mix of recipes and analysis typified radicals' faith in the ability to combine personal therapy with political activism."^[2]

• Part I:Earth's Labor Lost—Protein in United Statesagribusiness
• Part II:Bringing Protein Theory Down to Earth—Protein inhuman nutrition
• Part III:Eating From the Earth: Protein Theory Applied—Includes tables of food values, and explanations relating proteins to caloric and economic factors
• Part IV:Combining Non-Meat Foods to Increase Protein Values—Guidelines and recipes
• Appendices, Notes, Index

Knowing that her audience would be skeptical that avegetarian diet could supply sufficientprotein, much of the book is devoted to introducing the method ofprotein combining. With this method of eating, different plant foods are taken together so that their combinedamino acid pattern better matches that required by our bodies, termed "net protein utilization". The general principle of combining foods for optimum net protein utilization combines adjacent pairs of the following: [dairy] with [grains] with [legumes] with [seeds].

But while Lappé was correct that combining would indeed result in a more meat-like protein profile, eating a variety of plant foods throughout the day will provide one with all the amino acids required by humans, in amounts which satisfy growth and maintenance. There is no need to combine foods at individual meals.^[3]

Lappé admitted in the 10th anniversary 1981 version of the book that sufficient protein was easier to get than she had thought at first:^[4]

In 1971 I stressed protein complementarity because I assumed that the only way to get enough protein ... was to create a protein as usable by the body as animal protein. In combating the myth that meat is the only way to get high-quality protein, I reinforced another myth. I gave the impression that in order to get enough protein without meat, considerable care was needed in choosing foods. Actually, it is much easier than I thought.

With three important exceptions, there is little danger of protein deficiency in a plant food diet. The exceptions are diets very heavily dependent on [1]fruit or on [2] sometubers, such assweet potatoes orcassava, or on [3]junk food (refined flours, sugars, and fat). Fortunately, relatively few people in the world try to survive on diets in which these foods are virtually the sole source of calories. In all other diets, if people are getting enoughcalories, they are virtually certain of getting enough protein.

In some traditional cuisines there is a balance of 70%whole grains to 30%legumes, which may vary to 80% grains with 20% legumes. This tradition can be seen expressed in three regions:^[5]

• Latin America:beans withtortillas orrice,
• Middle East:bulgur wheat withchickpeas, orpitafalafel withhummus,
• Asia:soy with rice (southern China, northernJapan,Indonesia), soy withwheat ormillet (northern China), or soy withbarley (Korea andsouthern China).

Other recent authors mention that traditional cuisine in Africa combinessorghum or millet withground nuts.^[6] The first edition, published byBallantine, was sponsored by theFriends of the Earth organization. It includes recipes based on the complementary combinations and was followed by a collection,Recipes for a Small Planet by Ellen Buchman Ewald, with an introduction written by Lappé.A film carrying Lappé's message was distributed by Bullfrog Films.^[7]

• Lappe, Frances Moore; Ewald, Ellen (1974).Great Meatless Meals. Ballantine.
• Lappe, Frances Moore; Lappe, Anna (28 April 2003).Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet.Penguin Publishing Group.ISBN 978-1-58542-237-1.
• Lappe, Anna (2006).Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do about It. Bloomsbury.ISBN 978-1596916593. discusses the connection betweenfood production and climate change.^[8]

• Food security
• Veganism

• Reviews:Diet for a Small Planet fromGoodreads.

• 1971 non-fiction books
• Vegetarian cookbooks
• Vegetarian-related mass media
• Ballantine Books books
• Dieting books
• Vegetarianism in the United States

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