Anna Lappé


Anna Lappé is an American author and educator, known for her work as an expert on food systems and as a sustainable food advocate. The co-author or author of three books and the contributing author to over ten others, Lappé's work has been widely translated internationally and featured in The New York Times, Gourmet, O, The Oprah Magazine, Domino, Food & Wine, Body+Soul, Natural Health, Utne Reader, and Vibe, among other outlets.
With her mother Frances Moore Lappé, Lappé co-founded the Cambridge-based Small Planet Institute, an international network for research and popular education about the root causes of hunger and poverty. The Lappés are also co-founders of the Small Planet Fund, which has raised nearly $1 million for democratic social movements worldwide, two of which have won the Nobel Peace Prize since the Fund's founding in 2002. Lappé's research on sustainable agriculture has taken her from Brooklyn to South Korea, China, Bangladesh, India, Poland, France, Italy, Mali, Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, and beyond.

Biography

Lappé is the daughter of author Frances Moore Lappé and toxicologist Marc Lappé. She holds an M.A. in Economic and Political Development from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and graduated with honors from Brown University. From 2004 to 2006, she was a Food and Society Fellow, a national program of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation. In 2010, she was the first "Innovator" with the Glynwood Institute for Sustainable Food and Farming. Among other consulting and advisory roles, Lappé is an active board member of Rainforest Action Network and an advisor to the International Fund to Amplify Agro-Ecological Solutions. She was born in Yonkers, and lives in the Bay Area with her husband and daughters.

Writings

Lappé's writing and advocacy have earned her numerous accolades. In 2009, The New York Times Magazine featured her among a handful of "food fighters". In 2007, she was chosen by the Missing Peace Project for the Compassion in Action Award and in 2006 Lappé was selected for Contribute magazine's "21 Under 40 Making a Difference" and Time magazine's "Eco" Who's Who.

Books

Lappé has also contributed to the following books:
Lappé's writing has been published in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, International Herald Tribune, and Canada's The Globe and Mail, among others. She wrote a bi-monthly column on sustainability for Spirituality & Health Magazine and has contributed book reviews for the San Francisco Chronicle and New Scientist. In 2006, Lappé was a consulting editor for a special issue on food for The Nation and has consulted with Heifer International on their magazine, World Ark.

Public Speaking

A frequent public speaker, in the past decade Lappé has participated in more than 500 events, from community food festivals to university lectures to emceeing a food-focused fundraiser at Sotheby's. She has been a keynote speaker and guest lecturer at dozens of colleges and universities, including Boston College, the University of Colorado, Boulder, University of California, Santa Cruz, Dominican University, Brown University, Dickinson College, University of Montana at Missoula, University of Texas at El Paso, Columbia University, Gallatin School at NYU, Yale University, Eckerd College in Florida, and many more.

Television and radio appearances

Lappé can be seen as the co-host of the public television series, The Endless Feast and as a featured expert on PBS's Need to Know, the Sundance Channel's Big Ideas for a Small Planet and the PBS documentary, Nourish. She is a regular guest on nationally syndicated radio shows and has been on hundreds of radio programs, including National Public Radio's Weekend Edition, The Diane Rehm Show, and WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show and Leonard Lopate Show.

Advisory Posts and Boards

Lappé is an active board member of Rainforest Action Network and serves informally in an advisory capacity to a number of grassroots media organizations and documentary films. She is a former board member of the Center for Media and Democracy, the Community Food Security Coalition and b-healthy, a New York City-based non-profit organization.