News
October 11, 2002
Frances Moore Lappe has been advocating the benefits of vegetarianism for 30 years, but her speech yesterday in Filene Auditorium focused more on individual materialism and the political systems she claimed feed their populace the best.
Lappe, an activist and author of "Diet for a Small Planet" and the recently-released "Hope's Edge," said the current food production system has "turned livestock into protein disposal systems," with half of the world's grain going to livestock.
Lappe argued that world hunger stems from the disproportionate amount of resources going to livestock, citing that it takes up to 12,000 gallons of water for every pound of steak.
Poorly-directed distribution, rather than actual food shortages, are responsible for world hunger, she said, noting that in India -- a country known for the large proportion of citizens living with hunger -- a surplus of grain exists for the livestock.
When asked if the world is better or worse than 30 years ago, Lappe replied "both."
Most of her speech, entitled "The Power of Food Choice," referenced "Hope's Edge," for which she traveled to five different continents studying hunger and food production.
Lappe encouraged people to think of the environmental implications of what they eat, saying "We are all looking for ways for our individual choices to have global influence."
Questioning Lappe's praise of a town in Brazil which passed an ordinance to legally require that all of its residents receive sufficient food, some present suggested that the town's approach bordered on Communism.
Audience members expressed mixed feelings about the lecture.
Oliver Bernstein '03 -- who coordinated the lecture for the Environmental Conservation Organization -- said, "It was great to have these issues represented at Dartmouth."
But Sasha Earnheart-Gold '04 said that Lappe "talked down" to the audience and "didn't realize the level of students coming." He said he expected more facts and figures in the speech.
