Stone Soup Leadership Institute

Tackling the Root Causes of Hunger

Everything changed for Anna Lappé in middle school, when she took a trip with her mother to rural Ohio. There, for the first time, she met some of the farmworkers who had grown the food she had been eating her whole life. Anna’s parents are both passionate activists who share a common goal: to make the world a healthier, safer, more equitable place. Anna’s mother, Frances Moore Lappé, is a food-systems activist. In 1971, she published Diet For a Small Planet, a book that encourages people to have plant-based, environmentally friendly diets. Her mother’s activism inspired Anna to do the same. Working with her mother, Anna realized the importance of generations working together for change. After all everyone, from the very young to the very old, is affected by environmental policies and practices, because everyone needs to eat. Today Anna is an advocate for better food systems that will protect the environment, promote health, and provide people with quality jobs with dignity. Anna is continuing to carry out her mother’s legacy by helping to ensure that people everywhere have access to nutritious food that is produced both ethically and sustainably.