Frances Moore Lappe

Frances Moore Lappé is best known for her 1971 book Diet for a Small Planet, which became the bible for environmental activists and put many on the road to vegetarianism. In this book Lappé said that a person can be healthy without eating meat, that Planet Earth and the poor were paying a high price for the raising of domestic animals whose meat was consumed by the relatively rich. Forests were being cut down to graze cattle or to raise grain for animal food; animal waste was polluting waterways; and the poor were being forced to raise single crops for export rather than multiple crops for themselves. The book raised awareness of how the food choices we make every day have effects across the globe. Its revised version is still in print today.

In 2001 Frances Moore Lappé and her daughter Anna Lappé created the Small Planet Fund for the purpose of creating grassroots solutions to issues of hunger, poverty, and environmental destruction. Throughout her writing career Frances Lappé has maintained that world hunger is the result, not of food shortages, but of the way we think about food. She uses the phrase ‘thin democracy’ to describe our way of voting for politicians who, once elected, create inefficient unjust corporate-friendly food systems. That contrasts with ‘living democracy’ in which each of us becomes aware of how and where food is produced and making conscious choices that contribute to the welfare of people and the planet.

On Tuesday, May 22, these ideas will be presented at a Constructing Hope workshop at the Best Western Ramkota Hotel, 2111 North Lacross in Rapid City. The workshop is open to all who wish to gain a better understanding of their relationship with food. It will be from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.

For more information contact Shirley@midco.net or Linda Edel at wsdcap@rapidcity.com.

Western South Dakota Community Action Program will be hiring a person to promote food sustainability in West River. CAP has long promoted community gardens, distributed seeds and tools, and helped people grow their own food. Now they are taking steps to expand their sustainability program. One of those steps is working with the Dakota Local Food Network to expand the Food Share program.

Last year FS volunteers raised money and purchased unsold produce at the end of farmers market day and contributed that produce to agencies that provide food for low-income people. This year the new employee will oversee the purchasing, transport the food to the CAP facility, and distribute the food to other agencies and to the needy.

A second step toward sustainability is CAP’s plan to install a certified kitchen and teach clients how to cook and preserve local produce. A third step is the construction of a hoop house on CAP property where clients can learn gardening skills.

The person hired for the new full-time position will be involved in all of these activities.

The position will pay $15-20 per hour plus benefits. Anyone interested should call CAP Director Linda Edel at 605-348-1460.

Jed Beadle and Deb Pimentel of Rapid City continue to provide food to homeless people every Wednesday in a local park. To see them in action, click here. To contribute food or money, stop by the Breadroot Co-op, 130 Main Street in Rapid City where Jed is the produce manager when he’s not cooking or serving his well-known vegetarian soup.

We just received this announcement from South Dakota Peace and Justice:

The Peace and Justice Center is also proud to announce that it has received a $2,000 grant from the Margaret V. Ping Foundation. The grant will be used to fund a pilot project to increase food access and food quality to low income children and adults by providing produce from local farmers at the Community Banquet in Pierre

Here’s more from the grant itself:

With the assistance of the Southeast Community Center, the SD Peace and Justice Center will (1) develop a plan to facilitate the delivery of local produce to people in poverty in the capitol city area, (2) partner with existing organizations working to eliminate hunger, (3) coordinate with local farmers to provide fresh produce to community members in poverty, and (4) engage community members in dialogue and advocacy with state legislators to increase awareness of hunger as well as effective methods of eliminating hunger.

The Community Banquet currently serves 275 meals each week to primarily low-income residents, elderly, and Native Americans.  Southeast Community Center director, Rev. Karl Kroger, will oversee the project.

Doesn’t that sound like our very own Food Share program? We’re not taking credit for this new SDP&J initiative, but we do want to note that good ideas have a way of going where they need to go.

As we move into 2012, let’s look back at 2011 and see which of the food stories that year got people’s attention.

Listeria-bearing cantaloupe was a big story, along with the turkey recalls by Cargill. Then there were the violations of food safety regulations by Sparboe eggs. Three examples about how Industrial Ag cuts corners to increase profits.

Raw milk was in the news again as a California buying club was raided and shut down. It’s another chapter in the long story of small farmers struggling with rules that benefit Big Ag and overwhelm the little guy.

While nations belonging to the European Union require labeling of foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Americans who want the same thing didn’t get it in 2011. Industrial Ag that grows GMO plants, especially corn and soybeans, knowing that consumers would be hesitant to buy GMO food, has enough power to block such labeling in the US.

Obesity is a continued concern, and the corporations that produce sugary foods and drinks are being scrutinized. New York City mayor Blumberg wanted to address both obesity and diabetes by banning the use of EBT cards (food stamps) to buy sugar sweetened beverages in NYC. Food industry lobbyists went into high gear, and the US Department of Agriculture that issues EBT cards rejected the mayor’s request.

The USDA MyPlate recommendations for good nutrition were complimented for promoting fruits and vegetables and criticized for caving in to dairy interests, not promoting whole grains, and failing to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy fat.

It wasn’t all bad news. Charles Michael Ray of SD Public Radio profiled Wild Idea buffalo, a local company whose business is booming. Let’s hope for more good news in 2012.