Small Planet Institute is a left-of-center organization that promotes the writings and views of its founder Frances Moore Lappe and her daughter Anna Lappe. The organization serves as a clearing hub for their writings and work. The organization derives its name from Frances Moore Lappe’s book Diet for a Small Planet, which advocated against the production of meat and encouraged a plant-based diet. It also attacked the influence of lobbyists from the agricultural industry. ¹

The organization promotes something that it calls “living democracy.” The concept of “living democracy” holds that humans are wired for empathy, cooperation, and fairness but we must check the “anti-democratic” nature of humans such as pushing blame on those they perceive as different. ²

The organization has also come out in favor of a federal takeover of elections. It joined with other organizations to push for legislation that would allow the federal government to takeover elections on the state and local level. ³

Background

The Small Planet Institute is a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based nonprofit that serves as the primary clearing house for the writings and activism of author Frances Moore Lappe and her daughter Anna Lappe. ⁴

The organization promotes what it calls “living democracy.” “Living democracy” holds that humans are wired for empathy, cooperation, and fairness. At the same time, humans also have an “anti-democratic” nature and an example of this is the tendency to push blame on others who are perceived as different. ⁵

The name of the organization comes from a book that Frances Moore Lappe wrote in 1971 called for Diet for a Small Planet. The book criticized the production of meat, condemned the influence that the meat industry and other agribusinesses had on the American government, and encouraged a plant-based diet. The book made the argument that the production of meat was a contributor to world hunger and if a plant-based diet was adopted, there would be more than enough land to produce enough food for the entire world to eat. ⁶

The organization’s purpose is to house and promote the writings of Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe, the organization’s co-founders. In addition, the organization publishes books and has published at least 10 books since 2001. It also hosts online media through the Real Food Media, a brand founded by Anna Lappe. It also manages the bookings of both Lappes for TV interviews and speeches. ⁷

The organization is a member of Declaration for American Democracy, a left-of-center coalition that advocates for the federal takeover of elections. It believes that the federal takeover will get big money out of politics, protect the freedom to vote, and lead to fairer districts. ⁸

Leadership

Frances Moore Lappe is the co-founder of Small Planet Institute. She has written or co-written 20 books. She also co-founded the Food First think tank based in Oakland, California. In the 1990s, she was a co-founder of the American News Service. ⁹

Anna Lappe, Frances’s daughter, is the other co-founder of the institute. She also leads Real Food Media, which is hosted at the Corporate Accountability International. Along with her mother, she has co-founded the Small Planet Fund, which funds nonprofits around the world. She has also received the James Beard Leadership Award. She also works as director for the food and democracy program of the Panta Rhea Foundation. ¹⁰

Funding

According to Small Planet Institute’s 2020 tax return, it received $121,810 in revenue and had $145,797 in expenses. It had assets of $19,724 but once its liabilities of $32,830 are subtracted it has more debt than assets. ¹¹

1. Bradshaw, Kate. “’We Have a Diet That Is Literally Killing Us.’ Why Frances Moore Lappé’s Groundbreaking ‘Diet for a Small Planet’ Is More Relevant than Ever.” Redwood City Pulse, September 2, 2022. https://www.rwcpulse.com/local-news/food/we-have-a-diet-that-is-literally-killing-us-why-frances-moore-lappes-groundbreaking-diet-for-a-small-planet-is-more-relevant-than-ever-5773797.
2. “About Us: Small Planet Institute.” Small Planet Institute. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.smallplanet.org/about-us.
3. A Coalition of 240+ Member Organizations Working Together to Make the Promise of Democracy Real for All of Us.” Declaration for American Democracy. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://dfadcoalition.org/.
4. “About Us: Small Planet Institute.” Small Planet Institute. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.smallplanet.org/about-us.
5. “About Us: Small Planet Institute.” Small Planet Institute. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.smallplanet.org/about-us.
6.  Bradshaw, Kate. “’We Have a Diet That Is Literally Killing Us.’ Why Frances Moore Lappé’s Groundbreaking ‘Diet for a Small Planet’ Is More Relevant than Ever.” Redwood City Pulse, September 2, 2022. https://www.rwcpulse.com/local-news/food/we-have-a-diet-that-is-literally-killing-us-why-frances-moore-lappes-groundbreaking-diet-for-a-small-planet-is-more-relevant-than-ever-5773797.
7. “About Us: Small Planet Institute.” Small Planet Institute. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.smallplanet.org/about-us.
8. “A Coalition of 240+ Member Organizations Working Together to Make the Promise of Democracy Real for All of Us.” Declaration for American Democracy. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://dfadcoalition.org/.
9. “Frances Moore Lappé.” Small Planet Institute. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.smallplanet.org/frances-moore-lappe.
10. “Anna Lappé.” Small Planet Institute. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://www.smallplanet.org/anna-lappe.
11. “Small Planet Institute – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed February 20, 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/204549249.