Written by guest blogger Denise Deby, who writes on local and global social and environmental issues.
I was thrilled to hear that France Moore Lappé is coming to Ottawa, to give a talk about “The World We Want: Visionary Ideas for a Small Planet.”
Lappé is author of the groundbreaking Diet for a Small Planet (1971)—a book which had a big influence on how I think about food—and 16 other books on food, politics and the environment. She’ll be here to talk about her latest, titled EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think, to Create the World We Want (2011).
EcoMind is about the “myths” we tell ourselves about the environment, the economy and humanity that stop us from changing things for the better. For example, says Lappé, when we tell ourselves that environmental problems stem from rampant economic “growth,” we see the solution as limiting growth. But Lappé says that growth is essential—for the plants and animals around us and for ourselves—and that we can redefine growth as not about amassing (or wasting) more but about enhancing our well-being.
According to Lappé, our beliefs that we’ve become disconnected from nature, for example, or that our “consumer society” is to blame, are “thought traps” that make us feel powerless to stop seemingly insurmountable problems like climate change or food “scarcity.” EcoMind says the way forward lies in reframing the problems in order to open up new possibilities for action that are in line with nature.
If you have the chance, head to “The World We Want.” It’s on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at St. Brigid’s Centre for the Arts, 310 St. Patrick St. at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.). Tickets are $10 in advance (available at USC Canada or Octopus Books) or $15 at the door.
Some additional links to check out:
Frances Moore Lappé’s bio: http://smallplanet.org/about/frances/bio
Article by Frances Moore Lappé in the Ottawa Citizen about the “myth” of food scarcity: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Food+scarcity+dangerous+myth/6033424/story.html?shr=f
Video of Frances Moore Lappé talking about EcoMind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs9RFkkxqDY
Green Living Ottawa 