50th anniversary of "Diet for a Small Planet"

[David3]

2021 will mark the 50th anniversary of Diet for a Small Planet, a book credited for launching the mainstream North American vegetarian movement.

Although the first, 1971 edition of the book promoted some egg and dairy foods, and contained some factual errors (corrected in later editions), it is an inspiring classic.




You can see a short interview with Ms. Lappe in the 1982 documentary "The Vegetarian World", hosted by Star Trek's William Shatner (no longer vegetarian). Note: The video also includes some factual errors, but is still fun to watch.

 

[Lou]

I read that book in the 70s. In fact, I still have my paperback copy, © 1973.

Ms. Lappe is largely responsible for the myth that vegetables are incomplete protein and you need to carefully combine them. Although she amended the '81 version of the book, it was too late. We still see today people saying the vegetables are incomplete proteins and that vegetables need to be combined.

I do give her credit for admitting her original mistake.

here is what she said in the '81 version.

In 1971 I stressed protein complementarity because I assumed that the only way to get enough protein...was to create a protein as usable by the body as animal protein. In combating the myth that meat is the only way to get high-quality protein, I reinforced another myth. I gave the impression that in order to get enough protein without meat, considerable care was needed in choosing foods. Actually, it is much easier than I thought.​

​

With three important exceptions, there is little danger of protein deficiency in a plant food diet. The exceptions are diets very heavily dependent on [1] fruit or on [2] some tubers, such as sweet potatoes or cassava, or on [3] junk food (refined flours, sugars, and fat). Fortunately, relatively few people in the world try to survive on diets in which these foods are virtually the sole source of calories. In all other diets, if people are getting enough calories, they are virtually certain of getting enough protein."13 [emphasis in original]​

Protein for Vegetarians (& the myth of incomplete proteins)

 

[Lou]

Oooops. I have to make a correction

I have the book Recipes For a Small Planet. I must have given away the Diet for a Small Planet.

I probably haven't opened this book in 20 years. but I just finished perusing it. Disappointingly the first 20 pages are all about protein complementarity. Keep in mind that this book came out ten years before Ms. Lappe recanted.

 

[silva]

Ugh. That whole protein combining is what being vegetarian so hard when I was a teenager! I think I lived on stir fries and burritos.

John Robbins Diet for a New America was the step in bringing me back to veg'n!

 

[Urban Gardener]

I always heard that you have to combine rice with beans to get a complete protein and that quinoa is the only plant that contains complete proteins.

My parents and grandparents had copies of that book. They read it in the 70’s and went vegetarian. They then reverted back to the SAD after moving to a more conservative area where vegetarianism was really frowned upon. We stood out just by not being from there and they didn’t want to seem even weirder.

I didn’t hear the “complete protein,” thing from them, though. I read it in other sources and heard it from other vegetarians.

I always thought it seemed a little weird, though. I find protein to be pretty easy to get on a veg diet. The things to focus on are B12, omega oils, and calcium.

 

[silva]

I always heard that you have to combine rice with beans to get a complete protein and that quinoa is the only plant that contains complete proteins.

My parents and grandparents had copies of that book. They read it in the 70’s and went vegetarian. They then reverted back to the SAD after moving to a more conservative area where vegetarianism was really frowned upon. We stood out just by not being from there and they didn’t want to seem even weirder.

I didn’t hear the “complete protein,” thing from them, though. I read it in other sources and heard it from other vegetarians.

I always thought it seemed a little weird, though. I find protein to be pretty easy to get on a veg diet. The things to focus on are B12, omega oils, and calcium.

Back then you were told you needed to get all the different amino acids together in your meals or you wouldn't have the benefit of 'complete' protein. Beans has like half, and grains the other half--hence the need for rice & beans, or tofu stir fries with rice and noodles. Or soybeans- soy is a complete protein

Curious why you think a veg diet needs to concentrate on omega oils, as efa are found mainly in plants?

 

[David3]

Oooops. I have to make a correction

I have the book Recipes For a Small Planet. I must have given away the Diet for a Small Planet.

I probably haven't opened this book in 20 years. but I just finished perusing it. Disappointingly the first 20 pages are all about protein complementarity. Keep in mind that this book came out ten years before Ms. Lappe recanted.

.
When I first became vegetarian (6 months later became vegan), I read my mom's copy of Recipes For a Small Planet. I'm guessing that, at one time, she had been interested in vegetarianism. I've never asked her - it seems like a personal topic.
.

 

[Urban Gardener]

Back then you were told you needed to get all the different amino acids together in your meals or you wouldn't have the benefit of 'complete' protein. Beans has like half, and grains the other half--hence the need for rice & beans, or tofu stir fries with rice and noodles. Or soybeans- soy is a complete protein

Curious why you think a veg diet needs to concentrate on omega oils, as efa are found mainly in plants?

It’s probably just me and my own plant food preferences. I’ve always found omega oils and B12 to be the only nutrients that I sometimes don’t get enough of and need to supplement.

A common misconception is that protein and iron are hard to get on a veg diet, but that has never been the case for me. (I get tested for iron deficiency regularly because doctors are always curious and want to run that test on vegetarians. Plus I give blood.)

I remember the myth about combining amino acids. It was prevalent until about 10 - 15 years ago.

 

[David3]

It’s probably just me and my own plant food preferences. I’ve always found omega oils and B12 to be the only nutrients that I sometimes don’t get enough of and need to supplement.

A common misconception is that protein and iron are hard to get on a veg diet, but that has never been the case for me. (I get tested for iron deficiency regularly because doctors are always curious and want to run that test on vegetarians. Plus I give blood.)

I remember the myth about combining amino acids. It was prevalent until about 10 - 15 years ago.

.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (the world's largest association of Registered Dietitians) has asserted that combining proteins at the same meal is not necessary (Food Sources of 5 Important Nutrients for Vegetarians), but this information hasn't been disseminated well enough.

The protein-combining myth still exists. About 6 years ago, a "nutrition-centered" physician told me that vegans need to eat legumes and grains together, at the same meal. This physician's focus was helping women to lose weight (she worked in a cosmetic surgery office), not helping normal-weight vegans. Still, I was surprised by her ignorance on that topic. She also asked me, and I quote, "Where do you get your protein?". If she had any experience working with vegetarians, she never would have asked such a volatile question. "Please describe your diet to me" would have been a much better thing to ask.
.

 

[Urban Gardener]

If anything, I probably get too much protein. Tofu with peanut butter . . . That’s the reason I have a weight loss goal.

 

[Lou]

The Godmother of ‘Plant-Based’ Living (Published 2021)

Frances Moore Lappé, the author of “Diet for a Small Planet,” which was published 50 years ago and spurred a movement toward vegetarianism, looks back on her legacy.

www.nytimes.com