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Eco-Mind: Creating the World We Want
A Conversation with Frances Moore Lappé by Linda Sechrist
F
rances Moore Lappé, author of 18 books including Diet for a Small Planet, is the co-founder of Food First:
The Institute for Food and Development Policy, and Small Planet Institute. She also serves on the board of advisors of Grass- roots International.
In her most recent release, EcoMind:
Changing the Way We Think, to Create the World We Want, Lappé explores the latest in climate studies, anthropology and neuroscience. She aims to dismantle the seven widely held messages, or thought traps, that undermine our responses to current eco-crises.
How can civilization think more like an eco-system to better handle environmental challenges?
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Ecology is the science of rela- tionships among organisms and their environment. Seeing life through an ecological lens allows us to see the world and our place in it without man- aging quantities of limited things. The most stunning implication of this way of seeing is its endless possibilities, as we learn to align with the laws of na- ture. With an “eco-mind,” we see that ours is not a finished, fixed world, but rather an evolving and relational world. Through an ecological worldview, we realize that everything, including ourselves, is co-created, moment-to- moment, in relation to all else. Sep- arateness is an illusion and notions of “fixed” or “finished” are fanciful. With an eco-mind, we can move from fixing something outside of our- selves to realigning our relationships within our ecological home. Making such leaps of thought can uplift us from disempowerment and despair to empow- erment and hope.
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How are our culture’s current stories about the causes of environmental crises disempowering us?
Current metaphors pointing to
such causes of environmental crises as “insatiable consumers” and this “age of irresponsibility” fix attention on our character failings. They make us feel blameworthy and incite feelings of guilt and fear. Fear doesn’t motivate humans to be more engaged and giving; rather, it too often has the opposite effect, and leads us to objectify and dismiss the “other”, even if the other is nature. Metaphors of contemporary
environmentalism, such as “power down” and “we’ve hit the limits”, keep us locked in quantitative thinking. They don’t encourage us to see the underly- ing patterns of waste and destruction. They also fail to offer emotionally compelling, alternative ways of seeing current challenges and their rich, posi- tive possibilities. People need to see a new path, a way ahead, in order to leave the old.
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