A discussion with both Frances Moore Lappé and Anna Lappé

"Why are we as societies creating a world that we as individuals abhor?"

That's the question tackled by legendary author Frances Moore Lappé in her new book, "Getting a Grip: Clarity, Creativity and Courage for the World We Really Want." Not only does she answer the question of why our political system seems incompetent to solve obvious and pressing problems, she shows a way for individuals and communities to take charge of public life and "have every choice we make be a celebration of the world we want."

The author knows something about changing the world, too -- her 3 million copy classic "Diet for a Small Planet" essentially created the vegetarian movement in America.

But Lappé's message was always more about the politics part of food politics. That's where her daughter, Anna Lappé, picks up the conversation in her new book, "Diet for a Hot Planet." The younger Lappé traces how our tangled web of global food -- pork chops raised in Poland, with feed from Brazil, shipped to South Korea -- contributes as much as one-third of the global warming effect.

And like her mother, Anna shows the way that personal choices can change that system, with principles for a climate-friendly diet and success stories from sustainable food advocates around the globe.

Both books and both authors have the same message: we are responsible for the world we create, and that's something to be hopeful about.

As the Lappé's say: "Democracy is not what we have, it is what we do."