Beginning to End Hunger

This remarkable book reminds me that hope itself has power… Most works about world hunger carry directives such as “You should be more charitable” or “Shame on them—the evil ones keeping others hungry.” This book welcomes us to become part of the solution if we are willing to rethink common assumptions and to take the first step. Writing with humanity, humility, and irony, Dr. Chappell welcomes us onto this emancipatory road…

—from the Preface of Beginning to End Hunger by Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet for a Small Planet

M. Jahi Chappell’s new book, Beginning to End Hunger, presents the story of Belo Horizonte, home to one of the world’s most successful city food security programs. Since 1993, malnutrition in Belo Horizonte has declined dramatically, allowing it to serve as an inspiration for Brazil’s widely-praised Zero Hunger programs. Going beyond merely an in-depth case study, Beginning to End Hunger shows the importance of holistic approaches to food security, offers ideas on how to design successful policies to end hunger, and lays out strategies for how to make policy change happen towards ending hunger, everywhere.

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Praise for Beginning to End Hunger

“M. Jahi Chappell’s exceptional scholarship in the food system finally gets the audience it deserves in this deeply researched and engaging work. Moving from the seats of Belo Horizonte’s state-run restaurants to the annals of world history, Chappell demonstrates a keen eye for local detail and global relevance. This book is a provocation to new thought and better action to end hunger permanently.”

—Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World’s Food System

“Chappell illuminates how a city in Brazil, Belo Horizonte, has achieved the unthinkable—dramatic decreases in hunger and malnutrition—and skewers popular myths with logical, systematic analysis and brilliant analogies. Should be read by every person committed to ending hunger!”

—Molly Anderson, William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Food Studies, Middlebury College

“In this remarkable book, Chappell uses the case of Belo Horizonte to challenge us to be ‘active optimists.’ Pairing hope with evidence, and recognizing that the course to universal food security will never run smooth, Chappell proposes we take responsibility for a vision of a world without hunger. Beginning to End Hunger is a passionate plea against a fatalistic acceptance of poverty and in favor of promoting meaningful democracy. This is a very fine, honorable book.”

—Cecilia Rocha, Professor and Associate Researcher, Centre for Studies in Food Security, Ryerson University