The Compassion Revolution

How can we achieve food security in the 21st century? What are the environmental challenges of our current food system and what are the alternatives? Is the model of industrial agriculture outdated, and is it time for a paradigm shift towards agroecology? Who will feed the world? (Hand-out of a lecture given at Leuven University ). The coming food crisis  We are facing a global food crisis. For the first time in decades, the number of undernourished people in the world is rising (FAO et al., 2018 & 2020).[1] 1 After a century of decline, food prices are on the rise (UNEP, 2009). Almost 1 out of 10 people is hungry today (FAO et al., 2020).[2] 2 According to the WHO (2020) 45% of deaths among children under 5 years of age are linked to undernutrition. More than 3 billion people might not be able to afford[3] 3 [3 healthy diets, leading not only to undernourishment, but also an epidemic of overweight and obesity (FAO et al., 2018 & 2020).[4] 4 This has been called the “d...

Across the globe, people are expressing dissent with our democratic institutions. Political extremes and more autocratic leadership are gaining favor. We live in a multi-polar, complex and rapidly changing world, which is put under pressure by inequality, climate change, migration and so on. I think people are feeling increasingly powerless. They feel their voices are not heard and their lives might not matter so much. I believe it is a need for security and order that leads them to political extremes, more autocratic leadership, nationalism and identity politics. These all promise simple solutions – sometimes just ignoring existing problems – and a way out of the political deadlock of the mainstream parties. How can we make sure every vote really counts? I do not think however this will solve the problem. In fact, it will probably make things worst. Political extremes promise ‘law and order’, but actually need chaos and confusion in order to thrive. They will hold their law and or...

I have written quite a few pieces about him already, but hopefully this will be my last. Donald Trump keeps intriguing. His rise to power surprised many, as does the continuing support of his base throughout his presidency, despite breaking every political rule in the book. It seems hard at times to make sense out of his often inconsistent, contradictory and chaotic behavior. However, I do not think he acts randomly or incoherently. There is one thread that weaves through much of his leadership – one that is so unpleasant we might not want to see it. It is no coincidence Trump enjoys the company of autocrats such as Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-Un. One of the main things that characterizes Donald J. Trump as a leader is, I believe, authoritarianism. Trump seems to have a knack for riling up people You may call him a bad leader, there is one thing Donald Trump is a master in: creating discord. After Barack Obama’s time in office, many on the left might have been lulled into thinking of ...

Donald Trump, he is an enigma. He took the political world by surprise. Every day his words and actions continue to stir up debate (and might continue to do so, depending on what happens after November 3rd). He brings out either shock and disgust or cheering and adoration. But let us look a little deeper, to try and understand how we got where we are today, and – most interestingly – how Donald Trump got into the position where he is today. There are many sides to this story, and books will probably continue to be written about him for a long time, but in this piece I would like to have a look at the personality cult that developed around him and that is one of the supporting factors for his presidency. Donald J. Trump, he sure did manage to make a name for himself Trump’s political following looks like a personality cult. He loves to hold rallies (doesn’t matter if there is corona), where his supporters wildly cheer him. Left-wing observers are surprised time and time again how ea...

I don't really consider myself a singer, but sometimes I do get inspiration in the form of songs. This is a little song I wrote running up to the 2020 American elections. There are some obvious references to certain political figures and debates going on at the time, but at the same time, it is meant to be universal.  (PS: The last verse is not autobiographic, my mom and dad get along fine, I love you, you are amazing!) If I was the president I would make this suffering end I would care about human lives Man would not mistreat their wives Every people would live free There would be democracy If I was the president I would make this madness end We’d all have enough to eat Nobody’d need to be on the street I would sow love not hate I would make my country great If I was the president I would try to understand How this ol’ world has gone so wrong Why can’t we all live as one The Hindu, Muslim and the Jew Brothers and sisters me and you If I was the president I’d save the dolphins and ...

I am bringing new life to my old blog. I am revamping it to bring it more in line with the evolution my thinking and being has undergone over in recent years. The past two and a half years I have been living and volunteering in Sadhana Forest , a sustainable reforestation community in Auroville , South India. Now it seems to me that I might be moving on from there in the near future, so it is a time to reassess where I have been headed and where I want to go. I will try to lay out a road map in this post. My journey Alert: change ahead! I have done many things in my life: I have been a bartender and a dj, a magazine editor, a student representative. I have lived in a Buddhist monastery and was a high school teacher for a brief while. The past years I lived in a hut in a forest, cooked lots of free vegan food for people, looked after abandoned and injured cows, planted trees, did not play any competitive games and used bucket showers and compost toilets (without toilet paper...