Worldlog Week 20 – 2009

Welcome to this week's WorldLog from New York City where I am attending the 17th conference on sustainability at the United Nations and also for the Veggie Pride Parade and the New York premiere of our film about the climate, 'Meat the Truth'.

It has been an exciting week. First the sustainability conference at the UN, also attended by the Dutch minister of agriculture, Gerda Verburg.

She argues for a green revolution, but does not want to face the fact that they only way to achieve it is with a plate that features less animal proteins.

I beseeched the Dutch delegation to organise a side event, to show Meat the Truth, but I met resistance at every turn. The Party for the Animals' science office hired a hall in the UN's Church Center, and organised the side event there, to the visible displeasure of the Dutch delegation. The film, however, was received with a great deal of enthusiasm by the Non-Governmental Organisations from a number of countries and the American press.

And funnily enough, the Dutch crown prince gave a speech at the conference on Thursday, the day after showing the film, and he argued for…less animal proteins due to the amount of fresh water it uses!

Understanding is dawning slowly, but it is dawning!

On Sunday we took part in the Veggie Pride Parade in NY with a group of Dutch animal lovers, and for the occasion we showed Meat the Truth twice at the New York Film Academy. A lot of people showed up and we had some very enthusiastic responses. Below is a photo of the event.

In other interesting news this week, the rise of the Swedish Pirate Party. The business called Pirate Bay provides a platform for Internet users to exchange music, film and software. A Swedish judge handed down a custodial sentence on the owners, but that judge later proved to have ties with the music industry.

The Pirate Bay owners have not only appealed the decision but also set up their own party, the Pirate Party, which is rapidly growing into one of the largest political parties in Sweden. They have written an interesting statement of principles concerning civil rights, privacy and patent laws, including patenting animals and plants. Go here to read an English translation of the original Swedish.

They are very likely to be voted into the European parliament and I predict that our Party leader Natasja Oerlemans will be looking into ways to collaborate with them.

Both the Party for the Animals and the Pirate Party are successful forms of expressing voter resistance against the established political order. Both are looking to create a society in which freedom is respected and where oppression is banned. They are citizens against an established order. This is an interesting revolution that could lead to huge changes in traditional political parties. It’s about time!

I will see you again next week, and I hope this WorldLog will inspire many of you to work on subtitling Meat the Truth in your own country’s language and show the film where you live. We truly have a message that not only shakes people awake showing them a less pleasant side, but also gives them the tools to be able to change the world in a highly positive sense. A diet based more on plants, more animal friendly, more sustainable and with more compassion. Together we can make a huge difference, I am more convinced of this fact after last week than I have ever been before…