Calls for parallel economy, alternative health system
It looks as if the mission to repair the planet is taking us straight into a global food crisis.
Small businesses support local growers and suppliers, says Jonty White, seen here manning his coffee cart: “If we shift our thinking to support a small coffee cart or cafe rather than a petrol station, we support the local economy. Small business owners often have passion for their product. The consumer can learn where the ingredients were made and track quality. This leads to connection, soul, happier people and a happier community as a whole.”
As the world hurtles towards a cashless society and corporate control of food, there’s a move to create a parallel economy with a focus on small businesses and community networks.
New Zealand has a higher percentage of small and micro businesses than other countries. However there are growing concerns about the current trend towards centralisation of power away from communities towards central government: for example, the government’s move to control water, consolidation of District Health Boards into a centralised health agency and regulations threatening to put farmers out of business - New Zealand could become the first country in the world where farmers have to pay for their livestock's emissions.
“It marks a world-first livestock tax and stands as a truly reckless idea when the world is teetering on the edge of a food crisis.” - The Spectator.
It looks as if the mission to repair the planet will take us straight into a global food crisis.
In the Netherlands there are massive farmer protests against the government’s agenda to cut emissions of pollutants, predominantly nitrogen oxide and ammonia, by 50 per cent by 2030. Government ministers there call the proposal an “unavoidable transition” that aims to improve air, land and water quality but they admit this could lead to the shutting down of about 30 percent of livestock farms.
A Kiel University study estimates a 20 percent decrease in production of meat and cereals in Europe, leading to price increases that could reach 12.5 percent for cereals, 58 percent for beef, 48 percent for pork and 36 percent for raw milk. Another European study predicts a collapse of wine production by a third and sugar production by a fifth.
While the ‘European Green Deal’ promises to transform the EU into a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy, Robert Schuman Foundation executive director Pascale Joannin warns: “We will not save the climate and the planet's ecosystem with starving humans.”
And then there’s the drive for a cashless society.
There’s no going back, the World Economic Forum tells us
It’s worth browsing the World Economic Forum’s website to see what they have in mind. You’ll get a broad picture clothed in WEF jargon but little detail.
Looking at the list of WEF partners here will give you some hints. Basically the forum encourages ‘corporate cultures that support tech related agility innovation’.
And it says the underlying support structures to make it all possible – ‘the building blocks, or e-plumbing – are already in place. We already have secure, enabled ecosystems and the next generation of infrastructure.’ - WEF
You can be forgiven for losing concentration as you try to navigate WEF jargon: Basically they aim to ‘level up local policy expertise and ownership with global network-based learning and scaling via multi-stakeholder communities and initiatives, global visibility, and its trusted status as an international organization.’
Back to Aotearoa/NZ: an organisation called People’s Choice is promoting a parallel economy to prepare for supply chain issues, skyrocketing cost of living, threats to financial security and perhaps food shortages.
People's Choice gathers like-minded people who do not want to rely solely on the system. The group is working towards a fully functioning parallel economy - with its own transactable digital currency - ‘that is self-sustaining because it links communities nationwide that interact with but remain insulated from the volatility of other economies based in traditional fiat currency’.
And at the same time, NZDSOS (NZ Doctors Speaking Out with Science) is calling for a parallel health system: “Have you ever felt you don't have anywhere to go? Where would you go if you or your family got sick? Who do you trust for medical advice? Is the care you are getting determined by industry-controlled national and international bodies? How do we reclaim our sovereignty and the independence of our doctors?”
NZDSOS says many Kiwis have complained to them that they no longer trust their doctor or the health system and they are longing for a different way.
“We also think many doctors would be motivated to work in a way that uplifts them and their patients rather than one that depletes and demoralises them. They are fed up with propping up an unfit-for-purpose, outdated and broken structure that has very little to do with health.”
NZDSOS suggests a fundamental shift in the health system is needed.
“We need a new health system that is responsive to the needs of patients and their whānau. We need a system that is based on trust, transparency, and accountability. We envision moving away from the current top-down, hierarchical model where a small group of wealthy corporations controls what is funded and acceptable as healthcare. Instead, we aim to provide a parallel, community-focused system that is health-centred rather than disease-focused. This would make it easier for people to restore and maintain their health and would incorporate the use of additional modalities such as Rongoa Māori, acupuncture, herbs and nutrition, as well as pharmaceuticals.”
NZDSOS invites suggestions and comment here.
Back to Jonty White’s coffee cart:
He parks up in a lay-by on State Highway 10, between Kerikeri and Waipapa.
“It's not exactly difficult to start a business like mine. But takes a lot of commitment and backup money to allow it to flourish. I'm still in the tough first six months. There are many nuances to learn but it’s super rewarding to be in the community. There are many great mentors around.”
Reflecting on these first few months, he says he has enjoyed taking the coffee cart to remote music festivals, full of color and passion and meeting like-minded people.
“That really puts a smile across my mug.”
SOURCES
The small business sector makes a sizeable contribution to GDP. https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/research-papers/document/00PLEcoRP99061/small-business-in-new-zealand
Cashless society
https://smallbusiness.co.uk/going-cashless-society-payments-2547303/
Why are farmers protesting
https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/explainer-dutch-farmers-protesting-emissions-85848026
Kim Iversen on the protests
German study
https://www.bio-pop.agrarpol.uni-kiel.de/de/f2f-studie/executive-summary-en
The EU Green Deal
https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en
Global food crisis
Cashless society
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/benefits-cashless-society-mobile-payments/
WEF partners
https://www.weforum.org/partners#search
WEF Fourth Industrial Revolution
https://www.weforum.org/centre-for-the-fourth-industrial-revolution
Jonty White
https://www.jontysjava.com
Russell Brand on food monopolies, monocultures and who controls farmland
Ardern’s cow tax set to destroy NZ farming
https://www.spectator.com.au/2022/06/arderns-cow-tax-set-to-destroy-nz-farming/
People’s choice
https://www.thepeopleschoice.nz/
Parallel health system
https://nzdsos.com/?ff_landing=47&form=iacbghz2