I
n Part 1, Hidde Boersma dismantled the 
idea that sustainability must be synony­
mous with restraint, arguing that high-
yield systems and technological progress are 
not enemies of nature, but essential tools 
for its protection. Yet recognising a flawed 
narrative is only the first step. The harder 
question is what comes next. In this Part 
2, the conversation shifts from diagnosis 
to practice: how do you introduce a tech­
no-optimistic, abundance-oriented vision 
into a landscape long dominated by scep­
ticism toward innovation? From building 
WePlanet into a global NGO, to using film, 
theatre and storytelling to reduce polarisa­
tion, Boersma reflects on the cultural work 
required to give the seed sector and high-
yield agriculture a confident, credible place 
in the sustainability story of the decades 
ahead.
SWE: YOU CO-FOUNDED WEPLANET, 
NOW ACTIVE IN MORE THAN 20 
COUNTRIES. WHAT WAS THE INI­
TIAL STRUGGLE IN ESTABLISHING 
A TECHNO-OPTIMISTIC NGO IN A 
LANDSCAPE OFTEN SCEPTICAL OF 
INNOVATION, AND HOW DO ITS CAM­
PAIGNS, FROM ALT-MEAT TO CRISPR 
TO LAND-SPARING, HELP RESHAPE THE 
PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF MODERN 
AGRICULTURE?
HB: WePlanet very consciously stands 
on the shoulders of ecomodernism. But 
introducing a genuinely new narrative into 
society is extremely difficult. Once a dom­
inant frame is in place, it is hard enough to 
challenge it, let alone place an alternative 
next to it. In practice, it often feels like one 
against a hundred.
The NGO landscape is remarkably 
uniform. Most environmental NGOs oper­
ate within the same worldview: harmony 
with nature, degrowth, stepping back, 
cutting consumption. To borrow a phrase 
from Charles Mann, they are all preaching 
variations of the same prophecy. That cre­
ates a strange dynamic for an organization 
like WePlanet. On the one hand, there is a 
kind of blue ocean. There is clearly space for 
a different voice. On the other hand, you are 
asking people to rethink beliefs they have 
invested in for decades.
Convincing someone who has spent 
SELLING ABUNDANCE IN A 
WORLD ADDICTED TO SCARCITY
HOW NGOS, FILMS AND STORYTELLING ARE RESHAPING THE SUSTAINABILITY DEBATE — AND WHAT 
SUCCESS COULD LOOK LIKE FOR THE SEED SECTOR.
BY: MARCEL BRUINS
30 or 40 years committed to a single story 
that there might be another path is hard 
work. That applies whether the topic is new 
genomic techniques and CRISPR, nuclear 
energy, or the idea that highly productive 
agriculture can be deeply sustainable. These 
ideas run directly counter to what many 
people have been taught to believe.
At the same time, I am convinced 
that the tide is slowly turning. Take land 
sparing as an example. In the Netherlands, 
this concept is now clearly gaining traction. 
You see it reflected in policy debates and 
even in parts of different election platforms. 
Science is very much on our side here. The 
idea that organic or low-input agriculture 
is automatically more sustainable is itself 
a legacy of 1970s thinking. Over the past 
decades, research has increasingly shown 
that producing more on less land often 
delivers better outcomes for biodiversity 
and ecosystems.
But facts alone are not enough. We are 
very aware that values matter just as much. 
This is where the other NGOs have tradi­
tionally been strong. The harmony-with-na­
ture narrative creates a powerful sense of 
Hidde Boersma visiting a greenhouse in the Westland of The Netherlands. Source: Hidde Boersma
40  I  SEED WORLD EUROPE  I  SEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPE | MAY 2026

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