Panel discussion with

Geoff Tansey (author, publicist, campaigner/UK)
Irmi Salzer (farmer, ÖBV-Via Campesina Austria/Austria)
Pat Mooney (ETC Group/Canada)
Christa Wichterich (sociologist and freelance publicist/Germany)
Mona Bricke (Gegenstrom Berlin, Fels, Climate Justice Action/Germany)
Andreas Exner (ecologist, Social Innovation Network/Austria)
Moderation: Leo Kühberger (A_partment politi_X, Radio Helsinki/Austria)

The climate and energy crisis, the resource and food crisis, and the destruction of ecosystems, should not be treated in separation from one another nor from their economical and societal causes and effects: they must rather be understood as inseparable, as comprehensive “social ecological crises,” as one fundamental crisis of the relationship between society and nature.For centuries we have exploited the earth's natural resources, threatening the collapse of crucial eco-systems and this has steadily intensified since the predominance of capitalism. The contradiction between finite resources and subsistence strategies, based on exponential growth, is obvious.One area where this shows clearly is the industrial methods used in agriculture. Our current techniques are not only destructive to the enviornment but also don’t manage to feed the world's population. The production of agrofuel, food as a speculative commodity, the consequences of climate change, and the current economic crisis, intensify the food crisis. It has been estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) that in 2009 there are 1.02 billion people (that is one in every sixth person on earth!) suffering from chronic hunger. Tens of thousands of people starve every day.The unsustainable demand for energy and raw materials of an growing number of industrialized countries proves increasingly difficult to supply. More and more people cannot satisfy their basic needs that are always dependent on their natural enviornment. Nothing points more clearly to the epic scale of the imminent climate crisis than humanity  putting the continuation of its own existence into serious danger.Within the framework of the discussion, the relationship and interdependencies between various manifestations of this social-ecological crisis as well as the economical and societal circumstances that cause them, will be analysed in detail. Furthermore, the strategies, methods, and technologies used by key players that are highly responsible for the destruction of nature and therefore the endangerment of humanity will be discussed. The focus should be towards sustainable alternatives, as well as confrontations and battles that are fought for their realization. Possible future scenarios will also be up for discussion.