When Dutch General Tom Middendorp speaks, the world’s security apparatus pays attention. As the former chief of defence of the Netherlands and current chair of the International Military Council on Climate and Security, Middendorp, widely known as the ‘climate general’, has spent years articulating a brutal truth born of combat in Afghanistan and Somalia. His simple message is that scarcity is a weapon, and its primary means of delivery is the collapse of food and water systems. For Australian policymakers, Middendorp’s observation should strike a nerve. We have long looked to the Netherlands as a beacon of agricultural innovation. We admire its mastery of water management, its technology and its logistical efficiency. Yet, we have failed to import its most critical strategic insight: that food security is not merely an economic concern, but a hard security imperative.
Australia needs a Dutch mindset for food security | The Strategist
