Agriculture and Food System

Summary

Our vision for the food system is to supply all people living in Switzerland with healthy food meeting their demands for nutrients and well-being in a sustainable way. The latter must allow the following generations to produce enough food for them with the same intensity. It is a food system in which producers get recognition for their important work, have a fulfilling job with a good income. Consumers have access to food but also education about nutrition, the way food is produced and processed and best also about how it is handled and experienced in a cultural context.
A sustainable and healthy diet is the focus of all policy measures proposed.
These changes are part of a policy framework which supports climate friendly production practices, shifts subsidies in the direction of a plant-based diet and allows us to get away from the dependence on highly polluting methods. Its aim is to enable a sustainable food production considering the evident complexity of the issue and the relations and interactions between agriculture, the environment, society and the economy. It is essential that the issues are addressed in all the proposed fields at the same time. If we omit one of these points, or concentrate only on certain, we run the risk that it can negatively compensate all the efforts in the other fields.
A sustainable diet consists of a much larger share of plant based products, compared to today’s consumption patterns. Animal products in the diet will be reduced to one third compared to the present situation. Luxury and unhealthy food items like alcohol, sweets, chocolate, cocoa will have a much lower share in our diet and thus reduce fatalities due to illness caused by malnutrition.
Switzerland will further use grasslands for animal production. Ruminant production in Switzerland will be regulated by the amount of grassland available and fodder imports or domestic fodder production will be cut to zero. Greenhouses in Switzerland are only heated by waste energy from industrial processes or if really needed by renewable local energy.
Agricultural practice will follow guidelines for an optimized production from an environmental point of view while considering global food security and social justice and not to optimize profit rates.
The ecosystem boundaries shall be at the basis of decision making with technical, social and economic aspects adjusted accordingly. The integration and common long-term vision of a sustainable food system must be shared by all stakeholders namely farmers, the processing industry, retailers, consumers and politicians. Future development shall be characterized by a common understanding and a common will for sustainable solutions.