Agricultural Policy: Stop Environmental Destruction
Environmental organizations are launching the campaign «Stop the Agricultural Lobby». Over-fertilization, pesticides, and declining biodiversity show: change is needed.
Over-fertilization, environmentally harmful pesticides, declining biodiversity: the way intensive agriculture exploits soil and waterways in Switzerland is not sustainable. Environmental organizations are therefore launching a campaign called «Stop the Agricultural Lobby» and addressing a public appeal to all stakeholders to put an end to environmental destruction.
The goal is a forward-looking agricultural policy. Parliament will be deliberating on this in the coming months. The new legislation must correct the massive environmental shortcomings and thereby ensure food security for future generations.
«Parliament now has the opportunity, in its deliberations on agricultural policy for the coming years (AP 22+), to bring environmental concerns to the forefront», says Eva Wyss: «Now politics can place what truly matters at the centre: the protection of nature, and with it, our food security.»
The influential agricultural lobby claims to stand up for Swiss farming families. In reality, it supports the interests of agribusiness. Pesticide manufacturers, feed importers & Co. are the biggest beneficiaries of the billions in taxpayer money going to agriculture, and they promote environmental destruction.
The lobby defends an agriculture geared toward high production that harms wildlife, birds, and insects, and poisons our waterways with pesticides. «Living creatures suffer not only from the poison spread by agriculture, but also from shrinking habitats», says Patrik Peyer.
Furthermore, agriculture is over-fertilizing our land. Farming keeps too many animals on too little land and burdens our soils, lakes, and forests with liquid manure . On this, Alexandra Gavilano says: «Because Switzerland cannot feed its many animals with its own resources, it depends on imported feed. Agriculture that is not adapted to local conditions — including factory farming and monocultures for growing animal feed — destroys important ecosystems both at home and abroad.»
The agricultural lobby has so far consistently blocked a shift toward a sustainable, i.e. ecological, form of agriculture. Yet thousands of innovative farmers are already proving today that production and ecology can be brought into harmony.
«The incentives today are completely wrong», says Marcel Liner: «It cannot be that billions in tax money keep alive an agriculture that fails to meet environmental targets, puts people's health at risk, and endangers biodiversity.»
On the campaign website www.agrarlobby-stoppen.ch an appeal for a sustainable agriculture has been published, which farmers as well as representatives from culture, sport, and politics have already joined. Marcel Liner emphasizes the urgency: «We call on the public to send a joint signal now and sign the appeal. We must protect our nature!»
