Federal Council rejects food initiative without counter-proposal
Published: Wednesday, Nov 13th 2024, 15:30
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The Federal Council rejects the food initiative. This initiative calls for Swiss food production to be increasingly geared towards a plant-based diet. The Federal Council is of the opinion that this changeover is not possible in the time required by the initiative. It does not want a counter-proposal to the initiative.
The required increase in the net self-sufficiency rate to 70% within ten years, while at the same time achieving the environmental goals for agriculture, can only be achieved with deep interventions in the production and consumption of food. This is what the Federal Council wrote on Wednesday. And the initiative would have far-reaching consequences for the production and consumption of food.
Constitutional principles are sufficient
The Federal Council does not want a counter-proposal to the initiative, either at constitutional or legislative level. The constitutional basis for developing agricultural policy in the requested direction is already sufficient, it writes.
Certain concerns of the initiative, such as strengthening food security and reducing the ecological footprint of the agriculture and food sector, are key issues for the further development of agricultural policy from 2030 (AP30+), he writes. The consultation on this is to take place in the second half of 2026.
Parliament had demanded a holistic approach for the AP30+, the Federal Council continued. The proposal should not only cover the work and products of farmers, but also the entire food system. The Federal Council wants to set a realistic timeframe for changes.
The popular initiative "For food security - by strengthening sustainable domestic production, more plant-based food and clean drinking water (food initiative)" was submitted last August.
Net self-sufficiency rate of 70 percent
Franziska Herren from the "Clean water for all" association and six other people are behind the initiative. Herren was already the driving force behind the drinking water initiative that was rejected at the ballot box in June 2021.
The new initiative calls for a net food self-sufficiency level of 70%. The federal government would therefore have to ensure in particular that people eat more meat-free food and that the agricultural and food industry adapts accordingly.
The most recent net self-sufficiency rate was 46 percent. The net self-sufficiency rate takes into account the fact that part of domestic production is based on imported animal feed, according to the latest agricultural report.
The fact that Switzerland is currently fifty percent dependent on imports from abroad is due to the highly subsidized production of animal foodstuffs in Switzerland, the initiative committee wrote in August when submitting the signatures. The reason for this is not too little agricultural land.
Sixty percent of arable land is used to grow animal feed. If there were more plant-based foods, many more calories could be produced per hectare. The petition also calls for the safeguarding of vital agricultural production bases: biodiversity and soil fertility.
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