The first initiative, if backed, would see the use of synthetic pesticides banned in the country.
Proponents seek to prohibit the use of pesticides with non-naturally occurring chemicals, for farming as well as their use in public green spaces, and private gardens. The campaign is also calling for a ban on the import of foodstuffs produced with synthetic pesticides, so as not to put Swiss farmers at a disadvantage.
A second initiative would see government subsidies to farms limited only to those that do not use pesticides, and to those that do not use antibiotics prophylactically, but only to treat sick animals. It also proposes restricting payments to only farms that can feed animals with the fodder they produce themselves, not imported feed.
The campaigners behind that proposal say 50% of Swiss meat and 70% of Swiss eggs and chicken could not be produced without imported feed. "This imported forage with its high nutrient content leads to enormous fertilizer surpluses in Switzerland in the form of liquid manure and ammonia. These cause immense environmental damage, polluting our drinking water and damaging our health. The drinking water initiative makes subsidies conditional on the livestock being fed with Swiss fodder and thus the nutrient cycles being closed. The farms can either produce the fodder for their animals themselves or in joint ventures, or exchange fodder and farm manure regionally."
The proposals were launched by separate civil society committees without ties to a specific political party. They handed in their initiatives in 2018 with 113,979 and 121,307 signatures respectively.
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June 07, 2021 at 08:01PM
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Pesticides, antibiotics and imported feed: Switzerland set to vote on measures that could transform the local agriculture sector - FeedNavigator.com
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