Is Switzerland preparing to ban intensive livestock farming?

WHILE the Netherlands has plans to reduce its livestock by 30%, the Swiss are being called to vote on September 25 on whether to enshrine the principle of animal dignity in the constitution, putting an end to the model of farms where chickens and pigs are crammed into close quarters. Here's the lowdown.

Since March 1, 2018, Swiss chefs have been forbidden from plunging a live lobster into boiling water without stunning it beforehand. The reason is that these crustaceans have a complex nervous system. In short, lobsters feel pain. This decision, which also signalled the end of transporting live lobsters on ice or in ice water to restaurant kitchens, generated numerous headlines.

The Swiss government was indeed taking a stand in favor of animal welfare. And this measure was not without precedent in that country. In 1892, when the very first popular initiative was put to the vote of the people, the question of animal welfare was already being formulated.

According to the Swiss National Museum, they sought out the opinion of the Swiss population regarding the ritual slaughter of animals without stunning. Almost 90,000 citizens had supported this request in order to bring the issue into the political realm as the country's first popular initiative.

While last February, Swiss voters did not give the green light to ban animal experimentation (collecting only 20.9% of the votes), the citizens will head to the ballot box again on September 25 to express their opinions on a proposed end to factory farming.

More space for the animals, dignified hygiene and living conditions, daily access to the outdoors, minimized pain when it comes to slaughter, smaller groups of animals in farms, as well as a ban on the import of food of animal origin whose production does not correspond to these criteria... This is how in Switzerland they envision the exit from this industrial model.

Launched in 2018 by Sentience, an association for the defense of animal dignity, and supported by various organizations, including Greenpeace, the proposal incorporates a 25-year deadline for farmers to integrate the transition into their practices.

Can countries really put an end to intensive farming?

To understand what animal rights activists are actually aiming for with this popular initiative, it's important to look at their definition of intensive livestock farming. According to them, it is "industrial breeding aimed at making the production of animal products as efficient as possible and systematically undermining the well-being of the animals." If the yes vote wins, the Confederation will have to extend the requirements of the initiative to all Swiss farms.

It will then be a matter of enshrining the principle of animal dignity in the constitution within the agricultural sector. The food industry and the Swiss Farmers' Union have formed an alliance to campaign for a "no vote" to the end of intensive livestock farming. According to Federal Councillor Alain Berset, the adoption of this initiative would lead to higher prices for meat, milk and cheese.

Is it utopian to envision a potential end to this economic model? The question has been debated for many years, but the world's second largest agricultural exporter has taken a first step in favor of so-called extensive livestock farming.

The Netherlands is considering a 30% reduction in its livestock population in the hope of halving nitrogen emissions by 2035. Putting an end to intensive livestock farming is not only a question of animal welfare. According to Greenpeace, intensive livestock farming is responsible for 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.

Last year, Argentina banned salmon farming in Tierra del Fuego, an archipelago located at the tip of the country and home to the famous city of Ushuaia. However, the region is shared with Chile, which for its part did not vote in favor of stopping this industrial activity, which disturbs the ecosystems in the area.