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Do the pesticide fighters really saw the branch on which the agricultural country Switzerland sits?
Action by opponents of the initiative who called for people to vote "twice no" on Sunday.
Photo: Laurent Gillieron / dpa
If the initiative had been successful, Switzerland would have been the first European country to prohibit the use of synthetic pesticides. So far there is only one country in the world that has imposed such a ban: the small kingdom of Bhutan in the Himalayas. Proponents of the ban in Switzerland argue that the pesticides were harmful to health and harmed biodiversity.
But everything points to the fact that the initiative has failed: In a referendum, the majority of the Swiss have rejected a ban, according to initial projections.
According to the projections of the institute gfs.bern after the closing of the polling stations, 61 percent voted on Sunday against a popular initiative that called for a ban on weed killers within ten years.
In addition, food made using synthetic pesticides should no longer be imported.
The initiative to protect drinking water also fails
However, Syngenta, one of the world's largest manufacturers of crop protection products, is based in Switzerland.
Before the referendum, the company pointed out that the use of pesticides is already strictly regulated in Switzerland, all means are being tested intensively and are therefore safe.
A new drinking water protection initiative was rejected with 61 percent.
The initiative "For clean drinking water and healthy food" advocates that only farmers who can manage without pesticides and the prophylactic use of antibiotics receive state subsidies.
The use of liquid manure in fields should also be reduced.
On Sunday, the Swiss also voted on a revised CO2 law, with which Switzerland wants to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.
There were also referendums on a Covid-19 law and stricter anti-terrorism measures.
beb / afp