The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Swiss reject pesticide ban

2021-06-15T06:15:36.528Z


Can agriculture go without any pesticides? Yes, there is an initiative in Switzerland and, like Bhutan, wants to ban the use of pesticides. But the majority of citizens apparently see it differently.


Enlarge image

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

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2021-06-15

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.