Industry research for large-scale sustainability

Tatort: A Reach into the Artistic Poison Cabinet

Knowledge

Pesticides in Water: The sources are more varied and closer than we think

Knowledge

PFAS, trade-offs and responsibility – how politics and agriculture find solutions

Newsletter

Mutations on the Lunch Table

Media

Old Stories Die Hard – when (organic) marketing blinds us to reality

An ORF documentary highlights what many organic enthusiasts don’t want to hear: mutagenesis is genetic engineering – and has been present in countless crop varieties for decades. Yet organic retailers like REWE and dm demand labelling requirements for new breeding techniques. Scientifically, this makes no sense.

New Breeding Technologies

What’s Really in Your Shopping Basket

Genetic engineering in our shopping basket? Yes – and much more often than we think. Whether it’s pasta, bread or vegetables: many of the everyday products we consume come from mutation breeding, which involves altering the genome and is considered safe. It’s high time to debunk the common myths.

New Breeding Technologies

Genomic breeding methods are not given a chance to prove themselves

Modern genomic breeding methods are legally classified as genetic engineering – and are therefore still effectively blocked. Yet we have been eating genetically modified plants for decades, just under the label of “classical mutagenesis.” The new, more precise techniques are regulated more strictly than the old ones, even though they are considered safer from a scientific perspective. A contradiction that urgently needs to be corrected. The EU is setting a good example.

'A society that no longer takes risks becomes paralyzed. Not everything that is risked succeeds, but everything that succeeds was once a risk.'

Former Federal Councillor Kaspar Villiger

«Erfolgreich und liberal – Reformideen für die Schweiz»

‘We are losing productivity due to incorrect direct payments.’

Kirsten Müller, Managing Director of the Swiss Contractors' Association

agro-lohnunternehmer.ch

‘However, the concept of nature often serves merely as an empty metaphor for everything that seems familiar and threatening at the same time. The new cannot be ‘close to nature’ per se and is therefore subject to mistrust – unless it shows a connection to the tried and tested.’

Philipp Aerni, Director of the Centre for Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CCRS)

NZZ, 5 May 2025

If we want to produce more food within the planetary boundaries, this can only be achieved through higher productivity and increased crop yields. To achieve this, we need modern technology, which we should not close our minds to.

Matin Qaim, Agricultural economist at the University of Bonn

Handelsblatt, 31 March 2022

Myths & Facts

swiss-food stands for fact-based information. Important facts are explained here in an understandable way.

To the myths and facts

From the media

Media

Old Stories Die Hard – when (organic) marketing blinds us to reality

Media

Protein yes – vegan? Probably not.

After years of hype surrounding meat alternatives, enthusiasm for vegan diets seems to be waning. More and more restaurants are returning to meat. Consumers are also placing greater emphasis on pragmatism rather than sacrifice.

Media

Triazole in Lake Geneva: Authorities give the all-clear

In late summer 2025, the news caused a stir: the substance 1,2,4-triazole – a chemical compound used in a wide variety of applications – was found in drinking water from Lake Geneva. Now the cantons of Geneva, Vaud and Valais have given the all-clear: the water is safe to drink.

Media

'There is also a life before death' – Wine Pope Philipp Schwander on the Zeitgeist and the Activism of Health Authorities

The Swiss Master of Wine criticizes in an interview that wine is increasingly being demonized – contrary to scientific evidence and without any discussion about dosage and risk.

More contributions from Media

Knowledge

Residues, thresholds, trust – looking calmly behind the headlines

In this conversation with toxicologist Lothar Aicher, the discussion focuses on how residues enter the body, how their potential harm is assessed, and what role modern analytical methods play.

Knowledge

Hazard is not the same as risk: how we understand – and should understand – threshold values

In this episode of the podcast, risk researcher Angela Bearth discusses residues and threshold values in food – a topic often debated emotionally. In public discussions, threshold values tend to dominate, while the complex challenges of agriculture are rarely considered. Studies show, however, that once these relationships are explained and solutions are addressed, people respond in a more differentiated way.

Knowledge

PFAS, trade-offs and responsibility – how politics and agriculture find solutions

In this episode of the joint series by Agrarpolitik – der Podcast and swiss-food.ch, National Councillor Christine Badertscher discusses how residues and threshold values are debated in Parliament.

Knowledge

Thresholds, approvals, responsibility – how plant protection products are really assessed

Threshold values are often at the centre of public debate – yet in reality they are only a small part of a much broader risk assessment system. Dr Michael Beer, Head of the Food and Nutrition Division at the Federal Food Safety Office, provides clarity.

More contributions from Knowledge

New Breeding Technologies

Green biotech: safety concerns no longer hold water

At the end of October, swiss-food.ch hosted a film screening and panel discussion in Zurich on the subject of genome editing entitled “Between Protest and Potential”. The well-attended event dealt with the emotional debates in recent decades surrounding genetic engineering. The event showed that the situation has changed fundamentally.

Audio & Video

swiss-food has a large selection of exciting videos and podcasts on the topics of food, agriculture and research.

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Politics

Faster Approval of Crop Protection Products Long Overdue

Switzerland bans active ingredients that are withdrawn from the market in the EU. Modern products that are approved in neighboring countries, however, remain blocked. That could finally change. The Economic Affairs Committee of the National Council has adopted a proposal to this effect.

Politics

Differing perceptions

While the increasing administrative burden is perceived as the main concern in the economy, parts of the population see it differently. Meanwhile, regulations are repeatedly misused as a means of exerting power in the competitive struggle – to the detriment of SMEs.

Politics

Domestic production as a blind spot

Switzerland's food security is increasingly under pressure: last year's disastrous wheat and potato harvests have led to an increasing dependence on imports. However, the report by the Federal Office for National Economic Supply (FONES) is largely silent on the precarious state of the domestic agricultural sector. The IG BauernUnternehmen (Farmers' Company) has therefore sharply criticised the federal government.

Politics

PFAS regulation in Switzerland: Not faster, but better

Some people also call PFAS ‘forever chemicals’. Their use must be regulated as wisely as possible. To do this, the federal government first needs to do precise groundwork, according to Stefan Brupbacher, Urs Furrer and Stephan Mumenthaler.

More contributions from Politics

Blindspot

Blindspot articles are marked with a small spotlight and illuminate the «blind spots» in the agricultural policy debate.

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Research

Lack of diversity becomes an existential problem

The dwindling genetic diversity in fields is becoming an increasing problem. Unfortunately, this problem is growing steadily, partly because politicians in Switzerland and the EU are viewing the issue through ideological lenses instead of listening to science.

Research

Research into fungal diseases in Lyon

Fungal diseases are one of the greatest threats to global food production. They endanger crops, cause billions in damage every year and have always put farmers under pressure. A detailed report by RTS provides insights into Bayer's global research and development centre in Lyon, where new, environmentally compatible fungicides are being researched.

Research

Science sounds the alarm: Federal Council draft slows down innovation

The new genomic breeding methods are regarded worldwide as a source of hope for climate-resilient agriculture – precise, efficient, and safe. While countries such as the US, Japan, and soon the EU are pushing for deregulation, the Federal Council's regulatory proposal remains tentative. Now researchers and industry are sounding the alarm: the proposed rules are so strict that they would effectively block innovation and application.

Research

Approvals are becoming a brake on innovation worldwide – and agriculture is being left behind

New findings from the United States highlight what has long been a reality in Europe and Switzerland as well: the development and approval of new crop protection products has become such a complex, lengthy, and costly process that even innovative, sustainable solutions can hardly reach the market anymore.

More contributions from Research