Safety

Invasive species threaten native plants
Knowledge

Invasive species threaten native plants

The economic interdependence of the world has increased greatly over the past years and decades. Due to the brisk trade activity between the continents, invasive plant and animal species are also spreading faster and faster. This can lead to serious problems for native vegetation and agriculture. According to the FOEN, the canton of Ticino is particularly affected.

Traveling Japanese beetle threatens native plants
Knowledge

Traveling Japanese beetle threatens native plants

The Japanese beetle was first discovered in Switzerland in 2017 in Ticino. Now it has made it to the northern side of the Alps. After being found in Basel-Stadt and Solothurn, a larger population of the beetles has been found in Kloten for the first time. They are controlled with traps, but also pesticides.

Wars and political calculations fuel famine
Knowledge

Wars and political calculations fuel famine

In the 20th century, an estimated 70 million people died as a result of famine. A look into the history shows: Almost always wars or authoritarian rulers were the cause of hunger.

Safety and security: Productivity and Trust
Knowledge

Safety and security: Productivity and Trust

In order to be able to feed ten billion people by 2050, substantial effort will be required from the agriculture and research sectors. Security and safety will play a major role in this, with both food security and food safety being key. In order to ensure food security, productivity and food production levels need to be increased.

Chemistry is everything - it also protects against natural poisoning
Knowledge

Chemistry is everything - it also protects against natural poisoning

Professor Nuno Maulide is Director of the Institute of Organic Chemistry at the University of Vienna. The Portuguese-born professor talks about misunderstood chemistry in an interview with Visao, a Portuguese news magazine.

«Pesticides are becoming increasingly toxic»
Knowledge

«Pesticides are becoming increasingly toxic»

This is the opposite of the truth. Over the last few decades, pesticides have become safer and safer. New active ingredients are subjected to extremely stringent approval processes.

“Genetic engineering endangers health”
Knowledge

“Genetic engineering endangers health”

It is often said that genetically modified foods are not safe and could have a negative impact on human and animal health. However, these claims cannot be substantiated by facts.

“More than 200,000 deaths annually due to pesticide poisoning”
Knowledge

“More than 200,000 deaths annually due to pesticide poisoning”

If you look closely, you can see: The number comes from a 35-year-old study. In a thought experiment at the time, suicides involving pesticides in Sri Lanka were extrapolated worldwide.

Facts about drinking water and limit values
Knowledge

Facts about drinking water and limit values

'Pure' water is either a tasteless distillate or a selling point. As natural products, neither tap water nor branded water is 'pure'. However, both can be drunk without hesitation.

Difference between risk and danger
Knowledge

Difference between risk and danger

Danger and risk are often confused in the discussion surrounding pesticides. Sometimes the two terms are even used synonymously. That is as incorrect as it is negligent, because dangerous substances do not always present a high risk. By the same token, substances that are not considered to be dangerous can indeed pose a risk. Danger and risk are therefore not identical.

Scientists urge common sense
Knowledge

Scientists urge common sense

The second Swiss-Food Talk was attended by three internationally recognised experts from the fields of toxicology, water protection and food safety. They discussed the handling of limit values and the partly wrong interpretation in the public discourse. The scientists pleaded for more objectivity.

Content in German

"Natural is healthy, chemicals are toxic."
Knowledge

"Natural is healthy, chemicals are toxic."

Everything that occurs in nature is healthy and synthetically produced substances, i.e. "chemical" substances, are toxic. This myth is fundamentally wrong: There are many highly toxic substances in nature, and at the same time there are many synthetic substances that are absolutely harmless.