29.12.2021
Sustainability requires openness to technology
In the six months prior to the vote on the agricultural initiatives last June, there were around 3500 media articles containing the keywords «drinking water» and «pesticides» in the Swiss media database, around seven times more than in the six months afterwards (around 500 media articles). But the facts have not changed at all. This example shows the extent to which media awareness is influenced by current political issues and how it can be fuelled by targeted campaign management.
Before a popular vote, interest in voting topics is particularly high for institutional reasons. But feelings can also be fired up. And this was undoubtedly the case with the decision by the authorities to designate all metabolites of the fungicide chlorothalonil as «relevant» in reverse to their own relevance test. This decision led to media headlines like the following from SRF: «Carcinogenic pesticide in Swiss drinking water». Media headlines of this kind generated fear and uncertainty among the public. So it is of little help when EAWAG (the ETH water research institute) writes on their website that: «Swiss tap water can be safely consumed». Or that the Swiss cancer register ascertains that the risk of developing new cancers among women has remained unchanged over the period from 2003 to 2017 and has even dropped among men. The risk of dying of cancer also fell for both men and women. It is crucial that the authorities classify facts and do not participate in the race to scandalization, as unfortunately happened. It is about presenting the facts and providing neutral information, as is the case currently with the pandemic.
Despite all the emotional headlines, the people of Switzerland voted very clearly to protect regional production using pesticides on 13 June. And the subsequent wet and cold summer demonstrated the reality of the risk of fungal infections and vermin to agricultural crops. Pesticides are required now and in the future to prevent disproportionate food waste in the fields and on fruit farms. Otherwise, domestic production will fail and be replaced by imports.
It goes without saying that the risks posed by crop protection products must continue to be reduced in the future. This applies to all forms of cultivation – whether organic or productive. The research industry, with its track record of constant improvement of its products and ability to come up with new solutions, is one of the driving forces behind this reduction in risk, based on science and the ability to scale solutions to global challenges.
2021 has taught us that we need a comprehensive view of sustainability. There is a time component to sustainability, alongside ecological, economical and social dimensions. New technologies are key to improving sustainability. In the 21st century, potato farmers must have other means at their disposal than copper to combat the devastating late blight. Genome editing is a massive opportunity here. However, the precision development of conventional cultivation methods is still being fought with yesterday’s arguments. At least the Council of States has dared to take a step in the winter session. Now it will be the turn of the National Council again next year.
As was accurately noted in the Council of States debate, parliament should «stop trying to run faster than the beat and end up tripping over». This was what happened with the parliamentary initiative that led to excess regulation on pesticides amid the media storm mentioned earlier.
However, when it comes to the development of plant cultivation, the National Assembly needs to «significantly increase the pace and the volume of the music» in order to take the Council of State’s opening move further. It must still be possible to grow established and popular varieties in Switzerland in times of climate change.
Looking ahead to the new year, the breakdown of megatrends in the farming and food industries could be a good guideline. And guidelines are needed: after the suspension of the agricultural policy 22+ in parliament, politicians will have to start thinking about the future direction of agricultural and food policy. As the discussion over the previous year has shown, simple but ultimately impractical solutions are easy to find. They are often based on ideology or wishful thinking rather than facts and scientific evidence. But agricultural and food policy is still political. It cannot be separated from political interests. So it is all the more important that decisions are not made without impact assessments.
The consequences of regulations must be weighed up in advance and presented clearly. This is something the EU has also experienced. Following the Commission’s initial refusal to investigate the impact of the «farm to fork strategy», the EU Parliament has now demanded a scientific impact assessment for its decision. Three studies have generated the requisite pressure. They prove that the «Green Deal» reduces production in the EU, increases imports and prices for consumers, pushes down farmers’ income and, as the bottom line, pushes up global land usage.
Should this information not have been presented by the authorities before such important decisions? This should be a lesson for Switzerland too: if the future of agricultural and food policy is under discussion, there needs to be an independent, science-driven and integrated assessment of the impact of regulations. And, as also required by the EU Parliament, there needs to be a structured dialogue in order to discuss the shortfalls, opportunities and challenges relating to the implementation of a food policy and a shared understanding of sustainability.
The experiences of 2021 will be a lesson for the year to come. Limiting discussion to the risks of pesticides is and remains a very one-sided approach. The risks of not using pesticides also need to be on the table. Without crop protection, 2021 would be a famine year - and the harvests would be too low to feed the world's population, even in easier growing years. Pesticides can prevent issues with harvesting and storage. Fungal infestations can cause carcinogenic mycotoxins in wheat. People used to die from ergot and moult toxins on plants. But that seems to have been completely forgotten. And we also seem happy to ignore the fact that it was vaccinations that allowed us to eliminate polio and smallpox in this country. If fungal toxins in crop production continue to increase, it will be because of a misguided strategy to reduce the use of pesticides. Food safety is decreasing. If harvested crops cannot be stored, food waste increases too.
In 2022, the trend towards plant-based food will continue. But more plant-based foods coupled with declining resource use means more crop protection. Anything else is just an illusion. Pesticides should and must improve all the time. They need to be more specific and more environmentally-friendly as a whole. But innovation is being stalled instead of promoted. Environmental associations are blocking the approval process by means of collective appeals. This is despite the fact it is clear that, without effective synthetic pesticides and modern biologicals, the productivity of specialist crops such as fruit and vegetables will suffer massively and, as demonstrated by EU studies, land use and imports will increase.
The research industry has a crucial wish for 2022: openness to technology. When even so-called «experts» demand «non-chemical» production, it feels like something is very wrong. Aside from the fact that all of nature, including humans, is «chemical», this completely ignores the fact that synthetic solutions can be more sustainable and efficient in terms of resources than production based on natural sources. There are simply too few natural resources to make everything «nature based»! Increasingly, sustainable solutions will come from the laboratory – they will have to. Comprehensive sustainability is not possible with blinkers on. Sustainability means being open to technology. That applies in 2022 too.
The editorial team at swiss-food wishes you a very happy New Year!
