The letter to the editor in full:
“It is disgusting how the agricultural industry and its dependents demonise the biodiversity initiative. Switzerland is at the bottom of the list in Europe when it comes to sustainable agriculture.
Protected areas have become rare
Large areas of our meadows are short-cut grassland or fields of corn. Forage plants and protected areas for native wild pollinators, birds and small creatures have become rare. Their populations are seriously threatened or have already become extinct. The soil is depleted, the water and air are heavily polluted. In a second, one square meter of soil is urbanized or sealed. This reality is ignored.
Reduce livestock numbers
It will help if our livestock numbers are reduced. The fields are cultivated for our food instead of for animal feed. Our excessive greenhouse gas emissions are becoming a costly burden on the atmosphere, like nuclear waste in the earth! They must be avoided, just like wasted electricity.
Energy transition is possible
The energy transition is also possible and realistic. With a solar potential of 60 TWh on roofs and facades alone, with the storage capacity of our hydropower and the expansion of wind and biomass and a good integration into the European electricity system, we can achieve it. Let us continue on the path we have chosen. It is illegal for the Federal Council and Parliament to deny all the facts and reject the biodiversity initiative “For the future of our nature and landscape”.
Let us finally act more sustainably together instead of trying to outdo each other!”
