For a factory farming initiative

A pig looks down with sad eyes from a crate stand of the poster, emblazoned with the alienated logo of Proviande "Swiss meat". The previously unpublished images from Swiss animal husbandry from the summer of 2019 make it clear: Swiss meat from conventional animal husbandry does not even begin to correspond to the picture we are led to believe by Proviande. "50% of the pigs in Switzerland never see the open sky until their slaughter day. Over 80% of the chickens kept in Switzerland never stand on a meadow in their life and have already reached their slaughter weight on the 30th day of life," says initiator and Sentience Politics co-manager Meret Schneider. These are just a few of the shocking conditions that are compatible with the Swiss Animal Welfare Act, the "best animal welfare law in the world".

Catastrophic effects on the environment and climate

But also the catastrophic effects on Environment and climate were prominently addressed at the submission. "For the production of the immense amount of animal products, 1.2 million tons of feed are imported annually. In Brazil, hectares of rainforest are cleared by fire for this purpose, irreversibly destroying non-renewable resources," clarifies Vera Weber of the Fondation Franz Weber. The Fondation Franz Weber contributed significantly to the collection and helped make the submission possible.

The initiative surprises with broad support from the entire party spectrum - from the Greens to the SVP. Rarely have Bastien Girod from the Greens, Daniel Jositsch from the SP and Stefan Hofer from the SVP been in such agreement: "We want animals to graze in the meadows and a nature-based agriculture that treats animals and natural resources with respect." This also makes the initiators confident of success at the ballot box.

Background info

Source: Fondation Franz Weber