In the case of transport, the Swiss Confederation has for years been reporting the costs incurred by road, rail and air transport users, but which are not fully reflected in the price: damage to nature and the landscape, air pollution or accidents. But when it comes to food production, the Swiss agricultural and food industry have a hard time keeping track of costs, states the leading Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung. There is no comparable full-cost accounting for food production – yet.
A study by the Swiss think thank Vision Landwirtschaft now found out that all in all, consumers bear only about half of the costs of agriculture, which amount to a total of 15.9 billion Swiss francs. The rest is paid for by the state – i.e. the taxpayer – and the general public, who are affected by environmental pollution. It is striking that consumers have to pay the most for fresh plant products themselves: In the case of vegetables, they pay 80 percent of the costs, and in the case of fruit as much as 90 percent. When it comes to meat, the picture looks differently: For beef, consumers only pay just over a third of the actual costs. In the case of pigmeat it is at least almost two thirds and in the case of poultry and eggs around three quarters. One reason for these distortions is that conservative food production is subsidized far more than the production of environmentally-friendly alternatives.
More awareness for the real costs of food and especially meat is crucial in order to align agricultural policy with the official goals and strategies in the areas of environment, climate, health and food.
According to the assessment of Vision Landwirtschaft, the total environmental damage attributable to agriculture amounts to CHF 3.6 billion per year. More awareness for the real costs of food and especially meat is crucial in order to align agricultural policy with the official goals and strategies in the areas of environment, climate, health and food.
