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<blockquote data-quote="BrianV" data-source="post: 7581667" data-attributes="member: 150008"><p>Forget France Switzerland is the place to farm, average farm size 20 cows!</p><p></p><p><span style="font-size: 26px"><strong>Getting your teeth into Swiss meat prices</strong></span></p><p></p><p><img src="https://www.swissinfo.ch/resource/image/43749082/landscape_ratio3x2/280/187/ee5ed4075f95fb951e44e075aedaa01e/7916D44E428CE604C4791D3690BEDAAE/74204117-jpg.jpg" alt="Swiss cows in close up" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /> Keystone/Sigi Tischler</p><p>Why is Swiss meat among the most expensive in the world? Farmers, consumer groups and industry experts all have their opinions.</p><p>This content was published on January 5, 2018 - 11:00January 5, 2018 - 11:00Simon Bradley</p><p>See in other languages: 9</p><p>Not many people in the world can afford to pay nearly $50 for a kilogramme of beef leg round or more than $20 for the same amount of pork chop. But those are the price tags on these cuts of meat in Swiss supermarkets. According to the <a href="https://www.caterwings.co.uk/caterers/2017-meat-price-index-usd/" target="_blank">Meat Price Index 2017 by CaterwingsExternal link</a>, Switzerland has the highest meat prices in the world - 142% more than the global average. </p><p>Caterwings estimates that an unskilled Swiss worker needs only 3.1 hours to afford 1kg of beef, while in India someone must work 22.8 hours to pay for the same amount. The extremely high cost of living in Switzerland goes some way towards explaining the high prices, yet Switzerland still lags behind many other western European countries in the index’s affordability calculations.</p><p>On closer analysis, multiple factors influence Swiss meat prices.</p><p>For Franz Hagenbuch, <a href="http://www.swissbeef.ch/de/vereinigung/ruckblick.66/franz-hagenbuch-ist-neuer-prasident-von-swiss-beef-ch-kopie.324.html" target="_blank">president of the Swiss Beef AssociationExternal link</a>, the high production costs in Switzerland are partly to blame, including “salaries, energy, fertilizer, veterinary bills, construction costs, insurance and animal feed”.</p><p><span style="font-size: 22px"><strong>More</strong></span></p><p><a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/a-global-stress-test-for-freedom-of-expression/46625048?utm_content=o&utm_campaign=own-posts&utm_medium=display&utm_source=swissinfoch" target="_blank"></a></p><p><a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/a-global-stress-test-for-freedom-of-expression/46625048?utm_content=o&utm_campaign=own-posts&utm_medium=display&utm_source=swissinfoch" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.swissinfo.ch/resource/blob/46557868/75dcfb43c12bab0384cda0dab89bc9ef/ico_expression-data.png" alt="Series" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a></p><p><a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/a-global-stress-test-for-freedom-of-expression/46625048?utm_content=o&utm_campaign=own-posts&utm_medium=display&utm_source=swissinfoch" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>A global stress test for freedom of expression</strong></span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/a-global-stress-test-for-freedom-of-expression/46625048?utm_content=o&utm_campaign=own-posts&utm_medium=display&utm_source=swissinfoch" target="_blank">One of democracy’s fundamental pillars is under attack and under scruntiny across the world. </a></p><p>Kevin Moat, who runs a small organic beef farm above Lake Thun, agrees that costs in the country are particularly high.</p><p>“Financially, it can be difficult,” he says. “Insurance is a big cost for a small farm like this - health insurance and vehicle costs, and then I have to be insured, as if anything happens to me we’re in trouble.”</p><p><span style="font-size: 22px"><strong>More</strong></span></p><p>More</p><p><a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/kevin-the-organic-beef-farmer/43732728" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.swissinfo.ch/resource/image/43732698/landscape_ratio3x2/580/386/207321961c2a8da84d6cb0a5ec6608ba/A43664D28A7B88A04128AFB8CABF5157/171123_meatfarmer_pic-jpg.jpg" alt="Kevin Moat the meat farmer" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a></p><p><a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/kevin-the-organic-beef-farmer/43732728" target="_blank"></a></p><p><a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/kevin-the-organic-beef-farmer/43732728" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>Kevin the organic beef farmer</strong></span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/kevin-the-organic-beef-farmer/43732728" target="_blank">This content was published on Jan 5, 2018Jan 5, 2018 Kevin Moat and his wife Hanni run a small organic beef farm located at 1,000 metres near Lake Thun. Self-taught, he started milk farming before... </a></p><p>All the small extras on the farm add up. Studies have found, for example, that farm machinery in Switzerland can cost 25% more than in neighbouring France and Germany and pesticides 70-75%.</p><p>But the explanations for the high prices are also structural and cultural.</p><p><a href="https://www.blw.admin.ch/blw/en/home.html" target="_blank">Swiss agricultural policyExternal link</a>, based on environmentally friendly and sustainable methods that guarantee national food supply, plays a role. The majority of farms meet minimum standards known as ‘required ecological services’ with production that encourages biodiversity, respectful animal-rearing, soil rotation, the use of natural fertilisers and other measures. In return, they receive subsidies worth CHF2.8 billion a year.</p><p>Swiss farms are typically small and traditional structures – average size of 18 hectares or around 20 cows – restricted by the alpine topography. Around 10% are organic. Meeting all the requirements to receive an organic food label places additional demands on certified farmers.</p><p><span style="font-size: 22px"><strong>Fresh air cattle</strong></span></p><p>Making sure farm animals are well looked after is a key factor. The biggest meat industry lobby group Pro Viande claims that ‘Switzerland has one of the strictest animal protection laws in the world’. It cites a 2010 comparative study of 12 European Union countries by the <a href="http://www.animal-protection.net/freetrade/index.html" target="_blank">Swiss Animal Protection (SAP) societyExternal link</a>, which put Switzerland head and shoulders above its neighbours for its respectful treatment of farm animals.</p><p>Beyond minimum animal welfare standards, farmers are encouraged – financially – to sign up to special federal schemes. In 2015, over three-quarters of Swiss farm animals took part in the so-called <a href="https://www.blw.admin.ch/blw/de/home/instrumente/direktzahlungen/produktionssystembeitraege/tierwohlbeitraege.html" target="_blank">“Regular Time in the Open Air for Farm Animals” (RAUS) programmeExternal link</a> and over half in the “Particularly Animal-Friendly Stable Systems” (BTS) Programme. Pro Viande says around 91% of Swiss chickens conform to the BTS standards, which offer raised places to sleep and access to protected areas outdoors at all times of the day. It claims that 81.2% of cattle regularly had time in the open air in 2015. </p><p><a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swissinfo-ch-newsletter_newsletter-subscription/42152624?utm_content=o&utm_campaign=own-posts&utm_medium=display&utm_source=swissinfoch" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>Newsletter</strong></span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swissinfo-ch-newsletter_newsletter-subscription/42152624?utm_content=o&utm_campaign=own-posts&utm_medium=display&utm_source=swissinfoch" target="_blank">Sign up for our free newsletters and get the top stories delivered to your inbox.</a></p><p><a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swissinfo-ch-newsletter_newsletter-subscription/42152624?utm_content=o&utm_campaign=own-posts&utm_medium=display&utm_source=swissinfoch" target="_blank"></a></p><p>Feed is also closely controlled as is how livestock are transported: cattle eat mainly grass and hay, and much of the fodder for pork comes from by-products of human consumption, while animals cannot be on the road in a trailer longer than six hours, compared to 24 hours in the EU.</p><p>These strict environmental and animal welfare standards have a direct influence on the health of animals and quality of Swiss meat, say experts, but they also come at a price.</p><p>“We are much more expensive than our neighbours due to the salaries, but the quality of meat is different, and this is tied to how the animals are treated,” explains Elias Welti, head of communication at the <a href="https://www.carnasuisse.ch/fr/" target="_blank">Swiss Meat UnionExternal link</a>, the leading butchers' association.</p><p>Welti says the numerous Swiss regulations result in higher staffing and infrastructure costs. As one example, he cites directives setting out the amount of space that must be afforded each animal to move about, lie or feed. Swiss law, he argues, is much more animal friendly in this regard than other countries, and this too influences prices.</p><p><a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/the-case-for-a-high-tech-pandemic-surveillance-and-response-scheme/46631660?utm_content=o&utm_campaign=own-posts&utm_medium=display&utm_source=swissinfoch" target="_blank"><img src="https://www.swissinfo.ch/resource/image/46630378/portrait_ratio1x1/180/180/2aab82c45bdaaab8700ea686f67b49e1/760B8FB3A08FC29D90B81D242196DA92/op_graduate_institute.png" alt="Amandeep Gill, Peiling Yap & Mehdi Snène" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></a></p><p><a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/the-case-for-a-high-tech-pandemic-surveillance-and-response-scheme/46631660?utm_content=o&utm_campaign=own-posts&utm_medium=display&utm_source=swissinfoch" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>The case for a high-tech pandemic surveillance and response scheme</strong></span></a></p><p><a href="https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/the-case-for-a-high-tech-pandemic-surveillance-and-response-scheme/46631660?utm_content=o&utm_campaign=own-posts&utm_medium=display&utm_source=swissinfoch" target="_blank">This content was published on May 20, 2021May 20, 2021 Science should be at the core of a reform of pandemic surveillance and response systems, researchers at the Graduate Institute Geneva argue. </a></p><p>“Rules have to be respected and monitored - in contrast to other countries with regulations that only exist on paper,” Hagenbuch adds.</p><p><span style="font-size: 22px"><strong>Meat consumption</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size: 22px"><strong>Blame the system</strong></span></p><p>Barbara Pfenniger, a food specialist at the <a href="https://www.frc.ch/" target="_blank">Federation of French-speaking Consumers (FRC)External link</a>, agrees, even if she says the mandatory Swiss farm standards don’t differ greatly from neighbouring countries.</p><p>“Here we have a system of direct subsidies which encourages farmers to do more than the legal minimum.” In practice, a farmer is paid more if he gives his cattle time in the fresh air. Pfenniger says this should be seen as an investment in healthier livestock but it can also result in higher prices since producers can charge more for the meat from such animals. </p><p>But Pfenniger says regulations and incentives and how farmers’ implement and interpret them are not the only reasons Swiss meat is 142% more expensive than the global average</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BrianV, post: 7581667, member: 150008"] Forget France Switzerland is the place to farm, average farm size 20 cows! [SIZE=7][B]Getting your teeth into Swiss meat prices[/B][/SIZE] [IMG alt="Swiss cows in close up"]https://www.swissinfo.ch/resource/image/43749082/landscape_ratio3x2/280/187/ee5ed4075f95fb951e44e075aedaa01e/7916D44E428CE604C4791D3690BEDAAE/74204117-jpg.jpg[/IMG] Keystone/Sigi Tischler Why is Swiss meat among the most expensive in the world? Farmers, consumer groups and industry experts all have their opinions. This content was published on January 5, 2018 - 11:00January 5, 2018 - 11:00Simon Bradley See in other languages: 9 Not many people in the world can afford to pay nearly $50 for a kilogramme of beef leg round or more than $20 for the same amount of pork chop. But those are the price tags on these cuts of meat in Swiss supermarkets. According to the [URL='https://www.caterwings.co.uk/caterers/2017-meat-price-index-usd/']Meat Price Index 2017 by CaterwingsExternal link[/URL], Switzerland has the highest meat prices in the world - 142% more than the global average. Caterwings estimates that an unskilled Swiss worker needs only 3.1 hours to afford 1kg of beef, while in India someone must work 22.8 hours to pay for the same amount. The extremely high cost of living in Switzerland goes some way towards explaining the high prices, yet Switzerland still lags behind many other western European countries in the index’s affordability calculations. On closer analysis, multiple factors influence Swiss meat prices. For Franz Hagenbuch, [URL='http://www.swissbeef.ch/de/vereinigung/ruckblick.66/franz-hagenbuch-ist-neuer-prasident-von-swiss-beef-ch-kopie.324.html']president of the Swiss Beef AssociationExternal link[/URL], the high production costs in Switzerland are partly to blame, including “salaries, energy, fertilizer, veterinary bills, construction costs, insurance and animal feed”. [SIZE=6][B]More[/B][/SIZE] [URL='https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/a-global-stress-test-for-freedom-of-expression/46625048?utm_content=o&utm_campaign=own-posts&utm_medium=display&utm_source=swissinfoch'] [IMG alt="Series"]https://www.swissinfo.ch/resource/blob/46557868/75dcfb43c12bab0384cda0dab89bc9ef/ico_expression-data.png[/IMG] [SIZE=5][B]A global stress test for freedom of expression[/B][/SIZE] One of democracy’s fundamental pillars is under attack and under scruntiny across the world. [/URL] Kevin Moat, who runs a small organic beef farm above Lake Thun, agrees that costs in the country are particularly high. “Financially, it can be difficult,” he says. “Insurance is a big cost for a small farm like this - health insurance and vehicle costs, and then I have to be insured, as if anything happens to me we’re in trouble.” [SIZE=6][B]More[/B][/SIZE] More [URL='https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/kevin-the-organic-beef-farmer/43732728'][IMG alt="Kevin Moat the meat farmer"]https://www.swissinfo.ch/resource/image/43732698/landscape_ratio3x2/580/386/207321961c2a8da84d6cb0a5ec6608ba/A43664D28A7B88A04128AFB8CABF5157/171123_meatfarmer_pic-jpg.jpg[/IMG] [SIZE=5][B]Kevin the organic beef farmer[/B][/SIZE] This content was published on Jan 5, 2018Jan 5, 2018 Kevin Moat and his wife Hanni run a small organic beef farm located at 1,000 metres near Lake Thun. Self-taught, he started milk farming before... [/URL] All the small extras on the farm add up. Studies have found, for example, that farm machinery in Switzerland can cost 25% more than in neighbouring France and Germany and pesticides 70-75%. But the explanations for the high prices are also structural and cultural. [URL='https://www.blw.admin.ch/blw/en/home.html']Swiss agricultural policyExternal link[/URL], based on environmentally friendly and sustainable methods that guarantee national food supply, plays a role. The majority of farms meet minimum standards known as ‘required ecological services’ with production that encourages biodiversity, respectful animal-rearing, soil rotation, the use of natural fertilisers and other measures. In return, they receive subsidies worth CHF2.8 billion a year. Swiss farms are typically small and traditional structures – average size of 18 hectares or around 20 cows – restricted by the alpine topography. Around 10% are organic. Meeting all the requirements to receive an organic food label places additional demands on certified farmers. [SIZE=6][B]Fresh air cattle[/B][/SIZE] Making sure farm animals are well looked after is a key factor. The biggest meat industry lobby group Pro Viande claims that ‘Switzerland has one of the strictest animal protection laws in the world’. It cites a 2010 comparative study of 12 European Union countries by the [URL='http://www.animal-protection.net/freetrade/index.html']Swiss Animal Protection (SAP) societyExternal link[/URL], which put Switzerland head and shoulders above its neighbours for its respectful treatment of farm animals. Beyond minimum animal welfare standards, farmers are encouraged – financially – to sign up to special federal schemes. In 2015, over three-quarters of Swiss farm animals took part in the so-called [URL='https://www.blw.admin.ch/blw/de/home/instrumente/direktzahlungen/produktionssystembeitraege/tierwohlbeitraege.html']“Regular Time in the Open Air for Farm Animals” (RAUS) programmeExternal link[/URL] and over half in the “Particularly Animal-Friendly Stable Systems” (BTS) Programme. Pro Viande says around 91% of Swiss chickens conform to the BTS standards, which offer raised places to sleep and access to protected areas outdoors at all times of the day. It claims that 81.2% of cattle regularly had time in the open air in 2015. [URL='https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swissinfo-ch-newsletter_newsletter-subscription/42152624?utm_content=o&utm_campaign=own-posts&utm_medium=display&utm_source=swissinfoch'][SIZE=5][B]Newsletter[/B][/SIZE] Sign up for our free newsletters and get the top stories delivered to your inbox. [/URL] Feed is also closely controlled as is how livestock are transported: cattle eat mainly grass and hay, and much of the fodder for pork comes from by-products of human consumption, while animals cannot be on the road in a trailer longer than six hours, compared to 24 hours in the EU. These strict environmental and animal welfare standards have a direct influence on the health of animals and quality of Swiss meat, say experts, but they also come at a price. “We are much more expensive than our neighbours due to the salaries, but the quality of meat is different, and this is tied to how the animals are treated,” explains Elias Welti, head of communication at the [URL='https://www.carnasuisse.ch/fr/']Swiss Meat UnionExternal link[/URL], the leading butchers' association. Welti says the numerous Swiss regulations result in higher staffing and infrastructure costs. As one example, he cites directives setting out the amount of space that must be afforded each animal to move about, lie or feed. Swiss law, he argues, is much more animal friendly in this regard than other countries, and this too influences prices. [URL='https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/the-case-for-a-high-tech-pandemic-surveillance-and-response-scheme/46631660?utm_content=o&utm_campaign=own-posts&utm_medium=display&utm_source=swissinfoch'][IMG alt="Amandeep Gill, Peiling Yap & Mehdi Snène"]https://www.swissinfo.ch/resource/image/46630378/portrait_ratio1x1/180/180/2aab82c45bdaaab8700ea686f67b49e1/760B8FB3A08FC29D90B81D242196DA92/op_graduate_institute.png[/IMG] [SIZE=5][B]The case for a high-tech pandemic surveillance and response scheme[/B][/SIZE] This content was published on May 20, 2021May 20, 2021 Science should be at the core of a reform of pandemic surveillance and response systems, researchers at the Graduate Institute Geneva argue. [/URL] “Rules have to be respected and monitored - in contrast to other countries with regulations that only exist on paper,” Hagenbuch adds. [SIZE=6][B]Meat consumption Blame the system[/B][/SIZE] Barbara Pfenniger, a food specialist at the [URL='https://www.frc.ch/']Federation of French-speaking Consumers (FRC)External link[/URL], agrees, even if she says the mandatory Swiss farm standards don’t differ greatly from neighbouring countries. “Here we have a system of direct subsidies which encourages farmers to do more than the legal minimum.” In practice, a farmer is paid more if he gives his cattle time in the fresh air. Pfenniger says this should be seen as an investment in healthier livestock but it can also result in higher prices since producers can charge more for the meat from such animals. But Pfenniger says regulations and incentives and how farmers’ implement and interpret them are not the only reasons Swiss meat is 142% more expensive than the global average [/QUOTE]
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