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Agriculture and agricultural policy between security of supply and ecological sustainability: convictions, interests and arguments

At a glance

  • Project leader : Dr. Priska Baur
  • Project status : completed
  • Funding partner : Federal government (Bundesamt für Umwelt BAFU)

Description

This study is based on the observation that discussions about agriculture and the "right" agricultural policy in Switzerland are highly polarised. Different economic and political interests alone are not enough to understand the intensity of an often emotional debate. There are several approaches to explaining why agricultural issues have such a high resonance, why agriculture is so important to society and why almost everyone has an opinion on agriculture. One important reason is undoubtedly that it is about the basic need for food and that food affects us all. But agriculture can also be used as a projection surface for different worldviews and thus shape the perceptions of the farm sector and the design of agricultural policy. The aim of the study is to shed light on the backgrounds and values that shape the debate on agriculture and agricultural policy and, building on this, to discuss the chances of implementing ecologically relevant (agricultural) policies.