Managing Director
Swiss Food & Nutrition Valley
The COVID 19 crisis, and more recently the war in Ukraine, have challenged us to think about globalization, highlighting the flow of materials and services, and our degree of interaction and even dependence in many essential sectors, including food. Since then, food-related issues have taken center stage, with talk of security of supply, food dependency and sovereignty. How do you see the stakes?
Unfortunately it’s now the new norm for our food system to face geopolitical challenges. Companies and governments alike need to develop new strategies for securing food supplies. Climate change is also having an impact on agriculture, leading to failed harvests due to droughts, flooding, jailstorms, pests and plant diseases. When we consider the extent to which our soil is degraded and the fact that Earth’s population continues to grow, it’s clear we need to have a game plan and prioritize building resilient and sustainable food systems.
What is the situation in Switzerland in terms of dependence on imports?
Now is a good time to put strengthening domestic food production capabilities to enhance Switzerland’s food security and resilience to external shocks high on the agenda. Switzerland needs to diversify how it sources its imports, invest in resilient supply chains, promote sustainable agricultural practices domestically and abroad, and engage in diplomatic efforts to address geopolitical tensions that could impact food trade.
What are your projections for the coming years?
Today we still have a window of opportunity to transform our food systems. The signals are clear – but yet the world is moving too slow. I sometimes wonder how bad it needs to get before we really go into action. These shockwaves of food insecurity will keep rolling in. The best case scenario? The food system will become more agile in adapting to shocks with the help from technologies and new products. The worst case scenario? Some countries will pay a high price for our inaction. Will we go to war over food and water? I hope not. It is up to the global food system including governments,
How can we guard against vulnerability to food crises?
We can take preventive action and develop future-proof foods and food systems which have lower carbon footprints, use less water, have better nutritional profiles, higher affordability, and scale approaches that help to regenerate our soil.
Then we can aim to anticipate future needs more efficiently by, for example, developing more drought-resilient crops and scaling cultivated food production. Making a shift towards more plant-based diets would also ensure that there will be more food available globally.
Is climate change a growing threat to food security in Switzerland? How can we respond?
Switzerland is already witnessing an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as floods, storms, hailstorms and heatwaves/droughts caused by climate change. The agricultural sector will need to adapt to reflect this new reality – new snowmelt patterns, shifts in vegetation zones, and increased risk of natural hazards. A couple of years back, hail storms ruined a lot of farmers harvest, leading to the highest insurance payout in history.These changes are already disrupting traditional farming practices. We need to invest in research and development to tackle these challenges as effectively as possible.
Faced with the threat of a global food crisis, Syngenta CEO Erik Fyrwald denounced the lower yields of organic farming and called for increased agricultural production. A pragmatic response to global challenges?
I see this differently. Erik is referring to 100 mio hectares globally out of 5 billion hectares of farmland (i.e. 2%), which is farmed for human and planetary health. I think the answer lies elsewhere. If we combine global grazing land with the amount of cropland used for animal feed, 80% of agricultural land is used for animal feed/production. Only 16% is used to grow food to nourish humans, as 4% is grown for non-food products. Yet this 80% of farmland contributes to only 17% of global calories. Organic farming still makes up a small percentage (2%) of global farmland and treads more lightly on our planet. Shifting towards more plant-based diets could make a much more significant contribution. And further I believe we should talk about regenerative farming.
Meat and vegetarian substitutes: the whim of a high-income population or a solution to the challenges of sustainability?
In Switzerland, as in the other developed countries, meat analogues are a part of the journey toward sustainable diets. But not the only solutions. Eating smaller portions of meat, and better meat, chefs and consumers learning to cook great tasting vegetarian dishes or even using more veggies and less meat in a stew are all important steps in the right direction. We don’t have to change the way we eat overnight. I believe that cultivated or cell-based foods will, in the long term, become a possible solution for low- and middle-income countries and play a key role in feeding the world. It’s important to find solutions that work for the whole world.
Food Waste, how do we go about reducing it?
Food waste reduction is seen as one of the two most impactful actions when it comes to driving sustainable food systems in developed nations. The other is reducing red meat consumption. Swiss people love nature and leaving only footprints. We also like to follow rules and have order. But when it comes to food waste, we’re the ‘black sheep of Europe’ with an estimated 330 kg/year per capita food waste against a European average of just 180kg/year. Countries like Norway, Denmark, and France have successfully focused on reducing food waste and have now reached an average of around 100 kg/year per capita. Their successes are based on an ecosystem-led approach – from new governmental policies and industry commitments to private initiatives and educating the general public about the importance of the issue.
In this context, what role do you see for SATW and, more generally, for academies?
I see the food transformation happening in 3 steps. First we need to identify the challenges. Then we need to develop the solutions. Finally – and most importantly – we need to scale the most effective solutions to maximize our impact.
Step one is typically led by colleagues in academia. Solutions are often developed when companies or entrepreneurs draw on and apply academic knowledge to create new solutions. Then, together with the government and all other stakeholders, they need to find ways to scale their work. We need to get better at talking to each other. This is the only way we can be sure that we’re looking at the right problems and driving the right solutions that are truly scalable.
In other words: innovation needs to make it out of the labs. But here, I think we’re already on the right track.