organic food in switzerland2 min read

in the early 90’s when i moved back to switzerland from california i noticed a big difference between the respective organic (bio) food scenes.
while in california eating organic was almost all about health, here in switzerland it was almost exclusively about fair trade and ecology, and to a lesser extent about supporting a more localised economy (think global, act local). in other words things motivations were much more political in switzerland. i remember thinking, that it would make sense, if both these advantages were equally valued. organic (bio) food is ofc both healthier for the consumer AND better for the environement.

10 years later much has changed in swiss “bio”. i can now find an organic food section in almost any big supermarket (coop, migros). sadly this mostly means, that i can now buy organic cherry tomatoes all year long; the old dictums long forgotten. organic food no longer is seasonal food and was probably shipped here over half a continent or more.

but things really hit home when i watched 5gegen5 the other day (yep i still do watch this crap). in this silly, yet captivating game show – contestants have to guess what was answered most – 100 swiss were asked what the advantages of organic food were. my first guess (“its good for the environment”) got no mention. all answers had to do with it being healthier and better for you.

this development kind of scares me. it turns this organic food thing into a fad, a commodity. right now people are willing to invest money into organic food, because they seem to think its healthier. but maybe soon people will come to believe, that its better to eat poisonous food in order to build up their resistances … i dunno. it’s possible. it just makes for a frickle foundation, if people only buy organic because of individual reasons.

6 Replies to “organic food in switzerland2 min read

  1. Most people in Australia are aware that organic food is better for the environment as organic farming is more sustainable and that organic food is healthier. Some hold the view that organic farming is not viable to feed everyone in the world there is just not enough land available. There is enough land but we need to figure out a way to make some of it fertile again. The technology exists. It seems like the powers that be are scaring everyone again or lulling people into a false sense of security about the overprocessed, chemically laden, nutritionally empty ‘food’ available in most supermarkets. It’s also still more expensive (2-3x) to buy organic here in Oz. Is it the same situation in Switzerland?

  2. yes, sadly the price for organic food is also very high here in switzerland. it got a little better since the big supermarket chains also offer “organic” food. sadly i say, because of course now, in times of economic instability, people will think twice, if they are willing to spend that much more for food.

  3. I totally agree. It’s completely insane, ecology-wise, to ship summer veg from somewhere far away and give people the (false) feeling of being ecology-minded just because it’s organic. But yeah, maybe it’s just their lack of knowledge, none of them supermarkets tells them exactly what organic is, right?
    I don’t think any of them organic beef eaters knows about the water intensity of their steak, or something. Yet they’re under the impression of being superecofriendly and actually helping the enviroment by consuming the “right” meat. It’s a bit mental, really.

  4. very true, it seems to me, that most of these types of products serve mostly to help people with their the bad conscience, to make them feel like they are doing something good. but do they?

    so i read your comment, then went to the kitchen to fix a salad, organic cucumber … imported from maroc. ffs.

  5. To put an interesting spin on this, I am actually considering moving to Switzerland from the UK, and one major reason to avoid the EU assault on alternative health, natural cures and organic food. Switzerland is in the WTO so will no doubt be targeted at some point by Codex Alimentarius, but perhaps will resist for a lot longer.
    I consider organic food to just be the obvious way that food should be grown, clearly better for health as well as environment, local economy etc. It’s self-evident.
    How is the locally sourced organic food sold other than supermarkets? Is there, for instance, farmers markets, local organic shops etc? Also what is the access to herbal/vitamin supplements like?
    Thanks

  6. well. i can only speak for where i live. here in bern we have a bunch of pretty great neighborhood organic stores. we also had a fantastic all organic supermarket right smack in the middle of the city. sadly it has to close shop next month, and mostly because they can’t compete with the big supermarket chains going organic in their strange way. the supermarkets of course don’t care much about local. the farmers market every tuesday and saturday is fantastic in bern, the best in all of switzerland. other cities are trying to rebuild their farmers markets, here in bern it never stopped. i cant speak about herbal/vitamins, but a type of shop called “reformhaus” carries lots of them. also quite a few pharmacies specialize on carrying alternative medicines. i hope this helped. else feel free to contact me via email.

Leave a Reply to j. zup[ping]er Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.