You have probably already heard the argument many times before: that you should eat fewer animal products, especially meat. I changed my diet two years ago, as chronicled in this series , and now I only eat meat once or twice a month. I was very surprised when the Swiss government started to promote diets containing less meat to reduce carbon emissions and achieve its climate goals by 2050.
This was coming from a country known for its state-subsidised External link cows and where many farmers sit in parliament and defend the strong Swiss tradition of meat and milk products. Check out our selection of newsletters. Subscribe here .
But Switzerland’s climate strategy External link clearly states that meat consumption is “still too high”. This is true. The meat available in Switzerland (more than 50kg per person per year) is lower than in France, Spain and Germany but still around twice External link the global average.
But the government’s strategy lacks specific measures to convince people to eat less meat and consume more plant-based products, say experts. “Without consumer participation, this strategy is just a piece of paper,” says Michael Siegrist, a professor at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich. Siegrist, who has been studying consumer behaviour for almost 20 years, knows that it is very difficult for people to voluntarily change their eating habits.
“If people don’t see an incentive, they won’t do it,” he says. Meat substitutes remain a nich.