Sustainable blueprint demands ‘less meat and living space’

Swiss diners should be encouraged to change their eating habits, scientists recommend. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

The Swiss should consume less meat and live in smaller apartments to sustainably accommodate a growing population, a science research body has recommended.

The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) unveiled its blueprint for sustainable living on Tuesday to promote a resource-efficient economy of the future.

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Switching to a more plant-based diet could reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture by 36%. The SNSF recommends focusing farming subsidies on ecological projects.

The study also suggested a rethink on housing to reduce the size of homes. In 1990 the average living space per person was 38 square metres compared to 51 square metres today.

The SNSF believes greater effort should be concentrated on renovating older buildings than constructing new homes.

“We could easily accommodate ten million people with the current housing stock,” said Philipp Thalmann from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL).

Although Switzerland is improving its record of recycling, the SNSF pointed out that only 8.6% of all resources worldwide are re-used.

The transition to a sustainable economy should be managed by a combination of regulation, taxes and behavioural incentives, the study said.

The SNSF “NRP 73” study was given a CHF20 million ($18 million) grant in 2016 and conducted 29 research projects to reach its conclusions.

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