Swiss Review 2/2018

3 Swiss Review / March 2018 / No.2 Wine from Australia, fruit from the Caribbean and meat from Argentina – it is not so long ago that peo- ple thought the further a product travelled, the better it was. The world was becoming ever more intercon- nected, and therewas an element of modernity about consuming exotic foreign products. It was as if people did not want to miss out on the opportunities and ab- surdities of globalisation in their everyday lives. Today, the opposite seems to be true – the nearer a product is made, the bet- ter. There has been a sustainable improvement in awareness of “integrity of origin” and local products over the past ten years. It is not just a question of environmental protection.What is the ecological footprint of a bottle of wine that has flown halfway around the world? It is also down to people taking an interest in their immediate surroundings and, ultimately, perhaps even showing greater awareness of their own origins. This trend has ledmany Swiss food producers to shift to local specialities. They are typified by regional cheese, bread and wine. There is huge demand for varieties of apple fromthe local area and if themeat at the butcher’s comes from the neighbouring village, consumers are willing to pay a bit extra. This trend has also encompassed beer. Instead of drinking foreign or na- tional beers, the Swiss are increasingly opting for small regional brands. The number of local breweries has risen to over 900. This boom is also partly at- tributable to the collapse of the large beer cartel in 1991, a subject explored by this issue’s focus article. But the extent to which appreciation of regional products – including beer – has increased in Switzerland over the last dec- ade is astonishing and pleasing in equal measure. MARKO LEHTINEN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Editorial Contents Buying local Cover photo: Local beer is enjoying growing popularity in Switzerland. Image: iStock 5 Mailbag 6 Focus Boom in regional brewing 10 Politics Referendums on 10 June Swiss aid in Libya Controversy over CHF 1 million cohe- sion contribution 16 Economy Esoro’s hydrogen-powered truck News from around the world 17 Literature series A Swiss writer in the jungle of south-east Asia 18 Society Fritz Osterwalder and the protests of 1968 – 50 years on Albinen seeking new residents 22 OSA news 25 news.admin.ch 28 Images 30 Books / Sounds 31 Top pick / News