Swiss Review 3/2020

Swiss Review / June 2020 / No.3 17 Report MIREILLE GUGGENBÜHLER It is a quiet day atMetzgerei Zihlmann here in the middle of Escholzmatt in the canton of Lucerne. Footfall is low, so the shop assistant is cleaning be- hind the counter. The copiously filled vitrine is brimming with meat: sau- sages and dried meat made by the butcher himself, not tomention diced meat, roasting meat and all sorts of schnitzels and skewered meat. Patrick Zihlmann has had to impro- vise since the coronavirus outbreak. “Ninety per cent of our meat is pro- duced in the region or in Switzerland,” he says. Zihlmann now offers a home delivery service for people in the vi- cinity who can no longer shop in the village because of the lockdown. Luckily, the butcher is used to playing things by ear. From special bratwursts to other made-to-order delicacies, he can fulfil almost every wish. This is because Zihlmann and a colleague from the neighbouring vil- lage of Marbach run their own slaugh- terhouse. The two of them also know all the cattle dealers personally. “Flex- ibility is our advantage over the big players,” says Zihlmann. The number of butcher’s shops in Switzerland is in decline, so such an arrangement is unusual. There is a The village where every cow has a name No other place in Switzerland has more resident cows than Escholzmatt-Marbach. Farmers in this meat production stronghold believe they have nothing to fear from the growing market for meat alternatives. Higher, further, faster, more beauti- ful? In search of the somewhat different Swiss records. Today: The Swiss mu- nicipality with the big- gest cow population. e trem Schweiz