Leaflet against "vegetable factory" from an anonymous IG

The "IG pro Reussebene" is campaigning against the planned rezoning in Drälikon, Hünenberg, which will be put to the vote on 9 June. Fruit grower Jonas Boog is "irritated and disappointed".

Around a week ago, a flyer reached many households in Hünenberg. On it, "No to a vegetable factory" is written in large letters. This refers to the upcoming vote on the "Buuregarte" special agricultural zone on 9 June. The Drälikon area is to be rezoned in order to create a legal basis for the form of production used by the Boog family, who grow fruit and vegetables there.

This is necessary because around half of the production takes place in substrate, i.e., not in the soil. In 2013, the Federal Supreme Court ruled that horticultural and vegetable growing operations in the agricultural zone will only be zone-compliant if they produce predominantly in soil.

The flyer was produced by the ‘IG pro Reussebene’ (interest group for the Reuss plain). But its members remain in the shadows, and nobody has responded to an e-mail enquiry from the Zuger Zeitung newspaper. The flyer states that an "industrial plant" being built in the Reuss plain means "an ugly intrusion into nature, massive additional lorry traffic, night-time light pollution and additional foreign harvest workers".

The Boog family grows fruit and vegetables under these foil tunnels     Photo: Matthias Jurt
The front of the flyer                      Photo: Rahel Hug

The anonymous flyer has caused a stir in Hünenberg. In a joint letter to the editor, all the presidents of the local political parties condemn the IG's actions. The flyer contains "tendentious untruths". At the municipal information event, head of construction Thomas Anderegg "explicitly stated that all processes that correspond to a factory are not permitted in the planned special zone".

Claims "far-fetched"
For the Boog family, the vote is about the existence of their business, and they are accordingly campaigning for a Yes vote on 9 June. The Boogs recently organised an open day on their farm. And they are drawing attention to the issue with posters, for example with the slogan "Yes! To Hünenberg strawberries".

In response to anonymous criticism of the special agricultural zone, Jonas Boog said: "We are irritated and disappointed." The authors, who are also unknown to him, could have approached him directly at any time, or could have informed themselves at the municipality's orientation meeting.

The claims on the flyer are "far-fetched", he adds. The new zone will not lead to an increase in harvest workers or lorry journeys. There are some greenhouses that are illuminated, but this is not the case on his farm, and is not planned for the future.