Veal sausage, cervelas, Vienna sausage or minced meat: at Zurich Zoo, the meat products offered to visitors will now contain up to a quarter of protein from organic peas. The announcement, made last month, caused a lot of talk on the banks of the Limmat. The zoo explained that this measure should reduce greenhouse gas emissions for these products by around 20%, or 90 tonnes per year.
Except that at the same time, on its website, the zoo is promoting a 24-day luxury trip to Antarctica in January 2027. It starts with a long-haul flight to Buenos Aires, then takes place aboard an expedition ship to visit one of the world’s most threatened by climate change.
Up to 1700 tonnes of CO emitted
The CO emissions for the entire journey, calculated by 20 Minutes, amount to between 1200 and 1700 tonnes of CO. Per person, this represents approximately 6 to 9 tonnes. However, if we want to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, in accordance with the Paris Agreements, each individual should limit their annual footprint to 2.3 tonnes of CO.
52,000 francs for a suite on the ship
The trip is accompanied by the zoo director, Severin Dressen, and the CEO of the travel agency Globetrotter, André Lüthi. The cheapest ticket costs 26,670 francs, while the Grand Suite costs 52,190 francs.
An amount of 1,000 francs per person is donated to the nature conservation organization Antarctic Research Trust (ART), supported by Zurich Zoo.
Antarctica must inspire
When questioned, the zoo denies any contradiction between its sustainability objectives and the organization of this trip to Antarctica. Its objective is to raise participants’ awareness of a threatened habitat and to enthuse them for its protection, explains its spokesperson, Dominik Ryser. “The greatest emotions are born when you have experienced something yourself.” The zoo hopes that the participants of the trip will then commit to the environmental cause in the long term.
Same story with Benno Lüthi. The founder of ART vigorously defends travel to Antarctica. He says these expeditions help fund research and create ambassadors. “I have people who were there 20 years ago… These people are still making significant donations today.”
What do you think of Zurich Zoo’s Antarctica trip?
(dbr)
Daniel Krähenbühl is the chef of the “Zurich” section of 20 Minuten.
