This report from the Nordic Council of Ministers assesses two future food scenarios for the Nordic countries on the basis of nutrition and environmental impacts.
In the first scenario, ruminants are used only to graze semi-natural pastures, while monogastric animals (poultry, pigs and farmed fish) were used only where they could be fed with food byproducts.
In the second scenario, ruminants are also fed with some feed crops grown in organic rotation, and monogastrics have their diet supplemented with feed crops grown on arable land.
The second scenario can feed more people (37 million) than the first (31 million). Both scenarios require a significant decrease in meat consumption compared to current levels (by 90% and 81%, respectively). The report assesses both scenarios in terms of nutrition, land use, climate change, eutrophication and acidification.
Find the full report here and watch a video summary here. One of the authors, Elin Röös, is an FCRN member. There are a number of items in the FCRN library which explore this report’s approach further, including:
- If farm animals only graze pastures and eat by-products – livestock problem solved?
- Protein futures for Western Europe: potential land use and climate impacts in 2050
- Greedy or needy? Land use and climate impacts of food in 2050 under different livestock futures.
See also the Foodsource resource What is a healthy sustainable eating pattern?
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