Sustainability aspects of milk production in Sweden

Abstract

Resource use efficiency and economic initiatives point towards using less human‐edible input in ruminant food production. This could also promote the nutrient‐rich dairy products to consumers in comparison with alternative plant‐based drinks. The global population is growing and food production will need to increase to feed more people in the future. The Swedish government has launched a national food strategy, which aims to move Swedish food production towards self‐sufficiency and sustainability, and greater exports. Simultaneously, strong economic development has stimulated consumers to request more high‐value foods, such as meat and refined dairy products. At the same time, public opinion states that today's food production from ruminants is negative for the environment and contributes to climate change. This review assesses some aspects of dietary ingredient composition and feeding choices that can contribute to making Swedish dairy production more sustainable. Efficient dietary methane mitigating strategies can decrease emissions of greenhouse gases in line with European Union targets and avoid major changes in dietary consumption patterns of meat and milk from ruminants. Although feeding management seems to be the most important approach to decrease nitrogen losses, rational use of fertilizers and improved manure management practices on dairy farms should also be considered to decrease the impact of nitrogen losses to the environment.

No Cow? Understanding US Consumer Preferences for Plant-Based over Regular Milk-Based Products

“…Plant-based milk and dairy alternatives are often advertised as being more environmentally friendly product options compared to milk-based products, as dairy production is associated with adverse effects on the environment [12,29]. These include soil degradation, greenhouse emissions, water pollution, and diminishing biodiversity [30,31]. As these issues are of concern for ethically and climate-conscious consumers who have been demanding movement towards more environmentally friendly food options and transparency concerning food production [12], retailers are selling food and beverages with sustainability certification and environmental product declarations [32,33].…”

Information provision and preferences for more sustainable dairy farming: Choice experimental evidence from Sweden

“…Dairy production in Europe is currently faced with profound sustainability challenges, which are of significant policy interest (Balaine et al, 2023;von Greyerz et al, 2023). In particular, there is an increasing awareness and concern about the severe environmental impacts of dairy production, including loss of biodiversity and emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) associated with feed production and enteric fermentation in cows (Krizsan et al, 2021;Lindberg et al, 2021). There are also considerable social sustainability concerns in dairy production, for example, public concerns about animal welfare (Humble et al, 2021), and economic sustainability concerns, for example, low-profit margins at farms (Segerkvist et al, 2020).…”

“…A growing body of research has identified livestock feeding systems that are centered on substituting human inedible feeds such as grasses and byproducts for feeds based on human edibles such as cereal and legume grains as one of the potential supply-side sustainability improvement strategies (Krizsan et al, 2021;Lindberg et al, 2021). Notably, dairy cows can convert forage into nutrient-rich foods for humans and marginal lands unsuitable for producing foods for humans can be used for forage production (Patel et al, 2017;von Greyerz et al, 2023).…”

Effects of early herbage cutting and vine leaves on methane emission, urine nitrogen losses, and the milk fatty acid profile of dairy cows

“…Governments and consumers are increasingly interested in sustainable dairy production and are more willing to pay a premium for locally produced milk and milk products (Nam et al, 2020;Peira et al, 2020). Grasslands make up over 40% of the earth's surface (excluding Greenland and Antarctica; White et al, 2000), and dairy cows can sustain a large part of milk production on high-quality, herbage-based feeds (Krizsan et al, 2021). Generating dairy cow feeds from natural grasslands that are not suitable for crop production eliminates the competition between animal feed and human food production.…”