Contribution of High Nature Value farming systems to sustainable livestock production: A case from Finland

Torres-Miralles, M.; Särkelä, K.; Koppelmäki, Kari; Lamminen, Marjukka; Tuomisto, Hanna L.; Herzon, Irina

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156267

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…They provide important functions in terms of tree regeneration 34 , seed dispersal or pollinator facilitation 35 while achieving higher productivity than sedentarized systems 36,37 , yet they constitute a dwindling system due to inadequate policy and legistation 38 . Conversely, the current trend towards intensification of livestock production in high-income countries 39 that rural development policies in low-income countries also aim for 40 , results in undergrazed landscapes that are prone to biodiversity loss and to wildfires 41 , as well as in severe impacts related to high livestock densities in intensified farms 42 . In a telecoupled global livestock production system 43 , the current abundance or distribution pattern of livestock tells hence little about the ecological role that the global livestock herd is currently having.…”

Section: Policy Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Underrated past herbivore densities could lead to misoriented sustainability policies

et al. 2023

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Knowing the carrying capacity of the Earth’s grazed ecosystems, and the relevance of herbivory, is important for many scientific disciplines, as well as for policy. Current herbivore levels are estimated to be four to five times larger than at the Pleistocene–Holocene transition or the start of the industrial revolution. While this estimate can lead the general public and the scientific community to predict severe, widespread environmental impacts by livestock in terms of deforestation, biodiversity loss, and climate change, it ignores the inherent uncertainty of such calculations. We revise the evidence published during the last decade regarding Late Pleistocene herbivore abundance, along with contemporary and some pre-industrial data on herbivore density in grazed ecosystems. Both Late Pleistocene and pre-industrial herbivore levels are likely to be consistently higher than what has generally been assumed, confirming increasing awareness on the importance of herbivory as a widespread ecological process. We therefore call for more refined research in this field to have the reliable baselines currently demanded by society and policy. These baselines should orient sound action toward policies on biodiversity conservation, ecosystem restoration, food systems, and climate change.

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Section: Policy Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Underrated past herbivore densities could lead to misoriented sustainability policies

et al. 2023

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“…In Denmark, there is also too little grazing of extensive and semi-natural pastures resulting in declining biodiversity due to non-profitable schemes to support grazing ( 103 ). These pastures are examples of agricultural systems where human interference is crucial for maintaining a high level of biodiversity – in this case, keeping grazing animals on high-nature value grasslands ( 104 ). If these lands are abandoned or planted with forest, numerous species will be threatened.…”

Section: The Nordics Evaluated Through the Lens Of Fao/whos Guiding P...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges and opportunities when moving food production and consumption toward sustainable diets in the Nordics: a scoping review for Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023

Meltzer,

Eneroth,

Erkkola

et al. 2024

Food & Nutrition Research

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The terms ‘Nordic countries’ or ‘The Nordics’ include the five countries Denmark, Finland, Island, Norway, and Sweden. This review includes evaluation of the Nordic countries against Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO)/World Health Organizations’ (WHO) guiding principles for healthy, sustainable diets with respect to environmental impact (principles #9 – #13) and sociocultural aspects (principles #14 – #16). A food systems perspective is taken to summarize and discuss the most important challenges and opportunities for achieving sustainable diets. Food system, food security, self-sufficiency, and resilience perspectives are applied. The information can underpin decisions when developing and implementing Food Based Dietary Guidelines (FBDG) in the Nordics. None of the Nordic countries are on track to reach the 2030 UN climate and biodiversity goals. We describe how food production, processing, and consumption contribute to these and other environmental challenges, and what kinds of dietary changes/transitions consistent with these goals are required. A major challenge is the high production and consumption of meat and too low consumption of fish, vegetables, and fruits. Meat production is a major source of emissions and, together with farmed fish, heavily dependent on imported feed ingredients, leaving a large land-use and water footprint in exporting countries while domestic land resources are not used optimally. Dietary patterns have changed drastically over the past 50 years, and in large parts of the population, meat consumption has doubled since the 1970s, rendering historic food culture less useful as a basis for present-day recommendations. The Nordics have Europe’s lowest use of antibiotics in animal and fish production and have made some progress in reducing food waste along the food chain. A major opportunity is better alignment of food production and consumption based on local or regional production potentials, in conjunction with better and more constructive integration with the global food system while integrating novel technologies to reduce emissions and resource use.

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“…However, soil carbon stocks are generally not included in such assessments due to a lack of data and methodological limitations. 268 The differences between the environmental impacts of intensive and extensive (and broadly conventional vs organic) production occur mostly due to a higher allocation of land (or area) and a longer lifetime of the animal under extensive methods due to a reduced productivity from a lower macronutrient density and digestibility of feed. 269 Regardless of subsequent production methods, if initial land clearance for production displaces a native or pristine ecosystem such as primary forest, the impacts of such land use change could be substantial at least in terms of GHGs.…”

Section: Global Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental sustainability of food production and consumption in the Nordic and Baltic region - a scoping review for Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023

Harwatt,

Benton,

Bengtsson

et al. 2024

fnr

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In Press/Preprint This article has been accepted for publication and undergone full peer review. It is currently undergoing copyediting and typesetting. Although final publication galleys will be added at a later stage, the article is fully citable using the DOI number. This scoping review examines environmental impacts related to food production and consumption in Nordic and Baltic countries. The overarching advice to all Nordic and Baltic countries, in line with the current body of scientific literature, is to shift to a more plant based dietary pattern and avoid food waste. Taking into account current consumption patterns, there is a high potential and necessity to shift food consumption across the countries to minimize its environmental impact. More specifically, a substantial reduction in meat and dairy consumption and increased consumption of legumes/pulses, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds is suggested as a priority intervention. Reducing the environmental impacts of seafoods is also key and suggestions include a shift to seafoods with lower environmental impacts such as seaweed and bivalves. As part of the suggested transition to a more plant-based diet, the scope for increasing the provision of plant-based foods through increasing the cultivation of legumes/pulses, vegetables and grains and through feed-to-food shifts within the region should be explored.

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Contribution of High Nature Value farming systems to sustainable livestock production: A case from Finland

Cited by 10 publications

References 67 publications

Underrated past herbivore densities could lead to misoriented sustainability policies

Underrated past herbivore densities could lead to misoriented sustainability policies

Challenges and opportunities when moving food production and consumption toward sustainable diets in the Nordics: a scoping review for Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023

Environmental sustainability of food production and consumption in the Nordic and Baltic region - a scoping review for Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023

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