Potential environmental benefits of enforcing best available technology in the Swedish dairy cattle systems

Abstract

Animal-based food production places significant strain on environmental resources, yet much of its mitigation potential remains untapped. Sweden's Environmental Code (1999) mandates resource efficiency and waste minimization, but its application to reduce on-farm losses in agriculture has not been fully explored. This study examines the potential environmental impact of targeting animal losses through the enforcement of the Environmental Code on Swedish cattle farms.

Using data from 4222 dairy cattle farms, we demonstrate that reducing losses on farms exceeding the median loss rate could lead to 2800 t of additional meat reaching the food supply chain annually (34 % reduction in losses), decrease the CO₂e associated with meat losses by 52,000 t, and recover €15 million in revenue losses. While these reductions represent a small fraction of Sweden's total agricultural emissions, the study suggests the potential could be even greater if applied to all livestock farms nationwide.

Importantly, Sweden's Environmental Code aligns with EU legislation, making these findings highly relevant not only for Sweden but also for other EU countries with similar regulatory frameworks.