In recent years there has been a lot of talk that we need to eat less meat and many vegetarians have been in the media with strong statements. Dairy farmer Anette Gustawson has had enough. “Here on the farm we have dairy cows and lambs. They are herbivores. We often hear talk of parents working to ensure that vegan food is the only alternative for food in schools, partly because of the climate and the environment. It makes me both tired and worried,” writes Anette. We need more grazing animals Furthermore, Anette believes that we depend on more grazing animals, not fewer. She believes that it is right that we should eat more greens, but that we should also focus on choosing short-travel food when we choose meat.
«We need animals for many different reasons. Above all, that they should graze on the fields where we cannot produce other food. They transform the grass into meat and milk in their whimsical way. Pastures are important in an ecosystem, which means that we must be better prepared for various climate changes, because those changes come regardless of whether we have animals or not. It is good that you increase the production of protein plants. But it is important to know that protein crops cannot be grown so often in the same field, they require a long growing season. During a dry year like this, very few crops have been generated especially with food. Here on the farm, the prayers yielded hardly anything. »
We farmers know what is needed “We must take care of the earth that we have inherited and that we must manage. Careful animal husbandry is then a prerequisite. Above all, what we must do less of is importing meat. We must shape a fruitful way of living. Then the animals form an incredibly important piece of the puzzle. I see a great need to inform about this as many people have little knowledge of how food is grown. We farmers know, but also want to develop. It is an uncertain time ahead, but I am absolutely sure of one thing: the animals are our most important piece of the puzzle,” says Anette.
