Possible climate benefits
  • Replacing rice with food oats reduces the climate impact as rice is grown in water where the powerful greenhouse gas methane gas is formed.
  • Switching dairy products to oat-based plants causes less climate impact, as production of animals generates greater greenhouse gas emissions.
Environmental impact
  • Through milk production there are animals that can graze the natural pastures that are important for biodiversity. Today, milk production is contributing to their grazing. Without grazing animals, biodiversity deteriorates.
Challenges for agriculture
  • If oat crops increase as a result of rising consumption, cultivation needs to take place in sustainable production systems.
  • The use of pesticides must be minimized.
  • Crops need to be varied so that the same is not grown year after year.
  • If milk production decreases, other animals need to graze the ground. These can be cows where the cow is not milked but the calf remains with the cow, sheep or horses.
  • In order to steer agriculture in a direction where climate and environmental impacts are reduced, the agricultural support system needs to be redone.

Source: Elin Röös, researcher on the environmental impact of food, Swedish University of Agriculture