Grazing animals are needed for the growth of vegetables

Are you fortunate enough to pass by pastures on your runs? They are particularly scenic now in May, full of spring flowers. But did you know that these fields and the Swedish, grazing animals are also important for biodiversity?

On our Swedish meadows and natural pastures, the animals are an absolute necessity for the ecosystem to function. The animals' stomping, grazing and fertilization have a great impact on the biodiversity on the pastures and meadows. Horses, sheep and cows all have different ways of stomping and grazing and are thus all needed in order to generate as much biodiversity as possible. A higher biodiversity gives more butterflies, other pollinators and birds. On a meadow there can be up to 60 flowering plants per square meter and in a natural pasture up to 40 per square meter. This is just as biodiverse as a rainforest!

The more biodiverse an area is, the more resilient its ecosystem becomes to be able to adapt to new conditions such as increased drought or cold. This is nature works. A great biodiversity also means that many species can be food for insects. And a great supply of insects is an asset for pollination. Biodiversity simply means that someone can always step in when needed.

If the diversity of plants decreases, there will be less food for different insects, which will then also become less numerous. Then there will also be fewer insects to pollinate our crops, such as rapeseed, clover, peas, beans, apples, strawberries, etc. In the end, fewer pollinators provide less food for us humans. Unfortunately, the biggest threat to biodiversity in Sweden is overgrowth of the important natural pastures and meadows - a result of the lack of grazing animals. You can make a difference by choosing Swedish meat next time you shop, so that you can continue to enjoy beautiful meadows and natural pastures on your run.



Read more about biodiversity here>