On Monday morning, Greenpeace protested at the headquarters of the Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF) because LRF wants to ease the grazing requirement for dairy cows in loose-housing barns.
Activists protested inside the lobby of LRF’s headquarters in Stockholm, as well as outside on the street. The police were called, and by 11 o’clock, the activists had been removed.
In their own words, Greenpeace was protesting against LRF, the government, and large dairy companies’ attempts to abolish the grazing requirement, which is the legal right of Swedish dairy cows to graze outdoors in the summer. Greenpeace argues that grazing is essential for the well-being of the cows and their contribution to open landscapes and biodiversity.
The purpose with the action was to raise public awareness ahead of the investigation into food and animal welfare that is to be submitted to the government by the end of June. This investigation includes a review of the grazing requirement. The reason why Greenpeace direct their criticism against LRF is, that LRF back in 2020 decided to work towards ”increased flexibility in the grazing requirement for dairy cows in loose-housing barns” and is also financing a study by Växa Sweden that is currently investigating this on several farms in Sweden.
– We invited the activists to a conversation where we listened to their arguments but also explained our perspective. We have different opinions, but dialogue is always better than trespassing on our premises, says Gunnar Gidefeldt, communications manager of LRF to ATL.
Facts about the Grazing Requirement: According to the Swedish Board of Agriculture’s regulations, dairy cattle kept for milk production have the right to graze outdoors for at least six hours per day during the grazing season. Soon, government investigator Elisabeth Nilsson is to submit a report with proposals for increasing agricultural competitiveness without compromising animal welfare by June 30th.
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