Sweden is a good performer (“B”) under the VACI. While its consumption of animal products is very high, the country has strong animal protection laws and low animal production levels.
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Sweden slaughters around 10.7 land-based animals per person per year, only marginally higher than the global average. The country is highly dependent on livestock product imports. As a result, dependence on farmed animals is the second lowest out of the countries surveyed (after India) with around 1.3 farmed animals per person, compared with a global average of 4.1. Factory farming is prevalent, with most farmed animals being pigs, chickens and other farmed birds, and cows for dairy production. Sow stalls, farrowing crates and battery cages are banned in Sweden.
The Swedish diet contains a very high proportion of animal products, with around 60% of the average person’s diet made up of land-based animal protein, versus a global average of 35.2%. Each person consumes around 59.1g of land-based animal protein per day, compared with a global average of 27.2g. Around 9% of the population is vegetarian.
Sweden is rated as a good performer (“B”) under the Animal Protection Index (API), and its farmed animal protection legislation achieved the same rating under the index. This is due to the country’s strong legislative protections for farmed animals. Sweden has extensive animal welfare legislation specific to farmed animals, which goes beyond EU requirements. For example, they have prohibited beak trimming, tail docking of pigs and dogs, castration of piglets without anaesthesia and the use of sow stalls and farrowing crates. Learn more about the quality of Sweden’s legislative protections on the API here.