Thursday, September 18, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Study: 1500 cows to be kept inside for 18 months

Published 29 April 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Current grazing rules for cows are said to have a negative impact on self-sufficiency.
3 minute read

1500 cows will be kept indoors for 18 months to study how they are affected. One of the reasons for this is that the Swedish Farmers’ Union (LRF) has been working for some time to remove the grazing rights that exist in Sweden for cows, and together with Växa Sverige has succeeded in obtaining approval for the study from the Uppsala Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee.

Already in 2021, the association Växa Sverige together with LRF applied to start a study to investigate how it affected 2500 cows to be kept inside for a longer period, even during the grazing period. The application was made to the Gothenburg Animal Experimentation Ethics Board, which immediately stopped the project. The motivation for this was that it was noted that it was already known that cows benefit from being outdoors, through previous research, and that it was therefore not justified to expose the animals to suffering in order to investigate something that was already known, and which could not contribute to improvements for animals in the future.

In January this year, a new application was submitted, but this time to the Uppsala Animal Experimentation Ethics Board, where the number of cows was reduced to 1500. The study would involve the cows being indoors 24 hours a day for 18 months. The purpose has been stated to be to “investigate whether, and if so how, the welfare of dairy cows changes month by month during an 18-month period of housing”, writes Djurskyddet, which has taken note of the application.

The reasoning is that the study should be carried out because Sweden should increase its self-sufficiency in dairy products, but that current grazing rules have a negative impact in some cases. While the Board said that “the benefits of the study could outweigh the suffering of the animals”, it also considered that “the applicant does not convincingly demonstrate this” and therefore rejected the application.

In April, a third application was made, this time to the Uppsala Animal Experimentation Ethics Board, where, at the Board’s request, the application was amended and made more specific.

The application has now been approved, which means that 1500 cows on Swedish farms will be kept indoors in loose housing for 18 months, including during the summer months. Seven herds have currently been recruited, says Växa Sverige in a press release. These are located in Västra Götaland, Jönköping, Kalmar, Gävleborg and Uppsala counties. They will then see how the cows are affected by this and predict that this will have a major impact on Sweden’s future milk production.

– As the person in charge of the study, I am pleased that the Board has thoroughly examined our application and reached the same conclusions as we did about the current lack of knowledge, says Fredrik von Unge, Vana’s trial manager.

For some time now, Sweden has had a law that allows cows to come out during the summer and have so-called “grazing rights”. As early as 2020, LRF started a campaign against removing the cows’ ability to graze and argued that they should instead be kept indoors, as reported by Natursidan. The association has been heavily criticized for this, with organic farmers saying it was “shameful”. Even the Christian Democrats and the Moderates have, for example, in a survey from Djurskyddet in 2022, responded that they are in favor of abolishing the grazing right.

– We hope that the study provides a clear and scientific basis for good animal husbandry throughout the year. For one thing we have known for a long time: healthy and well-behaved animals produce more and better, says Peter Kofoed, head of LRF Mjölk.

The results of the study are expected to be available in 2024.

TNT is truly independent!

We don’t have a billionaire owner, and our unique reader-funded model keeps us free from political or corporate influence. This means we can fearlessly report the facts and shine a light on the misdeeds of those in power.

Consider a donation to keep our independent journalism running…

“Climate catastrophe in computer models”

The exaggerated climate crisis

Computer models warning of Gulf Stream collapse are based on incorrect assumptions about Greenland ice sheet melting. Media worsens the situation by incorrectly calling computer simulations "studies", writes Tege Tornvall.

Published yesterday 16:35
– By Tege Tornvall
Photo: iStock/gorodenkoff
2 minute read

Much of the world’s climate research is conducted using computers. Various hypothetical scenarios (sequences of events) are run with different assumptions about influencing factors. Depending on the chosen assumptions, they naturally produce different results.

Media incorrectly calls such computer runs “studies”. This gives the impression that they would actually happen in reality. But they don’t. They are simply assumptions. Computers calculate based on what they are fed.

A current example concerns the Atlantic’s major ocean current AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation). This includes the Gulf Stream, which gives western Europe a milder climate than we would otherwise have. German professor Stefan Rahmstorf and others have calculated its possible development.

The assumption is that more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would cause Greenland’s large ice sheet to melt. Based on this, computer models calculate the possible risk that the Gulf Stream would weaken or even collapse. This would likely give us a colder climate.

The computers seem to have run hot. With continued increasing CO2 levels, 70 percent of model runs show that the Gulf Stream would collapse before 2100. Even with less CO2 input, they calculate a 25 percent risk of collapse.

But the assumption itself is flawed. Partly because higher CO2 levels have marginal and logarithmically decreasing warming effects in the atmosphere. Partly because Greenland’s large ice expanses have annual average temperatures of minus 20-30 degrees Celsius.

Returning researchers find their camps covered with snow and ice. The old US military base Camp Century in northwestern Greenland has been covered with 30 meters of ice since it was closed over 50 years ago.

That surrounding sea ice decreases in summer and grows in winter does not affect sea level and hardly affects currents either.

Even though some researchers warn of a weaker Gulf Stream, others do not. According to ocean researcher Léon Chafik at Stockholm University, Sweden, we should not let ourselves be frightened by speculation that the Gulf Stream will soon collapse. His colleague Frederik Schenk urges us to stop alarming about the Gulf Stream.

 

Tege Tornvall

Logging in Sweden may have worsened the flood disaster

Published yesterday 11:55
– By Editorial Staff
A freight train carrying ammunition and diesel derailed after the heavy rainfall.
2 minute read

The Swedish Forest Agency has warned for several years that logging near infrastructure increases risks during flash floods. Now an analysis shows that logging may have partially contributed to the recent disasters in Västernorrland, northern Sweden.

In recent weeks, flash floods in Västernorrland, a county in northern Sweden, have caused chaos in society. A large number of roads have been destroyed, trains carrying hazardous goods have derailed, and one person has died as a result of the disasters. In Kramfors, for example, 123.5 millimeters of rain fell in one day, which is the highest recorded in September since 1913 – according to statistics from SMHI (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute).

One of the causes behind the chaos may be Swedish forestry, according to an analysis conducted by the Swedish Forest Agency. Two of the worst disasters in Västernorrland have occurred in areas where large amounts of forest have been logged in recent years, shows the data that Bonnier publication DN has accessed.

One disaster occurred outside Härnösand, where a man drove into a crack in a destroyed road and died. The other disaster involved a freight train that derailed in Skorped by a lake, where the train contained ammunition and diesel among other things.

The Swedish Forest Agency has warned that extensive logging can affect vital societal functions for several years, especially when it occurs on steep slopes. In several reports submitted to the Swedish government, the agency has raised this issue, but nothing has happened.

We have warned about the risks for a very long time and it seems to be exactly what we’re seeing examples of now. We need to do a proper analysis of cause and effect clearly, but based on what we know about how logging affects runoff, it looks problematic, says Anja Lomander, soil specialist at the Swedish Forest Agency.

“Must change quickly”

Forest logging can cause runoff to double during flash floods, since the trees are not there to both catch water in the tree crowns and absorb it through the roots, something that is particularly risky on steep slopes. Vehicle tracks and ditches also make it easier for water to flow down, and these types of logging operations have increased in Sweden in recent years.

Lomander believes there is a lack of both knowledge and resources in the area, and that current regulations mean the Swedish Forest Agency’s reviews of forest owners’ logging notifications are insufficient.

It must change quickly so that no more lives are lost and so that the costs to society don’t become enormous, she says.

Corona face masks – an environmental catastrophe

Published 16 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
During the coronavirus crisis, an estimated 129 billion face masks were used worldwide.
3 minute read

Billions of face masks were used every month during the coronavirus crisis without being properly recycled. Now researchers are warning about the microplastics and hormone-disrupting chemicals released when the masks begin to break down in nature.

During the coronavirus crisis, a large portion of the world’s population was forced to use face masks to move around in society in the belief that it would reduce the risk of infection spread, something that authorities strongly claimed despite there being very weak support for that hypothesis. In many places, children were also required to wear face masks, despite experts warning that there could be health risks for young people wearing masks for extended periods, such as oxygen deficiency and brain damage.

In many countries it was a legal requirement with fines as a consequence, while in other countries it was implemented as a strong recommendation – such as in Sweden. After the coronavirus crisis, however, it has been proposed to introduce some form of “pandemic law” in Sweden where requirements for face masks would be included.

Although washable face masks began to be sold, disposable masks were the ones used most frequently, and in some countries, such as Austria and Germany, such masks were specifically required. However, it was quickly established that these surgical masks created environmental problems – in just 14 months, the number of discarded masks in nature had increased by 9,000 percent in a number of Western countries including Sweden.

Billions of masks every month

During the coronavirus crisis, an estimated 129 billion face masks made primarily of polypropylene and other plastics were used every month worldwide. Since there has been no recycling system, most have ended up in landfills or as litter in nature, and have begun to break down.

Researchers from the University of Coventry in Britain have investigated how many substances are released from face masks in water. They did this by leaving newly purchased masks of various types, which were used during the coronavirus crisis, in purified water for 24 hours. They then filtered the liquid to see what came out.

The results, which have been published in Environmental Pollution, show that all the examined face masks released microplastics. FFP2 and FFP3 masks leaked the most – that is, the face masks that were marketed as having the best protection against infection.

Hormone-disrupting substances

What worried the researchers most, however, was that the face masks also released bisphenol B, which is a hormone-disrupting chemical. Anna Bogush, who is one of the researchers behind the study, believes that the study underscores the urgent need to reconsider how we produce, use and dispose of face masks.

We can’t ignore the environmental cost of single-use masks, especially when we know that the microplastics and chemicals they release can negatively affect both people and ecosystems, she tells The Guardian and continues:

As we move forward, it’s vital that we raise awareness of these risks, support the development of more sustainable alternatives and make informed choices to protect our health and the environment.

PFAS seep into Sweden’s farmland

Published 9 September 2025
– By Editorial Staff
In Sweden, PFAS substances are primarily used to combat late blight on potatoes, against weeds, and also against insects that damage crops.
2 minute read

Last year, a record amount of pesticides containing PFAS was sold. The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (Naturskyddsföreningen) warns that a large share of these “forever chemicals” now risks leaking into the groundwater.

Within Swedish agriculture, sales of pesticides containing forever chemicals have increased markedly in recent years, according to a compilation by the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation based on figures from the Swedish Chemicals Agency (Kemikalieinspektionen). Last year, 76 tons were sold, compared to 47 tons five years earlier.

This is a very alarming development, says Karin Lexén, Secretary General of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, to TT.

In Sweden, 19 active substances that are PFAS are used in approved pesticides. According to the Society for Nature Conservation, the 76 tons of pesticides sold last year could result in more than 25 tons of TFA (trifluoroacetic acid) ending up in groundwater. Denmark recently decided to ban six PFAS agents in a total of 23 products, citing that they break down into TFA.

Harm to fetuses

TFA has been shown in studies to cause damage to fetuses and also affect reproductive capacity. Like many other PFAS substances, they are very difficult to break down. In Sweden, PFAS agents are primarily used to combat late blight on potatoes, against weeds, and also insects that damage crops. However, Lexén believes Sweden should follow Denmark’s example and ban TFA substances.

I understand that you need some time to adapt, but at the same time it’s incredibly alarming that sales are increasing and that we see PFAS spreading in the environment as it does. Therefore, Sweden should follow Denmark’s example, says Lexén.

The agricultural organization LRF (Federation of Swedish Farmers) argues that as long as plant protection products are approved for use in Sweden, they should be considered safe.

The only reasonable approach, as we see it, is that we follow what authorities, research and development show. As long as they say things are safe, we feel secure, says Fredrik Andersson, board member of LRF’s federal board.

Our independent journalism needs your support!
We appreciate all of your donations to keep us alive and running.

Our independent journalism needs your support!
Consider a donation.

You can donate any amount of your choosing, one-time payment or even monthly.
We appreciate all of your donations to keep us alive and running.

Dont miss another article!

Sign up for our newsletter today!

Take part of uncensored news – free from industry interests and political correctness from the Polaris of Enlightenment – every week.