https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/scandinavias-largest-insect-factory-opened/

The Nordics

Scandinavia’s largest insect factory opened

Published 19 January 2024

– By Editorial Staff

Montage. Press photo: Norinsect.

Larvae produced for human consumption in South Korea.

What is expected to be the largest insect factory in the Nordic region is about to open in Norway. The aim is to produce up to 15 tons of larvae per week.

Norwegian company NorInsect, based in Stordal in Sunnmøre, has been researching for a decade to develop the optimal larvae factory. Now the opening of the 3,500 square meter facility is imminent. From August, the 14 employees plan to harvest between 10 and 15 tons of caterpillars per week. CEO Harald Larsen Espeland predicts that the market for insects is “insatiable”.

– It is very exciting. In the ten years we have been here, there has been a lot of excitement, joy and frustration. There are things that you think are going to work that turn out not to work. But now we are looking forward to getting the factory up and running, he told Norwegian national broadcaster NRK.

Initially, the factory will produce feed for salmon, chickens and pigs from larvae. Its size is expected to make it one of the largest of its kind in the Nordic region, possibly the largest. If successful, NorInsect plans to build more insect factories across Europe.

“Huge market”

– We have a huge market to serve, so there will certainly be room for a large number of insect producers in the future. Then I think things will stabilize over time with a few big ones in Europe. We want to be one of them, says the CEO.

Insects for human consumption are considered “novel foods”, meaning they are foods that were not widely consumed in the EU before May 15, 1997. There are currently four insect species approved for human consumption in the EU. NorInsect believes that it will be “ready” to sell insects for human consumption, but that the majority of consumers are not yet ready.

– When they are ready, we will be ready, says Larsen Espeland.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/swedish-center-party-official-facing-child-sexual-misconduct-charges/

Sweden

Swedish Center Party official facing child sexual misconduct charges

Published today 15:16

– By Editorial Staff

Photo: Press image/The Center Party

Gustav Hemming was one of the Center Party's most prominent figures in Stockholm before the scandal.

In December, Gustav Hemming, the regional councilor of the Center Party in Stockholm, resigned after it was discovered that he had masturbated in front of a 13-year-old boy on a train.

Now the Swedish Prosecution Authority confirms that Mr. Hemming has been officially charged with sexual abuse of a child and faces up to two years in prison if convicted.

– The investigation is proceeding with the usual investigative measures such as witness interviews. Due to the confidentiality of the investigation, I cannot provide any further information at this time, says prosecutor Rebecca Rehnström, who is leading the investigation. She also does not want to give any forecast for when the investigation is expected to be completed.

The prosecutor has found no reason to detain Hemming, and although imprisonment is in the penalty scale, analysts believe that it is likely that the former C-top will get away with a fine or suspended sentence.

The suspect’s position on the charges is unclear, and since being forced to resign he has kept a very low profile.

May receive millions

The Nordic Times has previously highlighted the case and how Hemming, after the abuse was discovered, was very quick to apply for preferential compensation from the fees board, which some high-ranking politicians who have been in office for a long time are entitled to.

If approved, more than SEK 15 million (€1.3 million) – or more than SEK 90,000 (€7800) a month of taxpayers’ money – will be paid to the Center Party politician.

This quickly sparked a public outcry, with many expressing the view that authorities who abuse children or commit other serious crimes should receive no compensation whatsoever – but instead face much harsher penalties than they do today.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/denmark/new-research-on-the-bovaer-supplement-amid-a-wave-of-criticism/

Denmark

New research on the bovaer supplement amid a wave of criticism

The exaggerated climate crisis

Published today 13:24

– By Editorial Staff

Photo: Tommie Hansen/CC BY 2.0

The Danish Animal Welfare organization argues that cows risk being excluded from grazing pastures due to bovaer.

Further research will be carried out on the highly controversial feed additive bovaer, researchers at Aarhus University in Denmark have confirmed. The decision is based on the widespread criticism of the methane-reducing additive.

From the beginning of the year, all Danish dairy farms with more than 50 cows must use methane-reducing supplements in their feed. This can be done by adding more fat to the feed or by using the new supplement bovaer for 80 days per year. Swedish Arla has recently faced harsh criticism for its use of bovaer, with many calling for a boycott of the company.

The decision has been welcomed by some dairy farmers, but also faced strong criticism, especially against the bovaer, from, among others, the Danish Dyrenes Beskyttelse.

– We don’t know how it will affect them in the long term. At the same time, cows risk being locked up in stables all year round because the effect of the substance is more uncertain when they go to pasture, the organization states.

“Focus on animal welfare”

Earlier this week, Danish farmers also protested against, among other things, climate taxes, but also the compulsion to use bovaer for their cows.

Due to the widespread criticism, more research is being planned on the impact of bovaer on the health of cows, as well as on the milk and meat of the animals that receive the supplement.

– In the trials we have done so far, the focus has been on the effect on methane, feed intake and milk yield. Therefore, we will focus on animal welfare in the trials we will do in the new year, and we also need new research that provides a better understanding of what happens in the cow’s rumen when we use Bovaer and other effective methane-reduced feed additives, he tells Danish tjekdet.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/swedish-armed-forces-unveil-drone-swarms-can-be-as-many-as-needed/

Sweden

Swedish Armed Forces unveil drone swarms: “Can be as many as needed”

The new cold war

Published today 11:13

– By Editorial Staff

Photo: iStock/Chesky_W

The drones are described as "trucks" that can carry both weapons and cameras.

The Swedish Armed Forces have been working on a new drone project over the past year, under great secrecy, together with weapons manufacturer Saab, where large swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles will be used in military operations.

–They can be as many as needed – thousands, if desired, says Saab CEO Micael Johansson

The main focus has been on developing new software that is said to enable the drones to form swarms and perform tasks almost automatically, without any operator having to control each individual aircraft in detail.

– It’s not about piloting drones, you give them a mission on an iPad or mobile phone, then the drone swarm goes out and does this, the Saab top executive told TT during a press conference, explaining that a soldier can learn the system in a few days.

A possible drone mission could be to monitor a road by flying over it and transmitting images or video from the site, while scouting for enemies that the drones can also identify. By using hundreds or thousands of drones, very large areas can be monitored in this way, and if a few drones are disrupted, this also has little impact.

Although this has not been part of the project so far, it is also possible that in the future the drones will be armed and used to attack enemy forces.

– You can update this software and do amazing things in the long run, says Micael Johansson.

Should not make their own decisions

According to Army Chief of Staff Jonny Lindfors, the drones should be considered “trucks” – and it is up to the decision-makers to decide what cargo they should carry.

– But the basic principle that still applies is that in an armed operation there should be a human being making the decisions, he says.

Swedish soldiers have already started training with the new system and it will also be used in the NATO exercise Arctic Strike in March. The Swedish Armed Forces are also in the process of acquiring tens of thousands of drones, but they won’t say how much the new system will cost.

Sweden’s Minister of Defense Pål Jonson (M) is careful to point out, however, that a project of this kind usually takes about five years to complete – and that it is “uniquely fast” that the software has been developed in just one year.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/swedish-defense-minister-supporting-ukraine-is-a-duty-not-a-choice/

Sweden

Swedish defense minister: “Supporting Ukraine is a duty – not a choice”

Sweden-NATO-relationship

Published today 9:02

– By Editorial Staff

Photo: Government Offices of Sweden/Niklas Forsström

Minister of Defense Pål Jonson (M) says Europe could face an “existential threat”.

During this year’s edition of Folk och Försvar’s national conference in Sälen, the rhetoric was at times very harsh and aggressive – and Pål Jonson (M) went so far as to claim that it is no longer voluntary to support the government in Kiev.

– Supporting Ukraine is not a choice. It is a duty, declared Sweden’s Minister of Defense.

The Minister went on to say that “the future of the European security order is now being decided on the battlefields in and around Ukraine” and that a dark time awaits the whole continent if Russia is not defeated.

– It will determine whether future generations will grow up in a Europe where international law or the law of the strongest will prevail. Supporting Ukraine is therefore an investment in our own security and our own future, he continued.

Jonson also boasted that Sweden has increased its support to Kiev every year and that it now totals almost SEK 48 billion (€4.2 billion).

– Last year, Sweden provided the sixth largest military aid in the world to Ukraine, he proudly proclaimed.

“Weakening the rules-based world order”

In the coming years, the Defense Minister also wants the Swedish arms industry to increase production and deliver military equipment directly to Ukraine “for several tens of billions”.

According to Jonson, it is not only Russia that is attacking Sweden through “hybrid attacks” – he also claims that “China, Iran and North Korea are supporting the Russian warfare”.

– This shows that this is a war with profound global consequences that further weakens the rules-based world order, he said.

– We must assume that Russia will pose a very serious threat to us and our allies for the foreseeable future.

– Att
stödja Ukraina är inte ett val. Det är en plikt.

Läs talet av försvarsminister @PlJonson på @FolkochForsvar rikskonferens 2025, och se det i efterhand: https://t.co/r6wa7RDiSZ #fofrk pic.twitter.com/O6jMUHUYrE

— Försvarsdepartementet (@ForsvarsdepSv) January 13, 2025

“Existential threat”

Jonson sees the US as “crucial” to Europe’s security – but says the superpower is busy with conflicts in other regions.

For this reason, Europe itself must rearm and strengthen NATO and, according to the defense minister, it is absolutely necessary that Sweden “does its part in this work” and increases investments in all military sectors.

– What was previously perceived as mostly theoretical problems about percentages and burden sharing can, in these times of gravity, pose an existential threat to Europe’s security, was another of the M-top’s admonitions.

The Nordic Times has previously highlighted Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s speech at the Folk och Försvar’s national conference and how he announced that “Sweden is not at war. But there is no peace either”.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Polaris of Enlightenment

Polaris of Enlightenment