Grassland Switzerland? With pure grassland feeding, poultry and pig stocks would have to shrink by about 90%, dairy cows hardly.
The difference lies in digestion. Ruminants such as cows, sheep, and goats digest low‑nutrient grass through the rumen; pigs and chickens can hardly do that and need energy‑ and protein‑rich feed. This feed is mostly grown on arable land, partly abroad: for beef, sheep, and goats the import share of feed is below 10 percent, for pigs about half, and for poultry about three‑quarters (Baur & Krayer 2021, data 2016–2018). If arable feed disappears, pigs and poultry lose their base feed, while rumi…
The difference lies in digestion. Ruminants such as cows, sheep, and goats digest low‑nutrient grass through the rumen; pigs and chickens can hardly do that and need energy‑ and protein‑rich feed. This feed is mostly grown on arable land, partly abroad: for beef, sheep, and goats the import share of feed is below 10 percent, for pigs about half, and for poultry about three‑quarters (Baur & Krayer 2021, data 2016–2018). If arable feed disappears, pigs and poultry lose their base feed, while rumi…