A New Swedish Model: Safe, Clean Food

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In Sweden, public consciousness about the connection between animal and human health in the food chain was rudely awakened as early as 1953. A salmonella epidemic thought to have originated in a slaughterhouse killed almost 100 people. Shocked, the authorities clamped down and in 1961 passed detailed new laws designed to prevent salmonella from spreading to humans. Mainly as a result of this early start, Sweden is today able to produce chicken, eggs, pork and beef that are virtually salmonella-free.

It was not until the 1980s, however, that environmental issues in general - ecological food production among them - became a major focus of attention in Swedish society. People began …