2010
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Chasing the carbon footprint Page
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Osmo Rauhala – farmer and artist Page
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Closing the loop of P Page
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MTT at the cutting edge of genome mapping Page
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Editorial
photo: VEIKKO SOMERPURO
Living Planet – but for how long? Humans are already consuming 50 percent more natural resources than the earth can sustain, says the recently published 2010 Living Planet Report of the World Wildlife Fund. WWF reports on the state of global biodiversity and the ecological footprint of different countries every two years. According to the latest report, global biodiversity is deteriorating at an accelerated pace and the effects of our ecological footprints are devastating: If humans continue to waste natural resources at the current rate, we will need twice the resources of the earth to satisfy our needs by 2030. Dr Liisa Rohweder, Secretary General of WWF Finland, says: “The report sets a clear challenge: We must be able to satisfy the needs of the earth’s growing and increasingly prosperous population within the limits defined by the availability of natural resources. We all have to make better consumer choices and find more sensible ways of producing and using energy.”
The report also reminds us about the social importance and role of science. The research community must help the richer countries in particular to reduce their consumption and to also steer developing countries towards the same path. Energy efficient innovations that make clever use of materials will become vital for everyone. MTT’s researchers strive to find answers to current global issues. Thanks to our multidisciplinary research programmes, we are able to focus on the problems that need to be solved here and now. The eight programmes, which are implemented throughout our organisation, connect us to both national and EU-level research initiatives. Our programmes are From Fossils to Renewables, Sustainable Use of Genetic Resources, Tomorrow’s Farm, Well-being through Food, Rural Future, Changing Climate and Agriculture, Responsible Food Economy, and Water-friendly Agriculture. Each programme is designed to find ways to create a better, more sustainable world. This MTT ELO is the first issue of MTT’s customer magazine that has been translated into English. It delves into our most important research themes: the effects of our food consumption on climate change and the reduction of phosphorus levels on fields as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Another important research priority is the production of fuel from different types of biomass, such as manure. MTT’s research initiatives approach bio-economy from a wider perspective, striving to find production methods that generate, use, and refine renewable resources. We have not forgotten the human element either: We participate in Green Care activities and development initiatives aimed at improving food safety in developing countries.
Ulla Jauhiainen Editor-in-Chief
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MTT ELO PR magazine of MTT Agrifood Research Finland www.mtt.fi/english/elo Published by MTT, FIN-31600 Jokioinen, www.mtt.fi/english e-mail: viestinta@mtt.fi
PR magazine
Editor-in-chief: Ulla Jauhiainen, MTT Sub-editor: Minna Nurro, MTT Translation: Semantix Lingua Nordica Oy Cover photo: Veikko Somerpuro Layout: ID BBN Edixion paper used in this publication has EU Flower certificate no. FI/11/1
Index: Genomes open up Technological development has accelerated animal genome research.
Nutrients to be retained
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MTT is developing effective methods for reducing phosphorus emissions.
Right from the pasture
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Wireless sensor shows bovine health. Page 6
Reducing climate emissions
Footprints left behind?
Research going deeper into the sources of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon footprint labels being developed everywhere. Page 7
The world is changing Global megatrends impact the Finnish dining table.
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Health care and work in rural areas A German organic farm employs and trains intellectually disabled persons.
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Rich aromas
Genes in safekeeping
A short but sunny summer makes Finnish apples tasty.
Landrace plants are a treasure trove for breeders.
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Milking time
A real power berry
Chef Heikki Ahopelto’s Kyyttö milk cheese is in demand. Page 10
Rye through the ages Rye has been eaten in Finland for millennia. Page 13
photo: TOMI LEPORINNE
Blackcurrant is full of healthy compounds. Page 23
Milk know-how to Kenya MTT is improving the safety of the fodder-milk chain in Kenya.
A source of inspiration
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Having a farm of his own is a part of artist Osmo Rauhala’s identity.
News
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s.10
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s.14 photo: VEIKKO SOMERPURO
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Genomes open up
Spurred by new technologies, genomics has taken giant leaps forward in recent years. Professor Kevin Shingfield and researcher Anu Sironen study animal genome to find solutions for health and production problems.
text: MINNA NURRO
photo: VEIKKO SOMERPURO
Delving deeper Genomics continues to scour the genome in search of solutions to animal health and production problems. When MTT first began animal genetic mapping two decades ago, its prime objective was accelerated breeding. Today its researchers are delving deeper into the complex interaction between genes and the environment.
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merging out of the late 1980s with the development of DNA replication techniques and technologies, genomics – the study of the genome structure of organisms – is a science still in its fledgling phase. At that time MTT was quick to join the race in animal genome research. MTT’s pioneer in the field, Professor Johanna Vilkki, recalls how work began in the early 1990s with gene mapping and embryo research. MTT has been an active contributor on the international arena, collaborating on a number of projects,
Genomes open up
Tracking a jumping gene including mapping of the cow, chicken and pig genomes. “This work led to the production of genetic markers which breeders can use to eliminate undesirable traits or to improve product quality. We will also be able to predict the breeding value of production animals much faster in future”, says Vilkki. Giant leaps Spurred by new technologies, genomics has taken giant leaps forward in recent years. Whereas as recently as the 1990s genes were identified on the chromosome using pretty rudimentary maps, we now have the use of SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) markers which can detect single base pair differences. The complete base sequence is now known for the most important livestock genomes. “Hundreds of thousands of dense SNP markers now enable us to create more accurate gene maps and new, efficient sequencing tools are also enabling the investigation of different gene expression patterns in tissues”, says Vilkki. Better quality, better health In addition to genomic fine mapping, MTT has begun investigating the complex interactions between genes and the environment. According to Vilkki, genome research is currently following a parallel path to system biology. Genome researchers are interested in both the quality of animal products and the genomic mechanisms behind animal health. Bovine infertility and mastitis, and egg shell strength are the key focuses of MTT research in these target areas. “These factors have a direct impact on livestock productivity and competitiveness. The same problems are common throughout Europe, and international collaborative research is being closely carried out in these areas”, says Vilkki. MTT has been a key contributor in the 6th EU Research Framework Programme’s SABRE project, which reached the end of its project period this autumn. The
giant-scale project involved 33 European research institutions working on ten different project packages. MTT’s researchers participated in three SABRE work packages in the following focus areas: the identification of gene functions involved in conception in dairy cows; the gene-level effects of mastitis pathogen susceptibility; and the production of selection markers for egg shell strength enhancement. On the molecular forefront Nutrigenomics – the new forefront in genetic research – examines at the cellular and molecular levels how nutrition affects gene expression in cells. According to MTT’s Professor Kevin Shingfield the range of potential applications is impressive: “Nutrigenomics can be used to boost the efficiency and reduce the environmental impacts of production, to improve animal health and welfare, and also to raise product quality.” Shingfield and his colleagues are studying the effects of changes in cattle diet on milk fat synthesis. The objective of the research is to improve the quality of the milk fat and to analyse the mechanisms behind fertility problems in high-yielding dairy cows. “So far we have completed one trial with a micronutrient and analysed its effects on milk fat synthesis and fat composition. The research can also help advance our understanding human fat metabolism, and we hope in future to extend the research also to other animal species”. Despite new developments in technology, progress in genomics is inherently slow-paced, and years of dedicated work will be needed before the first conclusive results can be expected.
In the 1990s, a hereditary sperm defect in Finnish Yorkshire boars, causing infertility in pigs, became rapidly widespread in Finland. Researcher Anu Sironen of MTT traced the cause of the “short-tail” sperm defect to a retroposon, or “jumping gene”, and developed a test with which carriers of the gene defect have been successfully eliminated from the pig population. Work did not stop there, though. The jumping gene had positioned itself on the large, complex Spef2 gene which occurs in all mammals –including humans. In addition to sperm tail, Spef2 also regulates the development of numerous other cilia, flagella and tissues. Sironen is currently studying the proteins produced by the Spef2 gene and their function using a mouse model. The aim is to examine how gene silencing affects fertility and other mechanisms such as respiratory tract function. “The Spef2 gene plays a vital role in reproduction, and it can also help trace the cause of other illnesses. The Spef2 study may also shed new light regarding human health and fertility”, says Sironen. Further information: anu.sironen@mtt.fi, tel. +358 40 186 2411
Further information: johanna.vilkki@mtt.fi, tel. +358 40 186 2330 and kevin.shingfield@mtt.fi, tel. +358 40 177 9912 photo: YRJÖ TUUNANEN/MTT archives MTT ELO
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Right from the pasture
text: HANNU KASKINEN photo: VEIKKO SOMERPURO
Wireless news from the pasture Is there anything that makes a cow nervous? Does a cow’s heart beat steadily for months on end? These are some of the questions that wireless sensor technology – being developed by MTT Agrifood Research Finland and its research partners – is attempting to answer. At the start of the 2000s Tampere University of Technology began to develop implant methods for measuring physiological changes in humans. At around the same time MTT was cutting new methods for the long-term monitoring of animal physiology and behaviour. The two teams of researchers found each other and began to develop wireless health sensors for production animals. The outcome is the promise of reliable longterm data on the cow’s cardiac function, in other words intermediate frequency of pulse, body temperature and behaviour. The University of Helsinki is also participating in the MTT-led Remowel research project. The three-year, halfmillion-euro project is part of MTT’s Tomorrow’s Farm research programme. Bovine results will nevertheless be of no use to humans, as human research would demand several more years of work. Even a health prognosis... MTT’s Jutta Siivonen, Senior Research Scientist for the Remowel project, points to the need for new inspection methods arising from the increasing size of livestock and decreasing working time per animal available to those tending them. “Livestock should long remain healthy and livestock tenders need to be able to manage”, she explains as background. In addition to mapping bovine health it is also desirable to predict approaching oestrus or potential calving problems. Sensors must be able to provide clear evidence of deviations from normal limits; this might indeed enable the livestock tender to reduce animal illnesses. At its most effective, long-term data would reveal underlying illness.
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Wireless sensor technology aims at easier monitoring of health and physiological changes in cows.
Soft spot discovered The most reliable site for a sensor implant was found to be above the cow’s left foreleg, close to the heart. “In the course of one year we have managed to establish the long-term functionality of the cow implant – around one month at present. In this we are world leaders”, says Siivonen, with some pride. Equivalent technologies are of great interest to large-scale cattle-farming companies. Remowel research scientists have an abundance of colleagues, especially in Belgium, Holland, the United States and Canada. Data throughout a cow’s life The crowning achievement of the Remowel Project will be the creation of a data bank of the cow’s life cycle. To this end
research scientists are using – a world first – combinations of variables measured over the long-term. “New technology enables a range of experiments, for example, on a cow’s stress level. At the end of the year we shall be conducting broad research into stress changes in cows at MTT’s Maaninka research station”, Jutta Siivonen explains. Development of sensor components is so rapid, she adds, that the next-generation component cannot always be applied to technology already adopted. “Although we have occasionally encountered this kind of technical hold-up, the project is progressing according to plan”, says Siivonen, to bring us up to date. Further information: jutta.siivonen@mtt.fi, tel. +358 400 594 465
Footprints left behind?
text: JUHA HEIKKILÄ
Controlling the climate impacts of food consumption
16% of the total climate impact of food consumption is due to household food products and meals. This figure tops 25% when other activities directly related to food consumption, such as domestic food preparation and food services, are included. The carbon footprint of foods varies enormously – up to tenfold – between equivalent food products. This puts the consumer in a strong position to determine the climate impact of their eating habits through their food choices. Reliable product information is needed. “There is a demand for environmental information and ecolabels”, says Senior Research Scientist Juha-Matti Katajajuuri of MTT. The carbon footprint of foods is calculated and indicated in virtually countless different ways from country to country. Comparing all of this information is a headache for the researcher and nigh on impossible for the consumer. MTT is working to develop food chain operations that are less harmful to the climate and the environment and to produce footprint information for consumers. The mission of MTT’s Foodprint project is to develop a harmonised calculation method for the environmental impact of foods. Varying approaches Food companies worldwide are increasingly publicising the climate impacts of their products, for example by marking the carbon footprint on their product packages. In some cases this comes in the form of a climate label which is granted to the
producer for meeting key environmental criteria as defined by an external body. For example, in the restaurants of the Swedish hamburger chain Max, the carbon footprint of different hamburgers and servings can be compared on the menu. In some shops of the French E.Leclerc chain, the CO2 equivalent is shown on the price tag and the combined total carbon footprint of all purchases is printed on the cash receipt. Harmonisation needed Carbon footprint calculation standards are in fact currently being developed, but by a number of separate bodies. While this may go part way towards solving the problem, it is by no means an across-theboard solution. “We carried out comparisons of the carbon footprint results of analyses conducted for the same product groups in different countries and found significant differences. The variation was not only due to the calculation method, but also to differences in production methods and conditions,” says Katajajuuri.
Further information: juha-matti.katajajuuri@mtt.fi, tel. +358 50 359 9772
Raisio shows the way in Finland In 2008, Finnish producer of plant-based food and feed Raisio Plc became the first company in Finland to introduce CO2 emissions labelling. Raisio initially indicated the carbon dioxide emissions generated by its products in grams. With nothing to compare this figure against, however, it was unclear to the consumer whether the figure stated was high or low. To resolve this problem, Raisio this year updated its climate label to include, in addition to the CO2 equivalent, also a colour scale indicating the degree of environmental load. Several of Raisio’s oat and barley products currently carry the climate label. The company aims to label 30 of its food products by the end of 2010. “Widespread introduction of carbon footprint labelling is being held back by the lack of international calculation standards and by the fact that not all actors in the production chain yet have the know-how needed to calculate footprint values”, explains Raisio’s Development Manager Mira Povelainen.
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The world is changing text: SARI TIIRO photo: VEIKKO SOMERPURO
Money talks? Professor Xavier Irz and his colleagues at MTT are examining what drives the eating habits of Finns and where the Finnish diet is heading in terms of health. Can dietary choices be steered by taxation?
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inland is about to reintroduce a sweet tax. If similar “sin taxes” are levied on fat and salt, what changes can be expected on the Finnish dining table? Will Finns get healthier and slimmer? And what will happen throughout the food chain if energy prices escalate, or if more and more people choose organic, locally sourced foods? These are some of the key questions being examined by Professor Xavier Irz and his team at MTT. Irz is co-ordinator of a research project investigating the effects of global megatrends on Finnish dietary choices and on the food chain as a whole. The project is part of MTT’s Wellbeing through Food research programme. A broader perspective Irz’s team are developing models to describe how changes in the price of production inputs affect consumer food pric-
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es and how, in turn, food price changes affect food demand. “These questions have already been studied by MTT with respect to functional foods. We are now taking things further and examining the Finnish diet and food consumption as a whole”, says Irz. According to Irz, broadening the examination scope will provide valuable information for both food chain operators and the national health debate. “Although the Finnish diet has changed considerably in just a few decades, and its nutritional quality has improved in many respects, we now have new health concerns in the form of overweight and type 2 diabetes. Our research is generating reliable data on how prices influence Finns’ dietary choices.” A complex equation Irz’s findings may come as a blow to fat
tax supporters. “A ten percent tax increase on fatty and fat-containing sugary foods would reduce total fat consumption by only half a percent. Tax increases have to carry real weight to have a substantial impact on public health.” Changes in food VAT also seem to have minimal impact on the quality of the Finnish diet. “The health impact of a fat tax is not straightforward because the taxed product is related to other non-taxed foods through complex relations of substitution and complementarity. For instance, our simulations suggest that, surprisingly, a fat tax would also induce a decrease in the consumption of fruits and vegetables, which is not desirable from a nutritional stand point.” “However, not all consumption changes are tied to prices, so we also aim to carry out a case study of demand for
Rich aromas
text: MARJATTA SIHVONEN photo: YRJÖ TUUNANEN/MTT archives
Xavier Irz Background: • Originally from France, currently resides in Finland. • Interested in biology and economic issues related to agriculture. • Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota (2000) investigating the contribution of agriculture to the process of economic growth in developing countries. Career: • Senior Research Scientist at MTT taloustutkimus since April 2008, currently Professor in the economic analysis of food markets. • Economic Adviser at the UK Food Standards Agency in London, UK • Lecturer in food economics, University of Reading, UK • Other international teaching and researcher posts, e.g., in France, the US and Tunisia. Family: • Finnish wife, met in Minnesota; two children. More: • Astounded at the amounts of pre-marinated meat, health claims and “light” products on Finnish shop shelves. “It’s getting hard to find foods, especially dairy products, that are “non-light”.”
certain product groups that are perceived as being healthy”, adds Irz. Further information: xavier.irz@mtt.fi, tel. +358 400 203 707
The world’s northernmost apples The MTT orchard in Piikkiö has been breeding the world’s northernmost apples for 50 years. Professional cultivation of apples is not practised anywhere else in the world at such northern latitudes. The delicious taste of the fruit and little use of pesticides make northern apples quite unique. Finnish apples ripen during the brief northern summer. However, in terms of the total amount of solar radiation, they receive as much sunlight as their counterparts in Central Europe. “In addition, here products are afterripened in cold stores, which further enriches the aromas,” says Professor Risto Tahvonen of MTT. Brief summer aroma The growth environment and a different storage method give Finnish apples a distinct flavour when compared to imported apples. For the same reasons, they contain a lot of vitamin C. Indeed, Professor Tahvonen encourages people to eat plenty of Finnish apples – without peeling them. “Eating apples with the peels is possible in Finland because Finnish apple orchards
require very little use of pesticides when compared to fruit cultivated in the south.” Winter durability a challenge Apple cultivation in Finland was dealt a harsh blow during the Second World War, when most apple trees in the country were killed by winter freezes. According to Tahvonen, winter durability remains the biggest challenge in apple breeding. “In addition, we aim to improve the quality of apples – for example, their size, taste, resistance to bruise damage and cultivation properties. In the past decades, breeding has also focused on discovering scab-resistant cultivars in order to reduce the use of chemical pesticides.” According to Tahvonen, in the future, apple breeding and cultivar selection must focus on climate change. The growing season will start earlier, and the dark, warm autumns will give trees more time to prepare for winter dormancy. Occasional freezing winters should be expected in Finland also in the future. Further information: risto.tahvonen@mtt.fi, tel. +358 50 563 0843
Global megatrends include, for example, rising energy and raw material prices, technological advances, global warming, and increasing environmental and health awareness among consumers.
These trends are reflected on the plate: food ingredients are becoming increasingly homogenous and national differences are diminishing. The Finnish diet has improved markedly, whereas southern Europeans have moved away from what is generally considered a healthy Mediterranean diet towards nutritionally poorer choices.
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Milking time “Kyyttö milk is ideal for cheesemaking because it curdles easily. Products made from this indigenous breed also have strong cultural-historical value”, says Master Chef Heikki Ahopelto.
text: PÄIVI HAAVISTO photos: TOMI LEPORINNE
Kyyttö milk –the stuff of gourmet cheese Chef Heikki Ahopelto achieved his long-time dream this autumn by opening his own cheesery in Orivesi, Finland. His Armas range of cheeses are the result of a unique raw material and close-knit cooperation with small local producers. They are also playing a valuable role in the conservation of Finland’s native cattle breeds. The Armas family of cheeses developed by Ahopelto are made from the milk of the Eastern Finncattle, an indigenous Finnish cattle breed popularly known as “Kyyttö”. The family includes the crusty-rinded Armas, an alderwood smoked Armas, the soft-ripened Brie-type Juhana, and the solid, cheddary Eemeli. The range’s newcomer, Kaleva, is a soft cheese made from the milk of another indigenous breed, Northern Finncattle. To the master chef, opening his own cheesery meant stepping from the role of commissioning cheeses and building cheese portfolios, into the inner circle of cheesemakers. Ahopelto gives full credit to the specialists behind his Armas cheeses: the Kyyttö milk is supplied mostly by Pentti Ukkonen’s farm in Ruovesi and the cheeses themselves are made by Peter Dörig at his Mouhijärvi cheese dairy and by Pirkko Heikkilä in Pälkäne – all based in the local Tampere area. Only the Northern Finncattle milk, supplied by Harri Toikka,
rently use. The plan is to make a third of the cheeses myself, have Peter do a third, and have the rest made by someone else”, says Ahopelto. “I’ve no intention of expanding any further than that. This is all about optimisation, not maximisation.” A good curdler
comes from a little further off in Hamina. “Pirkko is gradually retiring, so I’m stepping into her shoes, so to speak. She is also lending her valuable expertise during these early stages”, says Ahopelto. Hot demand The speciality Armas cheeses have been in production for just over five years and are already big sellers – to meet current demand for his cheeses Ahopelto would have to expand production at least five-fold. “Within two years or so I’ll be using all of the milk from Pentti’s farm, that’s 100,000 litres a year, twice what I cur-
The milk of the Eastern Finncattle breed has unique properties which Finns in times past knew well. “Kyyttö milk is ideal for cheesemaking because it curdles easily. It also gives good yield, where ten litres of milk normally gives a kilo of cheese, Kyyttö milk gives you that plus a hundred grams on top”, says Heikki Ahopelto. In a recent comparative study by MTT, the raw milk of Eastern Finncattle was found to contain slightly higher fat, protein and lactose contents than raw milk of the Ayrshire cattle breed. In the curdling process Kyyttö milk curd was firmer, the whey clearer, and the coagulation time half as short – all highly sought-after characteristics for cheesemaking. The comparative study also revealed Kyyttö milk products as having excellent visual structure and solid consistency, making Kyyttö milk ideal for yoghurt and curd milk production. “Products made from this indigenous breed also have strong cultural-historical value. Kyyttö cattle have been with us MTT ELO
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Milking time
photo: VEIKKO SOMERPURO/MTT archives
A vigorous, healthy breed Finns through some difficult times; as Pentti Ukkonen put it: Kyyttö milk even got us through the war reparations years”, says Ahopelto in reference to the hard times of post-war Finland. Ahopelto rates other breeds, too, when it comes to flavour. All raw milk is good: summer childhood memories of Ayrshire milk drunk fresh from the neighbouring farm, and of the delicious curd milk made from it, are flavours he will always treasure. Why’s nobody milking them? Ahopelto’s interest in the native Eastern Finncattle was spurred after talking with breeders of the cattle. Knowing of the unique curdling properties of the milk, he was astounded to find that the cattle, while being used widely in landscape management, were not being milked. “I began asking around and looking for a farm where I could get hold of the milk, and I came across Pentti Ukkonen’s number. I gave him a call, and within two weeks we had a direct sale quota secured for him.” Ukkonen’s farm currently has seventeen Kyyttö cows. Half of their output is bought for the Armas cheeses. Part of the milk also comes from the teaching farm at the Ahlman vocational college in Tampere. The first Kyyttö milk cheese – Juhana – was produced in 2005. “I asked Peter Dörig of the Mouhijärvi cheese dairy whether he could make me a speciality cheese. The answer was yes, as long I’m happy with a soft-ripened cheese and as long as I provide at least 300 litres of milk. So I hired a whopping 15,000 litre milk tanker from the local dairy co-op and sent him the 300 litres in that!” The Armas range has since grown gradually in range and volume, with around
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50,000 litres of milk now going into production each year. The Armas trademark is owned by Ahopelto’s own company which he founded in 2007. Recognition for local food Ahopelto is a recognised pioneer of locally sourced foods. Landing fresh out culinary school in the mid 1990s as Head Chef of Tampere’s renowned Näsinneula restaurant, Ahopelto was handed every chef’s dream – complete freedom to create his own menu. “I started out in my career, rather oddly, straight in at the top. Having a complete novice as head chef must have been a bit baffling for some I suppose. On top of that, the whole local foods thing was still an oddity for most, even towards the end of the 90s. But the "localness" concept really began taking off as I grew as a chef. It was an amazing time!” Chef Ahopelto’s guiding principle is that the menu should reflect the place and the season. Ahopelto’s interest in locally grown and produced foods traces back to long before his career in cuisine: “I was always fascinated by food that had been grown in somebody’s back yard or got from a neighbour.” Local food gradually became an essential way of thinking at Näsinneula. The availability and quality of local foods increased, and a healthy trust relationship between buyers and producers grew and developed in which ideas could be freely discussed. In 2005 Näsinneula was awarded the International Euro-Toques Award. “Suddenly we were on show everywhere. People were telling us what a great thing we were doing. We just thought, what’s all the fuss about, this is what we’ve always been doing!”
The Eastern Finncattle, or Kyyttö, is among Finland’s oldest native breeds of cattle. Agility, healthiness and hardiness are among its hallmark traits. Despite these credentials, the breed was brought to the brink of extinction in the 1980s through displacement by the high-milking Ayrshire and Holstein breeds, with numbers plummeting to a precarious 40. Today, Eastern Finncattle number over 500 head. The breed was brought to recovery at the Sukeva Prison farm in Sonkajärvi, Northern Finland. The conservation herd has since been divided between the Kainuu Vocational College in Kajaani, Northern Finland, and the Ahlman vocational college in Tampere in the south, following the closure of the prison farm. MTT has also played an important role in the conservation of the Kyyttö breed, for example by preserving embryos of Eastern Finncattle and other indigenous cattle breeds in a cryo-bank. In its latest project, financed by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, MTT is investigating opportunities to create productive new uses for Finland’s indigenous cattle through productisation. Eastern Finncattle are also unique among other indigenous cattle breeds: “In a comparative study of 35 Nordic, Baltic and Polish cattle breeds, Eastern Finncattle were identified as having the highest genetic conservation value. Its extinction would narrow the genetic variation of Northern European cattle more than the loss of any other breed”, says Principal Research Scientist Juha Kantanen, MTT. Further information: juha.kantanen@mtt.fi, tel. + 358 40 350 9633
Rye through the ages
Finnish to the roots Barely any other grain tastes as Finnish to a Finn as rye. No wonder, as the first signs of rye in Finland go back thousands of years. When Finns bite into a slice of rye bread, they will experience the same taste in their mouths as their ancestors had already learned to savour in the long-distant past. Hard to believe? True nonetheless, as Research Scientist Hannu Ahokas, from MTT Agrifood Research Finland, is at pains to point out. He maintains that Finns discovered rye as much as 4,000 years ago. So, let’s step back in time: 2,000 years before the Common Era, to the AsbestosCeramic age in Finland. Utensils are still being made from wood, birch bark and clay, much in the same way as the previous two thousand years. The stone-ground hammer hatchet represents the peak of material culture. It is here that agriculture ventures its first step alongside the traditional hunting, nomadic and gathering modes of subsistence. Somewhere, on some slash-and-burned Finnish ridge, the first grains of rye are planted. Hunter’s snack Prehistoric farmers employed fire cultivation – slash-and-burn and kytö burning – on their fields to improve their nutritional value. Fire cultivation, little by little, destroyed the seeds of weedy rye. By the dawn of the 18th century the weedy form of rye had all but disappeared. Rye capable of withstanding northern conditions also spread to Scandinavia, but for one reason or another only Finns took to the taste. Indeed, as far back as 1555 Swedish historian Olaus Magnus, in his “History of the Northern Peoples”, was able to state that “of the northern peoples only the Finns eat rye bread”. “The prototype of crisp bread was an entirely Finnish invention. From the beginning, the dry, thin pieces of rye bread were baked to fit the bottom of a kontti. Light
in weight and long remaining fresh, they were handy for taking on an expedition”, says Ahokas.
text: MARIA LATOKARTANO picture: JII ROIKONEN
Significant export product As late as the 18th century, fire-cultivated and riihi-dried seed rye constituted a significant Finnish export product, with millions of kilos bound for Russia, Sweden and other parts of Europe in the years that produced a good harvest. “Swedish scientist Ulrik Rudenschöld, travelling in Päijät-Häme, commented that peasants there only ate pure rye on festive days. At other times they ate grain mixed with ground straw and pettu, so that as much of the seed could be sold as possible”, says Ahokas. According to Ahokas, not all of the sheaves were necessarily threshed in the autumn. Instead, sheaves dried in shooks were preserved over the winter in stacks erected in the open fields. “Stored in shooks, rye is said to be capable of retaining its germinating potential for anything up to 15 years.” Further information: hannu.ahokas@mtt.fi, tel. +358 3 4188 2512
Kontti = Finnish name for a type of bag made out of birch bark Kytö = Finnish name for the successive annual burning of the surface soil of fields Pettu = Finnish name for the inner layer of pine bark used as a food source Shook = a domed structure made from grain sheaves for the purpose of outdoor grain storage Sheaf = a tied bundle of grain stalks Riihi = Finnish name for a drying barn in which grain underwent oven-heated drying Slash-and-burn = the conversion of forest to field by slashing and burning trees Stack = a mound made out of root vegetables or grain sheaves for the purpose of outdoor storage
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A source of inspiration text: MINNA NURRO
photos: VEIKKO SOMERPURO
Artist Osmo Rauhala’s works are highly crystallised and analytical observations of the world, communicated with great passion. It is easy to notice the same marriage of intelligence and passion when the artist speaks about his other life’s work, organic farming.
A desire to understand
O
smo Rauhala is one of Finland’s most internationally successful artists. His paintings often depict animals and various natural phenomena, and only rarely humans. In addition, the artist uses microscope and satellite images as material, and plays with DNA molecules and hypothetical wormholes in his works. The paintings reflect the desire to understand and respect nature. The same subjects are visible in Rauhala’s latest major work, the altar paintings of St. Olaf’s Church in Tyrvää. Rauhala worked on the altar paintings of the medieval stone church in the summers of 2006–2009. The original paintings and the wooden interior of the church were destroyed in an arson attack in 1997. In Rauhala’s altar paintings describing the Biblical stories of creation and the Fall, even Adam and Eve are depicted as animals – elephants. The reason for this is that in the wild, the female elephant attracts the male into mating by offering fruits. Chaos theory paving the way Rauhala has been expressing himself through images ever since he was a schoolboy – he made his first paintings at the age of 12 using his father’s old paints and won a regional drawing competition at the age of 14. Nevertheless, after finishing upper secondary school, Rauhala went to study history and economics at the University of Turku. Only after completing his degree, Rauhala went to study fine arts in Helsinki. “I wanted to find out how reality works,
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A source of inspiration
Osmo Rauhala: Matter–Antimatter, 2004.
outside the scope of positivism. Within a few months, I realised that this was the work I wanted to do,” Rauhala explaines. Animals have appeared in Osmo Rauhala’s works since his school days. He finally discovered his own style and imagery when studying in New York in the late 1980s. “A big change happened when a teacher assigned James Gleick’s recently published book on chaos theory as required reading. The book had a strong influence on me,” says Rauhala. Wake-up in New York Another important aspect of Osmo Rauhala’s life and identity is farming. He has been working his family farm in Siuro, Nokia, since he was 17 – before ever becoming an artist. “There are many similarities between farming and art: the nature of the work is cyclical and independent, and the results of the work are clearly visible. In addition, they are both more or less dependent on light and the weather.” However, Rauhala got interested in organic farming far away from home. “While I was studying in New York, these little grocery shops selling organic food began to appear in our neighbourhood. And there were always queues in those shops. Those little shops have now grown into a chain of hundreds of department stores. The law of supply and demand directed the sales of organic food there.” Rauhala converted his fields into organic farming a couple of decades ago. In an area of about one hundred hectares, Rauhala is now cultivating organic crops
and blackcurrant, as well as organic grass for a flock of sheep. At the turn of the millennium, his farm took part in an MTT study of the nitrogen dynamics and nutrient emissions of organic fields. Troubling legacy Another reason for Rauhala’s interest in organic farming was his concern for the environment and his working conditions. “Everyone should have some kind of vision about the sustainability of one’s work. Land should be cultivated in such a way that it yields a crop even after centuries from now,” Rauhala states. The chemicals used in agriculture and their impact on the nature and people troubled Rauhala already in his youth. He points out that on a historical scale, chemicals have only been used in food production for a short while, and we have no data on their epigenetic effects. Epigenetic factors refer to regulation mechanisms inherited from one cell generation to the next that do not affect the underlying DNA sequence and are not inherited in the “traditional” manner. These factors nevertheless affect the functioning of a succeeding generation of genes. “The same uncertainty applies to genetically modified organisms. I don’t oppose GMO technology as such, but I remain unconvinced about the management of its consequences. This is why I believe GMO research should remain inside laboratories.” Attitudes are changing
Osmo Rauhala Born: 1957 Lives in: Siuro, Nokia, and New York Family: Wife Minttu Loukola and children Onni and Liisa Art studies: Free Art School, Helsinki, 1981–1982 Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki, 1982–1987 School of Visual Arts, New York, 1988–1990 New York University, School of Education, 1998– Recent exhibitions: Osmo Rauhala and Kuutti Lavonen: Sketches for Paintings in St. Olaf’s Church, National Museum of Finland, Helsinki, Finland, 2010 The Origin of Understanding, Museum Arte Moderne, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2009 Nature Interrupted, Chelsea Art Museum, New York, USA; and The Birth of Consciousness, Karsh Masson Gallery, Ottawa, Canada, 2008 Before the Horizon was Broken, Groninger Museum, the Netherlands, 2007 Coming exhibitions: Kiasma, Helsinki, Finland, 2012, and Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, Massachusetts, 2012.
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A source of inspiration
cent of the arable land in Finland, and the share of organic products in retail trade is slightly over one per cent. Organic production has been growing slowly in Finland, but it has been growing nonetheless. The biggest change has probably occurred in the attitudes of producers. Rauhala believes that there are many reasons for the slow growth of organic production in Finland. “Farmers are used to receiving orders and instructions from the authorities, instead of actively thinking about their opportunities. The chemical and mechanical industries have major financial interests at stake in agriculture. In addition, the Finnish food industry and trade are highly centralised, which makes real competition nonexistent.” More emphasis on organic
the economy. His vision is based on the idea that there is plenty of demand for organic products in the world. “The growth of organic production would have a positive impact on the economy in two ways: a decrease in the use of imported chemicals and energy would create savings in import investments, and growth in the export of organic products would increase export revenues. Focusing on organic production would also be more profitable for the industry than continuing to export bulk products to Russia.” Furthermore, Rauhala sees other quantifiable advantages in increasing the share of organic production: it would improve, for example, the condition of the Baltic Sea and lakes, Finland’s security of supply, and the occupational safety and health and profitability of farms.
According to Rauhala, organic production would offer the Finnish food industry a good opportunity to increase its role in Rauhala’s identity is built on farming and art. “There are many similarities: the cyclical and independent nature of work, as well as dependence on light,” he says.
In the altar paintings of St. Olaf’s Church in Tyrvää, Rauhala has depicted Adam and Eve as elephants. A plant with the eyes of a snake represents evil.
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Nutrients to be retained
ACTIVE WATER TREATMENT
for phosphorus text: MARJATTA SIHVONEN photo: TAPIO TUOMELA
Professor Eila Turtola surveys MTT’s pilot fields with high expectations. Her team’s laboratory research into active water purification methods have given promising results, and help in the form of practical field applications is on the horizon for Finland’s worst phosphorus-threatened water systems. “We are now ready to trial our active water treatment system in the field. The system’s iron and calcium containing granules effectively bind water-dissolved phosphorus in the laboratory, but it must also work in the varying natural conditions of the field, in winter and in flash floods”, says Turtola. The active water treatment system could improve the state of water systems in areas of high topsoil phosphorus content and in the vicinity of point sources such as horse enclosures. In addition to soluble phosphorus, MTT is also studying means of reducing the transfer of phosphorus to watersheds through field erosion. Erosion has been significantly controlled, for example, by spreading gypsum on fields to bind the surface soil. Both projects form part of MTT’s Water-friendly Agriculture programme. Demand for new methods In Finland, phosphorus losses from agricultural land cause eutrophication, particularly of the waters in the Finnish Archipelago and of rivers and lakes in the intensively cultivated regions of Southern Finland. There is healthy demand also elsewhere in Europe for effective methods of reducing nutrient losses. While Turtola is pleased with the technological step forward achieved here, she also looks ahead to a future where agriculture is based predominantly on recycled nutrients. “Nutrient cycles need to be much better controlled than at
MTT’s active water treatment system turns heads at the international COST 869 meeting in Jokioinen, Finland in summer 2010.
present because higher crop yields will have to be achievable with smaller inputs in the future.” An overweight nutrient cycle Intensified agriculture has caused Finland’s plant and livestock production to be geographically separated. Chemical fertilisers are used on arable land while manure is left to accumulate in excess at livestock holdings. Additionally, according to Turtola, Finland’s phosphorus fertilization recommendations have been fairly excessive. “This distorted, overweight nutrient cycle accumulates in the soil, from which phosphorus pollutes our water systems. We would actually be seeing a lot more problems than at present if it were not for the fact that soil can hold vast amounts of nutrients and also withstand other stresses surprisingly well”, says Turtola.
Healthy soil, good returns Turtola stresses that to improve the state of our water systems, new treatment technologies as well as long-term changes in cultivation methods are both needed. The condition of arable soils is reflected directly both in the environment and in crop yield. The benefits of improving the soil are therefore twofold: reduced load on the environment and ample food production. The journey from nutrient loss and compacted soils to sustainable nutrient cycles and well-structured soils is long, but changes for the better are already being seen. “The practical changes needed to improve the state of the environment will be taken in due course, if we have the will to do so”, concludes Turtola. Further information: eila.turtola@mtt.fi, tel. +358 40 595 5405
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Reducing climate emissions
Turn it down, but text: RAILA AALTONEN
photo: JAAKKO SUVALA/Rodeo
Agricultural greenhouse gas emissions must be brought down substantially by the year 2020. Finland’s target is a 13% reduction on 2005 levels. Researchers are searching the cowhouse, field and forest for ways to turn down the dial on emissions.
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TT is working on a joint project to produce future emission scenarios. The project estimates how changes in agricultural production and forest use will effect emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), namely methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide, over the next few decades. “We are drawing up four future scenarios for agriculture, each of which nevertheless includes a range of uncertainty factors. Even in the basic scenario of how emissions will develop with zero changes to existing production methods, emissions can still be affected, for example, by price development and support policies, which can alter the scope of production and its climate impact”, explains Principal Research Scientist Kristiina Regina of MTT. The project was launched during the autumn and is set to continue until the end of 2012. Other project members include the Finnish Forest Research Institute (METLA), the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) and the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The project is part of MTT’s Changing Climate and Agriculture programme. Spotlight on the cowhouse 30% of Finland’s agricultural gas emis-
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sions are generated from ruminant digestion. These emissions can, however, be reduced to some extent by modifying feeding methods. The first reduction scenario calculates how methane production and manure nitrogen levels could be reduced through modified feeding. At the same time, the scenario assesses how raising average cow age could reduce the methane load per kilogram of milk. The calculation also assesses the effect of different manure treatment methods, such as biogasification, on the release of greenhouse gases. Slow-changing soil carbon A further 20% of Finland’s agricultural GHG emissions are caused by peatland cultivation. The second reduction scenario is based on an assessment of measures related to soil carbon stocks and the use of peatland. “Soil carbon levels are slow to change. The scenario calculations determine the degree to which direct sowing could increase soil carbon stocks in Finland”, says Regina. The project is also assessing the effects of raising the organic material content of soils. The carbon balance of soils could be improved by adding plant residues, manure or other organic materials or, for example, by cultivating deep-rooting reed canary grasses. There are around 330,000 hectares of peatland – a soil type highly susceptible to carbon and nitrogen loss – under cultivation in Finland. Emissions from organic
soils can be reduced by afforestation or by grass cultivation. The fourth scenario combines the effect of all of the assessed measures and estimates whether by combining different methods the 13% GHG emissions reduction target could be achieved. Forests as a carbon reservoir The effectiveness of forests as a carbon sink depends on a complex range of variables. To investigate these, four forest management scenarios are being drawn up by the Finnish Forest Research Institute. According to Senior Researcher Risto Sievänen, the basic data for the study is already in place. “We are estimating the effect of different harvesting volumes and forest management methods on growing stock development using the MELA forest management planning system. This gives us the forest data we need to make our GHG emission estimates. The calculations also show how the amount of carbon contained by trees and the soil carbon balance evolve in response to different forest management models.” Focus on wood demand In the basic forestry scenario, forest use and energy wood demand are based on the forest policy goals of the current Finnish National Forest Programme. Energy wood and sawn timber demand are estimated based on general economic development to a high level of accuracy using a balance model developed for the forest sector.
Reducing climate emissions
how? The first change scenario estimates the effects of increasing demand for forest energy on the amount of carbon sequestered in trees and forest soil. Forest energy demand can be increased by measures aimed at promoting the use of bioenergy. The second future model examines the effect of government policy on the promotion of carbon sequestration by forests. The scenario investigates the effects of measures such as the payment of “carbon rent” to forest owners to delay final felling, thus increasing forest carbon sequestration. The third scenario model examines the combined effects of both increased forest energy demand and government carbon sequestration policy. A basis for decision-making The project teams are ready to update their scenario models as needed in pace with the continually evolving forest industry and energy policy. Sievänen does not, however, believe any dramatic changes are likely. “No energy policy or solution is ever going to tip the balance enough to turn forests from carbon sinks into emission sources.” The scenarios do not set out to provide any recommendations. The task of the models is to assess the alternatives as accurately as possible and to offer a broad basis for decision-making. Further information: kristiina.regina@mtt.fi, tel. +358 50 306 1676
30% of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions are generated by ruminant digestion.
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Health care and work in rural areas
Inge Karbe, Sales Assistant at the Kuhhorst organic farm, is showing the season’s vegetables to Executive Director Helmut Schattka. The farm shop is frequently visited by busloads of Berliners visiting the countryside.
A farm that offers a full life text and photos: TUULA AINASOJA
The Kuhhorst organic farm in Germany trains and employs intellectually disabled Berliners. The staff of the social farm help them identify their strengths. Well-being and a quality of life are grown together from small shoots. The Kuhhorst organic farm is located in the federal state of Brandenburg, which surrounds Berlin. An association for intellectually disabled West Berliners founded a modest social organic farm when the lands of East German collective farms were being redistributed after the German unification in the early 1990s.
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Today, the Kuhhorst farm trains and employs 75 intellectually disabled people. “Basically, we want to offer our customers what we all want from life: a meaningful job and the opportunity to enjoy normal everyday life,” says Helmut Schattka, Executive Director of Kuhhorst farm. Similar green care activities are becoming increasingly common in Germany, but the combination of health care and agriculture is still quite rare. The Kuhhorst organic farm is a pioneer in the field, and its awarded model has attracted wide interest.
Wide variety of duties With a broad range of large-scale production, Kuhhorst is able to offer duties appropriate for the capacity of each customer. The farm’s arable land totals 400 hectares and its cowshed has room for more than 200 cows. With more than a hundred pigs, the farm’s piggery offers plenty of work, too. There are about 1,400 ducks and geese in total on the farm. In addition to a slaughterhouse, the farm runs a cheese factory that also produces curd and yoghurt. The Kuhhorst farm shop sells meat and dairy products,
Health care and work in rural areas
Finland seeking a general policy Sense of community is important for the intellectually disabled people working at Kuhhorst. There is a strong team spirit also in the training kitchen team proudly presenting noodles prepared on the farm.
Kuhhorst is able to offer duties appropriate for the capacity of each customer.
Green care is a model that has been adopted in many countries in Europe. The model is based on the idea of using the nature and rural environments as a source of well-being. “There are many nature-assisted health care methods in use in Finland, but they should be gathered under a single umbrella term. This is why we have been introducing the international green care concept in Finland,” says Katariina Soini, Principal Research Scientist, MTT. Soini is heading a project studying the possibility of introducing green care activities widely in Finland. The project is a part of MTT’s Rural Future programme. “We get a lot of inquiries, and there seems to be a big need for information and advice. We have launched projects aimed at developing green care activities, and the association Green Care Finland was founded in the summer of 2010.” Well-being from farms
garden produce as well as spelt noodles made of flour ground at the farm mill. Focus on the quality of life “Manual work on the farm is beneficial for many intellectually disabled people, and especially at the emotional level, many develop tremendously when they experience the peaceful countryside after living in a crowded city,” says Schattka. Usually the intellectually disabled Berliners work in workshops manufacturing small mechanical components for industrial applications. On the farm, it is easy for them to understand the production processes and the purpose and meaning of their work. According to Schattka, the positive effect of animals and the rural environment on the well-being of customers is easy to notice, but the authorities remain difficult to convince about the benefits. “We often feel like we have to beg for
subsidies and funding from the authorities, while in fact we provide services that allow the city to fulfil its legislative duty to provide social and health care services to intellectually disabled people.” Economy in the background A third of the customers of Kuhhorst live in housing on the farm, and the rest travel daily to the farm by bus from Berlin. The organic farm is located about 50 kilometres from downtown Berlin. “The long distance from Berlin is a problem for many customers. We could have customers come from closer than Berlin, but the federal state of Brandenburg is unwilling to pay adequately for their care.” The farm’s activities rely on customerspecific commitments made by the City of Berlin. Schattka points out that even a social farm has to operate on a solid financial basis.
Green care in agriculture has become popular especially in the Netherlands and Belgium. According to international studies, an agricultural environment provides wide opportunities for promoting the mental and physical well-being of various customer groups. “On a farm, it is easy to assume responsibility for animals and plants, and to learn social skills. In addition, it is important for many people to see the results of their work and to feel a sense of community.” According to Soini, green care can provide a good additional source of income for farms, but the quality of activities must be kept high. A quality system for green care activities will be developed in a project scheduled to start at the beginning of 2011. Further information: katriina.soini@mtt.fi, tel. +358 40 725 1891
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Genes in safekeeping
Genetic diversity Text: HANNU KASKINEN
p r e s e r v e d
i n
l a n d r a c e s
Photos: SUOMEN SIEMENPERUNAKESKUS OY and HILMA KINNANEN
The most important old potato strain is the Lappish potato Puikula. Professional cultivators in Lapland have turned the potato into a product brand. “We also hope to achieve similar success with the unique potato onion. This has been cultivated predominantly in eastern and northern Finland.” Lappish potato Puikula and citrus apple are genuine Finnish landrace plants.
The Lappish potato Puikula is an example of a successful Finnish landrace plant product. The next success story may be the citrus apple, or the potato onion. Landrace plants preserve the biological diversity. Their cultivation continues the adaptation of plant strain, also during climate change. Landrace plants are thus important for plant breeding and research. Principal Research Scientist Merja Veteläinen of MTT Agrifood Research Finland explains that bred varieties began to displace landraces in cultivation at the start of the 20th century. Help came from the State when the resources of private individuals were no longer adequate for the transfer of landrace varieties to the next generation. The national plant genetic resources programme became the responsibility of MTT in 2003. MTT had been working with the Nordic Gene Bank even before the official preservation programme. The NGB was set up in 1979, and preserves cereals, oil crops and leguminous plants, among others, in seed form.
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Preserved in cultivation Almost all European countries have a preservation programme for landrace plants. In cultivation, however, it is under northern conditions that landrace plants have been especially well preserved. Finnish landrace plants have also been favoured by long distances, which remained unbridged by the trade in seeds and seedlings. Veteläinen assumes most of the local Finnish cultivated varieties to be cereals, of which the most important is rye, followed by barley and black seeded oat. Old is ‘in’ Gardening magazines observe that the heritage perennials are now back in fashion. There is also a glut of native varieties of the apple tree. “At an agricultural fair a few years ago some suppliers and top chefs enthused over the citrus apple. MTT preserved a few of these trees at its Piikkiö research station, and now a host are queueing to obtain the tree for their own plantations”, says Veteläinen.
Mapping of prospects MTT will be participating in a project to be launched next year under the EU 7th Framework Programme. The project will map the plant landraces of Finland and Italy along with their preservation prospects. “Landraces in Finland are preserved by family farms, even to the extent of being the pride of the family.” Nevertheless, Veteläinen points out, there are still varieties to be found that do not belong to the official conservation programme. Veteläinen and her European research colleagues last year published a book on European on-farm conservation. The book is the first review in this field, and reveals that on-farm conservation in Europe is fragmented to the degree that many varieties are threatened with extinction. “Subsistence farming is important in Eastern Europe, where food shortages are rife. There, landrace varieties have been maintained in cultivation, but are coming under threat as a result of EU subsidy policies.” Veteläinen draws comparison with Italy, where the locale is valued, along with the cultivation of landrace varieties. Further information: merja.vetelainen@mtt.fi, tel. +358 400 666 836
A real power berry
Text: PÄIVI HAAVISTO Photo: TAPIO TUOMELA/MTT archives
Your very good health! Blackcurrants continue to give up their secrets. A Finnish study has now shown that blackcurrant seed oil prevents allergies in babies. The study, conducted by the University of Turku, found that the children of mothers who took blackcurrant oil during pregnancy and breastfeeding suffered markedly lower atopic eczema at 12 months of age than those of the control subjects. According to coordinator of the study, Professor Raija Tahvonen of MTT Agrifood Research Finland, blackcurrant seed oil contains fatty acids omega-3 and -6 in ideal proportions and boosts the immune system. Tahvonen’s previous nutritional studies have also indicated that blackcurrant seed oil lowers levels of “bad” LDL cholesterol. The oil must be pressed or extracted from the seed though, as the body is unable to digest the seeds. Phenolic compounds “Blackcurrant peel contains other supernutrients such as plant-protecting phenolic compounds. They also prevent oxidative cell damage in humans”, says Tahvonen. Red, blue and violet anthocyanin pigments comprise the biggest group of
phenolic compounds. Blackcurrant is a good source of anthocyanins, although MTT has identified differences between plant varieties. The effects of phenolic compounds have been studied extensively on cell cultures. Polyphenols have been shown to resist cancer and inflammation and to prevent Helicobacter growth and attachment to the stomach lining. Japanese studies have also shown that blackcurrant extract helps reduce visual fatigue symptoms resulting from computer eye strain, and a project by MTT and the University of Eastern Finland is currently looking into whether the berry’s phenolic compounds are able to slow the onset of memory illnesses. Combined affects Tahvonen emphasises that the beneficial effects of blackcurrant are not down to any single magic nutrient or compound. “The flesh and peel of blackcurrants also contain plenty of vitamin C and E and minerals and micronutrients. They are also rich in fibre.” The most effective health cocktails are achieved by combining several types of berry. Trials conducted in Finland in which subjects ate around 150 grams of
Finnish berries each day have shown that the berries lower blood pressure, raise good cholesterol, strengthen the immune system and reduce the risk of diabetes. Freeze for best results Around 1,700 hectares of blackcurrant are currently commercially cultivated in Finland, although this figure is in decline. According to MTT, blackcurrant can be competitively produced if the best bedding and watering methods and yielding varieties, as identified in its research, are introduced and if the cultivation area is at least 10 hectares. New varieties bred by MTT also offer an alternative milder flavour to traditional blackcurrant. Blackcurrant is used industrially to produce juices, jams, jellies, berry powder, purees, seed oil. Home growers can simply freeze them whole or dry them, for example as a muesli supplement. The best way to preserve the important health properties of blackcurrants and blackcurrant juice is freezing.
Further information: raija.tahvonen@mtt.fi, tel. +358 40 481 9750
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Milk know-how to Kenya
Finnish training adds safety to Kenyan milk production text: ANNA-MARIA MÄKI-KUUTTI Photos: Eric Isselee/Rodeo and Hannu Korhonen
Building capacity to improve safety in the feed-dairy chain in Kenya • Coordinator: Professor Hannu J. Korhonen, MTT • Partners: Finnish Food Safety Authority Evira, University of Nairobi, Egerton University, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute • Project duration: 2010–2013 • Objective: To establish a modern reference laboratory at the University of Nairobi and investigate the presence of mycotoxin and antibiotic residues in the Kenyan milk production chain • Budget: EUR 590,000 • Financed by: Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland
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Milk know-how to Kenya
A bovine animal kept in the rear courtyard of a block of flats is a common sight in Nairobi. A familiar sight for Hannu Korhonen, too, whose dream of bringing better monitoring and safety to Kenya’s dairy production also extends to these city cows.
blocks of flats, right in the heart of Nairobi. As many as four million Kenyans each own a few milk cows. Close to 70 per cent of the milk produced is sold unpasteurised in unofficial markets direct from producer to consumer. Lab under development
Listening to Professor Hannu Korhonen, a certain, familiar phrase springs to mind: “You can leave Africa, but Africa never leaves you”. Korhonen, who works at MTT Agrifood Research Finland, was last in Kenya on a decade-long assignment in the 1980s. There he witnessed the long arc of Kenya’s agricultural development work at first hand. This sizeable project was wound down at the start of the 2000s when Finland joined other Nordic nations in pulling out of Kenya in protest at the country’s undemocratic direction. Kenya now has a multi-party system, although politically the situation remains troubled. Korhonen has returned to Kenya at the helm of a new development cooperation project, with mixed feelings. A major source of revenue The new project aims at improving the safety and hygiene of the fodder-milk chain. “The strong position of milk in the Kenyan diet and the regulations which secure unlimited production and marketing conditions are positive developments. Nevertheless, the boom in production makes quality difficult to monitor”, says Korhonen. Milk is a significant source of revenue both for small farmers in rural districts and for city-dwellers: it is not unusual to see city cows grazing in the rear courtyards of
The milk production chain in Kenya is not systematically monitored, something that is evident in the amount of biological contaminants. Approximately every tenth milk sample contains antibiotic residues, deriving from uncontrolled veterinary medication. The equivalent number in Finland is a thousand times smaller. Fungal toxins, or mycotoxins, occur in every third Kenyan milk sample and in over half of feed samples. The project will improve the safety monitoring of the milk chain through the establishment of a modern research and monitoring laboratory at the University of Nairobi. “We have already delivered the stock of equipment and materials needed to set up the laboratory. Training of technical staff and research scientists has begun”, Korhonen explains. In five years’ time, the facility aims at serving customers throughout East Africa. It is envisaged to operate as a reference laboratory, working according to EU standards, and issuing internationally approved certificates for the quality of certain food products. Toxins and milk Background information on the presence of mycotoxin and antibiotic residues in the milk production chain will also be collected from two project areas in Eastern and Western Kenya. Mycotoxin analysis will extend to the diet of rural inhabitants,
in addition to the hundreds of milk and thousands of feed samples. The mapping will be used to assess the extent of health risks caused by these biological contaminants throughout the food chain. “The data obtained will create a basis for legislative and educational work. We will be generating information and endeavouring to use it to influence the authorities, farmers, feed mills, dairies and consumers.” Biological contaminants in milk are the cause of serious health problems, such as poisoning and cancer. Finnish research scientists visiting the project area last spring were also able to participate in identifying the source of the problems: “Feedstuffs become contaminated as there are no proper storage facilities. Toxins transfer to milk, and eventually to humans, through cows eating contaminated feed.” Towards a better future Half of Kenya’a ethnically and culturally diverse population lives below the poverty line. Climate change is already hindering the practice of agriculture in East Africa, causing irregular rainfall, exacerbating droughts and facilitating the growth of moulds. Improving safety in the milk production chain is just a small step towards improving living conditions, and more will need to be done. The Kenya project is, in fact, part of a broader food safety programme in West and East Africa currently being prepared by MTT at the behest of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. Further information: hannu.j.korhonen@mtt.fi, tel. +358 40 548 6960 MTT ELO
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News photo: OLLI HÄKÄMIES/MTT archives
Baltic BatMan turns manure into money
The food waste
question
Statistics from England and Wales suggest that a total of 3.6 million tonnes of perfectly edible food is thrown away every year. In Finland, considerable amount of food is wasted as well. The FOODSPILL survey of MTT Agrifood Research Finland studies the amount of food wasted and the reasons for the trend. “Due to the amount of food waste, the environmental effects of many food items are much more severe than those of packaging and waste management, for example. However, consumers see food packaging as a bigger environmental issue than the amount of wasted food”, explains Juha-Matti Katajajuuri, Senior Research Scientists at MTT. According to him, there are no previous studies in Finland that cover the entire food chain, and individual surveys have only looked at small sample populations. International studies also show a lot of variation. “Many of the earlier studies conducted around the world are marred by notable uncertainties, which is why we can only really work on estimates when it comes to the amount of waste. Comparing different studies with each other has proven extremely difficult,” Katajajuuri explains. This is why a lot of thought went into the methodology of the FOODSPILL survey before the project got under way.
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Coordinated by MTT, the Baltic BatMan research project is developing renewable energy and organic fertilizers from the manure of domestic animals. The objective of the project is to create new manure treatment methods and business opportunities for the productisation of manure. The Baltic BatMan project involves a total of eighteen research and technology transfer organizations from eight countries in the Baltic Sea region. The project will disseminate information on existing best practices in these countries as regards manure treatment technologies. Special attention is being paid to the increased efficiency of phosphorus recycling. There are around 36 million head of cattle, 67 million pigs and 190 million units of poultry in the countries participating in the research project.
Plate waste under scrutiny The FOODSPILL survey focuses on households and restaurants, and more specifically on the least known factor in that sector: plate waste. Research scientists are monitoring the amount of food wasted by more than 400 Finnish households by means of questionnaires and food journals. The participating households will keep a detailed diary of the weights and types of food they throw away during a two-week period, as well as recording their reasons for discarding the food. The amount of food purchased is also monitored. In addition to the information gained from these food journals, Finnish food companies have agreed to send the research team statistics on the amount of food that they discard. “We are also looking into ways to considerably cut the amount of food waste. Our goal is to significantly reduce the amount of food binned at different stages of the food chain and by households”, Katajajuuri sums up.
Further information: juha-matti.katajajuuri@mtt.fi, tel. +358 50 359 9772
From problem to commodity Technology Research Director Markku Järvenpää from MTT says that manure is the only agricultural product that is not yet commercially utilised. Up until now manure has mainly been considered an environmental problem, but Baltic BatMan examines it as one among many commodities. “The intention is to create a forum bringing together the producers and users of new manure treatment technologies as well as research and political decision-making,” Järvenpää outlines. A major challenge for the project is the fact that agriculture, technology, resources and administration are different in each country. Järvenpää points out that this will make it necessary to find solutions for various structures and conditions. Funded through EU Baltic Sea Region Programme, the total budget of the Baltic BatMan project is EUR 3.74 million. In addition to MTT, the participants from Finland are the Finnish Environment Institute, the University of Helsinki and Turku Science Park Ltd. Further information: markku.jarvenpaa@mtt.fi, tel. +358 40 593 0811 and johanna.logren@mtt.fi, tel. +358 40 484 5097
News photo: JUHA HEIKKILÄ
Baltic Sea in dire straits? Survey results show that Finns are more concerned about the health of the Baltic Sea than the residents of other coastal states. A total of 9,000 people from different countries bordering the Baltic Sea were interviewed to find out how the sea is used and how people feel about its protection. According to Heini Ahtiainen, Research Scientist at MTT, Finns consider the health of the Baltic Sea relatively poor. “Most of the respondents also felt that the situation has deteriorated in recent years. According to the Finnish respondents, the biggest problems are the risks associated with oil shipments and blue-green algal blooms,”, says Ahtiainen. The survey is linked to the PROPABS research project which MTT coordinates. The project is aimed at studying the costs and benefits of protecting the Baltic Sea and involves close cooperation with the international research community. According to the survey, approximately 40% of Finns have donated money towards the protection of the Baltic Sea, and approximately one third would be willing to pay even more. In addition to the Finns, Polish and Danish respondents in particular were also willing to increase spending. The most popular solution to this was an emission charge. Further information: heini.ahtiainen@mtt.fi, tel. +358 40 861 0976
Towards a Europe self-sufficient in protein The production of protein has more than doubled in Europe during the past thirty years. However, the growth in demand has nearly matched this rate. The sources of feed protein include oil crops and legumes: soya beans, rapeseed, turnip rape, peas and faba beans. Only one third of all crop-based feed protein consumed in the EU is produced within the union’s borders. Finland’s selfsufficiency reaches this level in the best years of production. France is the most self-sufficient protein producer in the EU, whereas Spain, for example, imports four fifths of the feed protein it uses. A research project at MTT Agrifood Research Finland is looking for ways to improve Finland’s self-sufficiency in feed protein. A large share of the results are applicable elsewhere in Europe. “Our aim is to determine the bottlenecks in production. We want to establish Finland’s production potential and the
reasons why we are not living up to that potential. Based on economic and climate forecasts as well as long-term data on plant production we try to estimate what production in Finland could be like in the world of the 2020s,” says Professor Pirjo Peltonen-Sainio from MTT. Self-sufficiency in protein is already an issue of security of supply, and its importance will only increase with climate change. Natural disasters may have strong impacts on the availability and price of protein, while imported protein also involves the risk of salmonella. “On the other hand, climate change may bring about major leaps in Finnish feed protein production, as it will make it possible to cultivate legumes and winter varieties of oil crops in Finland,” PeltonenSainio points out. Further information: pirjo.peltonen-sainio@mtt.fi, tel. +358 40 522 1956
kuva: Rodeo/JUHA TUOMI
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