Elin Röös

I research and teach about sustainable food production and consumption from many different angles. My research includes assessing the environmental impact of different foods, production systems and dietary patterns. Developing and modeling future scenarios on how produce food for a growing population in a sustainable way is also something I work with. I am also involved in several interdisciplinary projects where we look at economic and informative policy instruments for more sustainable food consumption.

I also work 5% for TABLE, a global platform for synthesizing, disseminating and discussing research about a sustainable food system.

I am responsible for the course Sustainable development in the energy sector, 5 credits, at the Energy Systems Program.

I also give lectures on the topic of climate and environmental impact of agriculture and food production and consumption at SLU, Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet.

Selection of ongoing projects:

Mistra Food Futures is a research program focusing on a sustainable and resilient food system. The program is led and coordinated by SLU in collaboration with the research institute RISE and Stockholm Resilience Center at Stockholm University. Mistra Food Futures will develop strategies that will lead to a sustainable Swedish food system that delivers healthy food. In Mistra Food Futures, I work with developing indicators and tools for measuring and monitoring the sustainability of the Swedish food system, as well as with scenario development for more sustainable food systems.

Towards a sustainable Swedish food system - a knowledge synthesis of environmental impacts and policy options. In this project funded by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, existing knowledge is mapped with regard to 1) the environmental effects of Swedish food consumption, and 2) various policy instruments to reduce such negative effects. This compilation of knowledge will be used to identify additional research needs and also serve as a basis for the development of various policy instruments such as, for example, communication initiatives, the design of tax systems and various types of regulations. I am the project manager in the project which runs until March 2023 and which is a collaboration between SLU, SEI, the Beijer Institute, KTH and Chalmers.

BiLCA - How does Swedish food production affect biodiversity? Development of assessment methods at product level. In this project, we will establish biodiversity characterisation factors for Sweden that consider species richness, functional diversity, landscape effects and different reference situations, and test these in case studies comparing organic and conventional crop production, and extensive and intensive beef production. Large Swedish biodiversity datasets available from environmental monitoring systems, peer-reviewed studies and yet unpublished data will be consolidated and used for this purpose. The project thus aims at making biodiversity data useful in current decision making at policy, business and consumer level, and at advancing methods for doing so, hence contributing to generalisable scientific advances in the field. This interdisciplinary project will be carried out by leading LCA-experts and ecologists, working closely with a large stakeholder group. Funded by Formas and runs between 2021-2025.

I collaborate with a large number of actors in society (public authorities, food industry and retail and civil society organizations) through various projects and as an expert in a number of different contexts. I have carried out paid assignments for organizations / companies such as the Swedish Farmers' Association, the National Food Agency, WWF, Oatly and Danone. Since 2017, however, I am fully funded by public funds. I continue my broad commitment to society in order to drive the development towards a more sustainable food system. For example, I am part of the steering group for the project Fossil-free meat and in various reference groups in research projects.

I hold a MSc in Engineering Physics from Uppsala University. After graduating in 1999, I worked for ten years in the IT and telecom industry with product and project management. I began my doctoral studies at SLU in 2008 and in 2013 I defended my thesis Analysing the carbon footprint of food - Insight for consumer communication.

I am the main supervisor of Karin von Greyerz (SLU), Maria Jacobsen (SLU) and Lindsay Holsen (SLU) and co-supervisor of Kajsa Resare Sahlin (Stockholm Resilience Center). I also supervise several master students.

Previous PhD-students:

Stanley Zira, co-supervisor, 2018-2022, Towards sustainable livestock systems: Developing and applying methods for broad sustainability assessment of pig and cattle systems.

Emma Moberg, co-supervisor, 2017-2022, The environmental pressures of foods: Application in climate taxation and sustainability assessment of diets.

Johan Karlsson, co-supervisor, 2017-2022, Livestock as resource users and landscape managers - A food systems perspective.

See all publications on Google Scholar here >> 

Zira S, Röös E, Ivarsson E, Friman J, Møller H, Samsonstuen S, Olsen HF, Rydhmer L (2022) An assessment of scenarios for future pig production using a One Health approach. Livestock Science, 104929. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2022.104929

Resare Sahlin K, Carolus J, von Greyerz K, Ekqvist I, Röös E (2022) Delivering “less but better” meat in practice—a case study of a farm in agroecological transition. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 42 (2), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-021-00737-5

Röös E, de Groote A, Stephan A (2022) Meat tastes good, legumes are healthy and meat substitutes are still strange-The practice of protein consumption among Swedish consumers. Appetite, 106002. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2022.106002

Hammar T, Hansson PA, Röös E (2022) Time-dependent climate impact of beef production–can carbon sequestration in soil offset enteric methane emissions? Journal of Cleaner Production 331, 129948. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129948

Carton N, Swiergiel W, Tidåker P, Röös E, Carlsson G (2022) On-farm experiments on cultivation of grain legumes for food–outcomes from a farmer–researcher collaboration. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 1-11.

Curi-Quinto K, Unar-Munguía M, Rodríguez-Ramírez S, Röös E, Willett W, Rivera JA (2021) Diet cost and quality using the Healthy Eating Index-2015 in adults from urban and rural areas of Mexico. Public health nutrition, 1-12.

Kalt G, Mayer A, Haberl H, Kaufmann L, Lauk C, Matej S, Röös E, Theurl M, Erb KH (2021) Exploring the option space for land system futures at regional to global scales: The diagnostic agro-food, land use and greenhouse gas emission model BioBaM-GHG 2.0. Ecological Modelling 459, 109729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2021.109729

Bajželj B, Laguzzi F, Röös E (2021) The role of fats in the transition to sustainable diets. The Lancet Planetary Health 5 (9), e644-e653. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(21)00194-7

Zira S, Rydhmer L, Ivarsson E, Hoffman R, Röös E (2021) A life cycle sustainability assessment of organic and conventional pork supply chains in Sweden. Sustainable Production and Consumption 28, 21-38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2021.03.028 

Tidåker P, Karlsson Potter H, Carlsson G, Röös E (2021) Towards sustainable consumption of legumes: How origin, processing and transport affect the environmental impact of pulses. Sustainable Production and Consumption 27, 496-508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2021.01.017

Karlsson JO, Parodi A, van Zanten H, Hansson PA, Röös E (2021) Halting European Union soybean feed imports favours ruminants over pigs and poultry. Nature Food 2, 38-46. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-00203-7

Röös E, Bajzelj B, Weil C, Andersson E, Bossio D, Gordon LJ (2021) Moving beyond organic – A food system approach to assessing sustainable and resilient farming. Global Food Security 28, 100487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100487 

von Brömssen C, Röös E (2020) Why statistical testing and confidence intervals should not be used in comparative life cycle assessments based on Monte Carlo simulations. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-020-01827-4 

Resare Sahlin K, Röös E, Gordon L (2020) ‘Less but better’ meat is a sustainability message in need of clarity. Nature Food 1, 520–522. https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-00140-5 

Zira S, Röös E, Ivarsson E, Hoffman R, Rydhmer L (2020) Social life cycle assessment of Swedish organic and conventional pork production. International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-020-01811-y 

Bajželj B, Quested TE, Röös E, Swannell RPJ (2020) The role of reducing food waste for resilient food systems. Ecosystem Services 45,101140. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2020.101140 

Milestad R, Röös E, Stenius T (2020) Tensions in future development of organic production—views of stakeholders on Organic 3.0. Organic Agriculture. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13165-020-00312-4  

Moberg E, Karlsson Potter H, Wood A, Hansson PA, Röös E (2020) Benchmarking the Swedish Diet Relative to Global and National Environmental Targets—Identification of Indicator Limitations and Data Gaps. Sustainability 12,  1407. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12041407

Kummu M, Kinnunen P, Lehikoinen E, Porkka M, Queiroz C, Röös E, Troell M, Weil C (2020) Interplay of trade and food system resilience: Gains on supply diversity over time at the cost of trade independency. Global Food Security, 24, 100360.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100360

Godde CM, de Boer IJM, Ermgassen E, Herrero M, van Middelaar C, Muller A, Röös E, Schader C, Smith P, van Zanten H, Garnett T (2020) Soil carbon sequestration in grazing systems: managing expectations. Climatic Change. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-020-02673-x  

Karlsson JO, Garnett T, Rollins NC, Röös E (2019) The carbon footprint of breastmilk substitutes in comparison with breastfeeding. Journal of Cleaner Production 222, 436-445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.03.043

Moberg E, Walker Andersson M, Säll S, Hansson P-A, Röös, E (2019) Determining the climate impact of food for use in a climate tax – design of a consistent and transparent model. The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11367-019-01597-8 

Karlsson JO, Röös E (2019) Resource-efficient use of land and animals—Environmental impacts of food systems based on organic cropping and avoided food-feed competition. Land Use Policy 85, 63-72. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.03.035 

Gren IM, Moberg E, Säll S, Röös E (2018) Design of a climate tax on food consumption: examples of tomatoes and beef in Sweden. Journal of Cleaner Production, 211: 1576-1585. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.11.238

Karlsson J, Carlsson G, Lindberg M, Sjunnestrand T, Röös E (2018) Designing a future food vision for the Nordics through a participatory modeling approach. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 38:59. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-018-0528-0

Röös E, Carlsson G, Ferawati F, Hefni M, Stephan A, Tidåker P, Witthöft C (2018) Less meat, more legumes - prospects and challenges in the transition towards sustainable diets in Sweden. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems.  https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742170518000443

van Zanten H, Herrero M, Van Hal O, Röös E, Muller A, Garnett T, Gerber PJ, Schader C, De Boer IJM (2018) Defining a land boundary for livestock production. Global Change Biology, 24(9):4185-4194. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14321  

Fischer K, Röös E (2018) Controlling Sustainability in Swedish Beef Production: Outcomes for Farmers and the Environment. Food Ethics 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41055-018-0027-7 

Röös E, Mie A, Wivstad M, Salomon E, Johansson B, Gunnarsson S, Wallenbeck A, Hoffmann R, Nilsson U, Sundberg C, Watson CA (2018) Risks and opportunities of increasing yields in organic farming. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 38:14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-018-0489-3

Röös E, Bajželj B, Smith P, Patel M, Little D, Garnett T (2017) Greedy or needy? Land use and climate impacts of food in 2050 under different livestock futures. Global Environmental Change 47:1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2017.09.001

Slätmo E, Fischer K, Röös E (2017) The framing of sustainability in sustainability assessment frameworks for agriculture. Sociologia Ruralis 57(3):378-395. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/soru.12156

Spendrup S, Röös E, Schütt E (2017) Evaluating Consumer Understanding of the Swedish Meat Guide—A Multi-layered Environmental Information Tool Communicating Trade-offs When Choosing Food. Environmental Communication. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2017.1308402

Röös E, Bajželj B, Smith P, Patel M, Little D, Garnett T (2017) Protein futures for Western Europe: potential land use and climate impacts in 2050. Regional Environmental Change 17: 367. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10113-016-1013-4

Hunter E, Röös E (2016) Fear of climate change consequences and predictors of intentions to alter meat consumption. Food Policy 62:151-160. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2016.06.004

Röös E, Patel M, Spångberg J (2015). Producing oat drink or cow's milk on a Swedish farm - environmental impacts considering the service of grazing, the opportunity cost of land and the demand for beef and protein.  Agricultural Systems 142:23-32 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2015.11.002

Röös E, Patel M, Spångberg J, Carlsson G, Rydhmer L(2015). Limiting livestock production to pasture and by-products in a search for sustainable diets. Food Policy 58:1-13. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2015.10.008

Röös E, Karlsson H, Witthöft C, Sundberg C. (2015)  Evaluating the sustainability of diets – combining environmental and nutritional aspects. Environmental Science & Policy 47:157-166. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2014.12.001

Röös E, Ekelund L, Tjärnemo H (2014) Communicating the environmental impact of meat production: challenges in the development of a Swedish meat guide. Journal of Cleaner Production. 73(0) 154-164. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.10.037

Hallström E, Röös E, Börjesson P (2014) Sustainable meat consumption: a quantitative analysis of nutritional intake, greenhouse gas emissions and land-use from a Swedish perspective. Food Policy 47:81-90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.04.002

Röös E, Karlsson H. (2013) Effect of eating seasonal on the carbon footprint of Swedish vegetable consumption. Journal of Cleaner Production. 59:63-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.06.035

Röös E, Sundberg C, Tidåker P, Strid I, Hansson P-A (2013) Can carbon footprint serve as an indicator of the environmental impact of meat production? Ecological Indicators 24:573–581. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2012.08.004