Influence of site conditions and production system on the environmental impacts of domestic and imported cheese.

In this study, cheese produced in Switzerland was compared to imported cheese from the main countries of origin, France, Italy, and Germany. The environmental impacts of cheese production were dominated by milk production. The average Swiss milk production was characterized by a low input of concentrates and the lowest milk yield per cow. Despite this lower milk yield, the environmental impacts of Swiss milk were lower or similar to milk produced in the other countries, with the exception of land occupation. The good growing conditions for grassland and a high quality of roughage allow to produce milk at moderate intensity level in an efficient way. The study showed that there is no simple relationship between the amount of concentrates, milk yield and environmental impacts, instead the results depend on the whole production system, and site conditions can influence the environmental impacts significantly.