Carl Linnaeus’ Study of Livestock Forage Preferences Analyzed

Scientists have analyzed data from a study conducted by Carl Linnaeus 275 years ago to determine livestock preferences for different varieties of plants. Linnaeus conducted tests with 643 different plant species and several different species of livestock, but the results were never analyzed. Now, researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden have compiled and analyzed the original data. The statistics show that pigs were the most selective of the animals tested, eating just 32% of the 204 plant species tested on all the animals. This was followed by horses at 59%, cows at 66%, sheep at 82% and goats at 85%. In addition, the data showed cows and horses were the best at avoiding toxic plants.