Ecologists are puzzled: Danes are increasingly saying no to climate-friendly, healthy root vegetables.

6/22/2026

In just 10 years, Danes' consumption of potatoes has decreased by 33%. Additionally, organic potato sales, measured in volume, declined by approximately 18.5% in 2025 compared to 2024. The remaining organic potato growers are puzzled. How could it have gone so wrong for this climate-friendly, healthy, and filling root vegetable? And why has the market share for organic potatoes fallen when 7 out of 10 Danes are concerned about pesticides in drinking water, yet still predominantly choose conventional potatoes, which are the most sprayed crop in the country? This was what a group of organic potato growers tried to find out when the Innovation Center for Organic Farming, in collaboration with the Organic Association, held this year's Eco-Market Day in Almind near Kolding. Leading the debate were Sven Hermansen, senior consultant at the Innovation Center for Organic Farming, and Birgitte Jørgensen, market manager for retail at the Organic Association. Lack of info and taste The main message was that action is needed at all levels—from producers, retail chains, and associations like the Organic Association—to promote organic potatoes: there is a lack of focus on taste in processing, and consumers do not receive enough information about the potatoes when they hit the shelves. As a result, they choose the easiest and cheapest options instead. "Retail chains can do much more to sell potatoes and to label on packaging which varieties are good for what," said Birgitte Jørgensen, who also emphasized that the problem with demand runs deeper than just changing packaging. "Food culture in Denmark is more about quantity than quality, but the responsibility isn't only on consumers: it's the entire supply chain. We need to educate people in the sales sector so they can better guide consumers on how to choose and prepare, for example, potatoes. Large supermarkets may have trained butchers and bakers, but no longer train staff in fruits and vegetables," she explained. Many challenges in the field The challenges for organic farmers begin already in the field, where, unlike their conventional counterparts, they are not allowed to spray against mold, weeds, and pests, resulting in lower yields. At the same time, the climate has become warmer, requiring ongoing development of more resistant varieties that mature earlier in the season to avoid mold, which particularly affects crops later in the year. "We do a lot of research on stromata; how the leaves open during the season, and we work with early varieties that reach a certain size before mold can attack. Solist is a variety that performs well. Belmira is a fairly resistant variety against several types of mold, and Pondus is an early variety that can yield reasonably before mold can strike," said Torben Nielsen from Danespo, who breeds potatoes for the entire market. "But Torben, I heard you say 'taste'?" interrupted Sven Hermansen from the innovation center, to which Torben Nielsen, with a slight smile, had to admit: "It's not something we choose based on when we taste them—it's a second opinion, unfortunately. We had the variety Darling, which had the best taste, but it wasn't skin-keeping, so we dropped it again. So, finding the perfect variety is really difficult." Taste is not decisive While producers prefer robust varieties, retail prioritizes price. Taste is not a decisive factor at any point. "Supermarkets are driven by numbers; how much is sold, what it costs, and what they get out of it on the bottom line. Most stores only carry one type of potato, and consumers will always want the new potatoes," said Birgitte Jørgensen, highlighting another problem: a limited variety of options. Potatoes are very different, and if you try to make mashed potatoes from a variety not suitable for mashing, the taste experience will be poor. This may explain why more and more people are choosing to skip potatoes altogether. They simply do not know which varieties are suitable for what, and even if they do, they have a limited selection to choose from. "There is simply a lack of a larger supply," said one of the listeners. "We compromise on the varieties we have. Some are not offered, and some baking potatoes give a disappointing experience," added another. Have tried campaigns Birgitte Jørgensen shared that they have tried campaigns, but their effects are short-lived. The focus remains on price, and especially young consumers want something easy to prepare—pasta and rice often win over potatoes. Torben Nielsen recognizes this. "It's hard to get consumers to choose anything other than the big two-kilo bag, which is the cheapest. It's rare that buyers ask about varieties—they look for price and packaging," he said. However, there is hope, as the Organic Association has received funding for a three-year project where responsible staff in grocery stores can undergo further training in fruits and vegetables starting this fall, Birgitte Jørgensen explained: "We hope this can make a difference because, overall, we also need to eat more plants, and it doesn't help if staff lack the professional knowledge."

In just 10 years, Danes' consumption of potatoes has decreased by 33 percent. Additionally, organic potato sales measured in volume declined by approximately 18.5 percent in 2025 compared to 2024.

The organic potato growers are left puzzled.

For how could it have gone so wrong for this climate-friendly, healthy, and filling root vegetable? And why has the organic market share fallen when 7 out of 10 Danes are concerned about pesticides in drinking water, yet still predominantly choose the conventional potato, which is the country's most sprayed crop?

This was what a group of organic potato growers tried to find out when the Innovation Center for Organic Farming, in collaboration with, among others, the Organic Association, held this year's Eco-Market Day in Almind near Kolding. Leading the debate were Sven Hermansen, senior consultant at the Innovation Center for Organic Farming, and Birgitte Jørgensen, market manager for retail at the Organic Association.

Lack of info and taste

The main message was that action is needed at all levels—from producers, retail chains, and organizations like the Organic Association—to promote organic potatoes: There is a lack of focus on taste in the processing work, and consumers do not receive enough information about the potato when it lands on the shelves. So instead, they choose the easiest and cheapest option.

”Retail chains can certainly put more effort into selling potatoes and writing on the packaging which potato varieties are good for what,” said Birgitte Jørgensen, who also emphasized that the problem with demand runs deeper than just a new packaging solution.

”The food culture in Denmark is more about quantity than quality, but it’s not only consumers who bear the responsibility: it’s the entire supply chain. We need to educate people in the sales sector so they can better guide people on how to choose and prepare, for example, potatoes. Large supermarkets may have trained butchers and bakers, but no longer train staff in fruits and vegetables,” she explained.

Many challenges in the field

The challenge for organic farmers begins already in the field, as unlike their conventional colleagues, they are not allowed to spray against mold, weeds, and pests, resulting in lower yields. At the same time, the climate has become warmer, so there is a continuous effort to develop varieties that are more resistant and that mature earlier in the season to avoid mold, which particularly affects crops later in the year.

”We do a lot of research into stromata; how the leaves open during the season, and we work with early varieties that reach a certain size before mold can attack. Solist is a variety that performs well. Belmira is a fairly resistant variety against several types of mold, and Pondus is an early variety that can yield reasonable harvests before mold can strike,” explained Torben Nielsen from Danespo, who breeds potatoes for the entire market.

”But Torben, I heard you say ‘taste’?” interrupted Sven Hermansen from the innovation center, to which Torben Nielsen, with a slight grin, had to admit:

”It’s not something we choose based on when we taste them – it’s second opinion, unfortunately. We had the variety Darling, which had the best taste, but it wasn’t skin-strong, so we dropped it again. So it’s really difficult to find the perfect variety, it really is.”

Taste is not decisive

While producers prefer robust varieties, retail prioritizes price. Taste is not a decisive factor at any point.

”Supermarkets are driven by numbers; how much is sold, what it costs, and what they get out of it on the bottom line? Most stores only have one type of potato, and consumers will always want the new potatoes,” said Birgitte Jørgensen, thus highlighting another problem: a poor variety selection.

Potatoes are very different, and if you try to make mashed potatoes from a variety that isn’t suitable for mashing, you get a poor taste experience. This may explain why more and more people are choosing to skip potatoes. They simply do not know which varieties can be used for what, and even if they do, they do not have a varied selection to choose from.

”There is simply a lack of a larger supply,” said one of the listeners.

”We compromise on the varieties we have. Some are not offered, and some of the baking potatoes give a disappointing experience,” added another.

Have tried campaigns

They have tried campaigns, Birgitte Jørgensen told, but their effect is short-lived. The focus still remains on price, and especially young consumers want something easy to prepare – here, pasta and rice win over potatoes.

Torben Nielsen recognizes this.

”It’s difficult to get consumers to choose anything other than the big two-kilo bag, which is the cheapest. It’s rare that buyers ask about varieties – they ask for price and packaging,” he said.

However, there is hope, as the Organic Association has received funding for a three-year project, where responsible staff in grocery stores can receive further training specifically in fruits and vegetables starting this coming fall, Birgitte Jørgensen explained:

”We hope this can make a difference, because overall, we also need to eat more plants, and it’s no use if the staff lack the professional knowledge.”