The land of pigs has become the world’s leading expert in organic plant-based food.

By Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl, Secretary-General of the Danish Vegetarian Association, and Rasmus Prehn, Director of the Danish Organic Agriculture Association. Who would have thought that Denmark—the country with the most pigs per capita, and where Danish Bacon and Lurpak butter are among our best-known brands—is now also among the leading countries in the plant-based food revolution of the future, and is inspiring other countries to follow the same path through plant diplomacy? This is an overlooked and important story at a time when many people are hoping for changes to agriculture, and when the FAO (the UN Food and Agriculture Organization) estimates that four billion people need to eat more plant-based food if we are to meet the climate targets while also feeding the world. When Denmark adopted both a plant-based action plan and a plant fund through its 2021 agricultural agreement, and shortly beforehand had launched its new official dietary guidelines with a greater focus on plant-based food, it did not merely make Danish history. It also set an agenda that the rest of the world wants to learn from. Today, Denmark exports knowledge about how to promote plant-based food through cooperation, skills development and innovation, and how public procurement, continuing education and the upgrading of kitchen professionals, targeted work with the Organic Cuisine Label and other food-policy measures are moving one of the world’s most meat-eating nations in a more plant-based, healthy and sustainable direction. Danes’ consumption of pulses has since increased by 300 percent, from two to eight grams per day, and although there is still a long way to go before reaching 100 grams of pulses a day, the development is moving in the right direction. In recent years, we have been invited to give lectures and workshops in, among others, the British, Spanish, Greek and Dutch parliaments. In several places, larger events have been held, with businesses and various trade, patient and civil-society organisations invited to participate. A large number of countries are now in the process of drawing up their own plant-based action plans and establishing funds. The vision is clear. We can strengthen innovation and future growth in the food sector and move people’s eating habits in a healthier and more climate- and environmentally friendly direction at the same time, if we work across sectors. This success story is about Denmark at its best—when we manage to turn problems into opportunities. At the end of the 2010s, the climate struggle reached Northern Europe and Denmark in earnest. We saw the first real youth uprising since the 1960s. This led to a veritable climate election for the Danish Parliament in 2019. After that, Danish politics was no longer only about growth and welfare, but also about creating a society that remains within the planet’s boundaries. Ambitious climate targets were set. And the government set out to demonstrate action across all ministerial areas, including food. When the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration shortly afterwards faced the task of updating Denmark’s official dietary guidelines—a tradition we have maintained since 1936—experts from the Technical University of Denmark discovered major and highly interesting overlaps between what people need to eat to stay healthy and what they need to eat to live sustainably and within the planetary boundaries: more vegetables and pulses, and less meat. The new dietary guidelines were seen by various experts, whether in health, climate or environmental fields, as a genuine silver bullet capable of solving several problems at once. And although we are still far from complying with the dietary guidelines, many more people today are considering them and trying to follow them. Shortly afterwards, new agricultural policy was to be negotiated in Denmark. In parallel with the beginning of the negotiations, a large number of organisations, associations and companies had been working to develop positive visions for Denmark’s future food system. The Danish Vegetarian Association and the Danish Organic Agriculture Association established the Plant-Based Knowledge Centre. At the same time, a number of environmental organisations, together with the Plant-Based Food Industry Association, initiated a vision report for Denmark’s future food system, focusing on plant-based foods, animal welfare and organic farming, as well as the possibility of a new business adventure. This attracted attention both within the ministries and across political divides. The approach throughout was deliberately pragmatic. A majority of Danes agree that we can cut down somewhat on meat and eat meat of higher quality, associated with better animal welfare, while becoming far more curious about and proactive in exploring vegetables, pulses and lentils. In the early stages of negotiations on a new agricultural agreement, the coronavirus crisis and the issue of how Denmark handled its mink population meant that the Social Democratic minority government—perhaps in an attempt to reduce the level of conflict in Danish politics—wanted to incorporate an agreement on the future of agriculture into a broader and more unifying cross-party agreement, rather than pursue a narrow left-wing confrontation with the entire existing agricultural policy. In other words, the need for political skill and creativity increased enormously. But it was particularly welcome that so many environmental organisations had already paved the way for greater awareness of the value of plant-based food. With a record number of meetings on the agreement at the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, all the possibilities, methods and technologies for achieving the many objectives were discussed in depth. Presenting the future investment in plant-based food as a positive, forward-looking and hopeful business case for agriculture, rather than yet another round of zealous control and bureaucratic rule-following, became a unifying factor that brought together parties ranging from the Red-Green Alliance to the far right. When the agricultural agreement was adopted in October 2021, it had the support of virtually the entire Danish Parliament. The Plant Fund became one of the most innovative, concrete and visible outcomes of the agricultural agreement. The fund supports a wide range of initiatives, including education and innovation, and at least 50 percent of its funds must go to organic farming. Concrete initiatives include continuing education and further training for kitchen professionals. This is one of the measures that has made the greatest difference in workplaces, hospitals, nursing homes and other kitchens across the country, where new and exciting plant-based dishes are at the centre, creating joy and enthusiasm and inspiring many users to take the ideas home with them. Another example is the new opportunity to train as a “Green Culinary Professional” instead of becoming a traditional chef. The initiative has made it easier to recruit more young people, and especially more women, to the profession. Many have noted that, for example, the national culinary team, the Bocuse d’Or competition and many of the leading Michelin-starred restaurants have achieved some of their greatest recent successes with plant-based food. In addition, a large number of small and large companies have received grants for product development, scaling up and exports, and funding has been provided to develop Danish production of pulses, vegetables, quinoa and much more. The overall vision of the fund is for plant-based foods to play a significant role in business development, climate, the environment and public health. The plant-based action plan is also important. It can be summed up in three main political objectives: 1. More Danish production of plant-based foods. 2. A stronger Danish food industry, innovation and new products, jobs and exports. 3. A greener diet and a lower climate footprint. Together with Denmark’s dietary guidelines, the Plant Fund and the plant-based action plan are regarded as the elements that foreign countries are most interested in learning from us. All the countries we have visited have been inspired by how so many different actors in Denmark manage to work together and create change, and by how official public bodies and institutions help organise everything, set a direction and generate progress. The red Ø organic label and the Organic Cuisine Label are also structural measures highlighted as important elements in the green transition. Denmark’s plant-based initiative, with its emphasis on organic farming, can help move us towards a cleaner marine environment, a much smaller climate footprint, cleaner groundwater, greater biodiversity, better animal welfare, fewer lifestyle diseases such as cancer, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and, not least, better sperm quality and fertility. The broad support for this course in Denmark is quite simply inspiring the rest of the world. And just imagine what we could achieve if even more people supported it and pulled in the same direction—both at home and abroad! In Denmark, we can hope that the country’s new government, as well as all municipalities, regions and the new health councils, will pick up the thread and continue working for better health and greater climate and environmental consideration through food that more closely follows the dietary guidelines. Specifically, we envision the government promoting green and healthy choices when VAT on food is removed or reduced. We also hope that all public kitchens and canteens will develop a strategy for following the dietary guidelines—for example, by using the Organic Cuisine Label more proactively, as we know it is one of the most effective drivers of climate-friendly and healthy food based on the dietary guidelines. The country’s primary and lower-secondary schools should also be included: school meals should be made permanent, organic and aligned with the dietary guidelines. At European level, we should compile best practices so that we can learn more effectively from one another and draw inspiration. It could make sense to allocate funds to support initiatives at European level, such as plant-based action plans, an EU plant fund, organic cuisine labels and further training for kitchen professionals. Investment in European production of vegetables, pulses, berries, nuts and fruit should be incorporated into the EU’s agricultural support schemes. We are more than happy to continue the fight. All other associations, organisations, political parties and individuals who wish to join us are more than welcome. In particular, we would like to see the country’s many capable patient organisations revitalise the campaign for more food based on the dietary guidelines that we saw when the guidelines were launched. We can achieve so much in the field of health and reap billions in health-economic benefits if we normalise green food.