Media release: UK food and farming sector and Danish National Plant-based Action Plan

UK FOOD and farming sector to hear from Danish counterparts on their plan to put plant-based agriculture at the heart of a future food system

A packed room is expected within Parliament next week, as a delegation from Denmark arrives to outline their version of a sustainable food and farming policy to their British counterparts. 

At the event being staged by the Vegetarian Society, the new Labour minister for farming and food security Daniel Zeichner will be speaking alongside a delegation from Denmark, which includes Rasmus Prehn, member of the Danish Parliament and who as Food and Farming Minister was instrumental in ushering in a whole new approach to food and farming policy, known as the National Plant-based Action Plan.

The multi-year, €115 million programme puts forward a roadmap to significantly increase the proportion of plant foods in the national diet, with a view to cutting the country’s carbon emissions, improving health outcomes for ordinary Danes, and creating economic opportunities for the country’s food production sectors in a globally growing industry.

In particular, the former Danish farming minister will outline how the Danish government achieved cross-party agreement on the plan and their approach to negotiations with farming representatives.

The plan is now going from strength to strength with negotiations on possibly doubling the amount, while €5 million was added as recently as last week.  At the core of the initiative is a set of new revised national healthy eating guidelines recommended by nutrition scientists, which place a greater emphasis on plant protein and fruit and vegetable consumption and encourage the public to eat not only more sustainably, but more healthily.

To celebrate this achievement and facilitate further collaboration, a parliamentary reception is being held on Wednesday, November 13th in the Houses of Parliament. Hosted by the Vegetarian Society and kindly sponsored by Neil Coyle MP, the event will bring together policymakers and sector experts to discuss the plan’s development, its impact and whether the UK could adopt a similar approach.

Distinguished speakers at the reception will include former Danish Farming and Food Minister Rasmus Prehn MP, Daniel Zeichner MP Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl CEO of Dansk Vegetarisk Forening, and Richard McIlwain CEO of the Vegetarian Society UK. Their expertise and insights will provide valuable perspectives on the success of the National Plant-Based Action Plan and its implications for public health, nutrition, agriculture, public procurement, and sustainability.

The event will be attended by a cross-party group of MPs and members of the House of Lords, plus senior people from across the UK food and farming sector. 

Attendees will have the chance to learn from the experiences of Denmark and gain insights into the strategies employed to achieve such remarkable success.

Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl, CEO of Dansk Vegetarisk Forening commented: “What was crucial in paving the way for Denmark’s initiatives was the collaborative approach. I am looking forward to sharing our story on how conventional farmers, organic farmers, plant-based businesses and green NGO’s, including the vegetarian movement, all found common ground on this agenda”

Rasmus Prehn MP, former Danish Farming and Food Minister said: “We would like to become a world leader in plant foods, and we have indeed received a lot of international attention because of our plant-based initiatives. I am delighted to be able to share this with colleagues in the UK.”

“We are thrilled to host this reception to celebrate the achievements of the Danish Farm-to-Fork National Plant-Based Action Plan,” said Jen Elford, Head of Policy, the Vegetarian Society, “This event will not only showcase the positive impact of the plan but also foster collaboration among key stakeholders. We believe that by bringing together experts from different fields, we can collectively work towards a more sustainable and healthier future.”

For more information about the National Plant-Based Action Plan and the reception, please visit https://vegsoc.org/what-we-do-policy-work-parliamentary-reception/   

ENDS