Parliamentary Reception

Decarbonising our food system and improving public health outcomes

Denmark is bringing in new measures to make its agriculture and public food procurement among the most sustainable in Europe. In October last year, Denmark published the world’s first National Action Plan for Plant-Based Foods. The multi-year, €100 million programme puts forth a roadmap to radically increase the proportion of plant-based 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.

Denmark consumes more meat per capita than all but a handful of countries. The average Dane eats three times the recommended amount – for context, the figure for the US is eats three and half times. Denmark is also one of the world’s major meat exporters, with the Danish Crown Group alone being the world’s largest pork exporter and Europe’s largest pork producer.  It’s a hugely important industry.

Needless to say, the National Action Plan has had to overcome significant challenges – far greater than those that would be faced in the UK – to ensure that Denmark’s agricultural producers could come on board and have a stake in the plan.

Under the new National Plant-based Plan fresh, healthy, and low-carbon food, produced in Denmark, is supplied directly to public kitchens, while new infrastructure and funding from government is in place to increase plant food consumption and drive plant-product innovation.

At the core of the initiative is a set of new revised national healthy eating guidelines designed by public health officials 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.

In addition, this exemplary piece of integrated sustainable food policy aims to improve how all stakeholders, from farmers and growers to public health professionals, from scientists and agricultural processors to food companies and caterers, work together to increase the demand and supply of healthy plant foods.

As part of this ground-breaking Danish policy, a new action plan is published every year focussing on the most pressing priorities. An overarching multi-year strategy is in place along with a government fund known as the Plant-Based Food Grant which underpins the transition to a healthier more sustainable food system.

Speakers at the event include:

• Former Danish Farming and Food Minister Rasmus Prehn MP
• Daniel Zeichner MP Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs (confirmed)
• Rune-Christoffer Dragstahl CEO of Dansk Vegetarisk Forening
• Richard McIlwain CEO of the Vegetarian Society UK

We will be joined by Members of Parliament, Members of the House of Lords, and experts from a wide variety of fields, including public health, nutrition, agriculture, public procurement, and sustainability with the opportunity to network with attendees.

Spaces are limited but we would love to see you there, so please, if you would like to receive an invitation, email Jen@vegsoc.org

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