In 2023, Denmark became the first country worldwide to launch an official Action Plan for Plant-Based Foods. Since then, the country has allocated 1.3 billion DKK to strengthen the production and consumption of plant-based products.
Steps taken so far include updating dietary guidelines to align more closely with the EAT-Lancet Commission’s planetary health diet, supporting plant-based startups, and providing continuing education for professional kitchen staff. Now, several organisations have joined forces to form the Danish Plant-Based Diplomacy initiative, which aims to inspire the European Commission, the European Parliament, and member states to pursue similar plant-based policies.
The organisations involved include the Danish Food and Drink Federation (DI Fødevarer), the Danish Chamber of Commerce, the Organic Denmark Association, the Danish Agriculture & Food Council, think tank Frej, youth organisation LandboUngdom, the Danish Plant-Based Business Association, and the Vegetarian Society of Denmark.
Danish Plant-Based Diplomacy plans to send delegations to parliaments and embassies, and to participate in networking events and roundtable discussions. It is hoped that strengthening plant-based food production could provide strong economic opportunities, as well as benefiting the environment and public health.
“A political success”
The launch comes as Denmark takes on the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. The country’s presidency programme says it will “focus on the potential of a common EU action plan for plant-based foods and a common EU protein strategy”. The presidency is also planning to host a plant-based food conference and a Plant Food Inspiration Summit later this year.
Euractiv notes that the new initiative may face backlash, since there are continuing efforts to restrict the labelling of plant-based alternatives in the EU (seemingly to prevent them from competing with animal products). However, previous attempts to enact these types of restrictions have all failed, with the Court of Justice of the European Union ruling last year that no member state could ban plant-based products from using “meaty” names.
“Denmark has demonstrated that a plant-based transition is not only possible but also a political success, backed by both the agricultural and industrial sectors,” said Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl, Secretary General of the Vegetarian Society of Denmark and newly appointed Chair of the International Vegetarian Union. “With Danish Plant-Based Diplomacy, we want to share the Danish experience so the rest of the EU is inspired to develop similar initiatives that benefit the climate, biodiversity, and public health.”
