FFF PODCAST EPISODE 23: Denmark’s “world first national Action Plan” for plant-based foods

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The Danish government has published the first-ever national Action Plan outlining how the country can transition toward a more plant-based food system. In this podcast, Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl, the secretary general, the Vegetarian Society of Denmark, and Emil Andersen, co-founder and CCO of Denmark-based plant-based company Perfect Season, discuss the plan.

The Danish government has published the first-ever national Action Plan outlining how the country can transition toward a more plant-based food system. In this podcast, Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl, the secretary general, the Vegetarian Society of Denmark, and Emil Andersen, co-founder and CCO of Denmark-based plant-based company Perfect Season, discuss the plan.

 

 

No other country in the world “comes close” to offering a similar plant-based “Action Plan”, according to experts.

 

Last month, the Danish government became the first country in the world to publish a roadmap to make its food system more plant-based.

 

The 40-page plan outlines the Danish government's pledge to reduce greenhouse gas by boosting plant-based food production.

 

It is hoped the plan, released by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries in Denmark, will inspire other countries to follow suit.

 

Dragsdahl says the Action Plan, which is part of a broader plan to advance plant-based foods in Denmark, is not a “divisive topic”, unlike in other countries.

 

He says in Denmark the move has brought together stakeholders agreeing that the food system should move in a more plant-based direction.

 

As an example, he says that while the Danish livestock industry doesn’t want to cut animal production, he says “many of them can see it’s very difficult to reach climate targets”, so they embracing plans to grow the plant-based sector.

 

However, he points out that one criticism of the Action Plan is its lack of tangible targets.

 

Andersen admits the Danish public is detached from the Action Plan but says it is aimed at the food industry which he says has given it a “lot of support”.