Denmark wants its people to shift from a pork-heavy to plant-based diet

Beef and pork are dinner-time staples, not least because Denmark is one of the world’s largest pig meat exporters. Its local cuisine also relies on such foods—think hot dogs, meatballs and stegt flæsk, a crispy pork dish.

Despite its deep roots in meat, Denmark is now nudging its citizens to adopt a plant-based diet instead. 

Over the years, Danes’ meat-heavy appetites have contributed to increasing the country’s carbon emissions. The average person in Denmark consumes nearly three times the recommended amount of red meat (that’s only slightly less than the U.S.), which has been found to use significantly more land while releasing more greenhouse gases. 

So, to slash its carbon footprint and transform its agriculture, Denmark has adopted a slew of innovative measures geared towards a plant-based diet—from government strategies to plant-based funds.   

The country tweaked its dietary guidelines to have less meat in a week and launched an Action Plan for Plant-Based Foods in October, aimed at increasing the production and consumption of plant-based (or vegan) diets. The Danish government offers a grant worth DKK 675 million ($97 million) in subsidies to bring innovative projects promoting a “green economy” to life. 

The government calls these strategies the “future” as they will eventually improve overall health and fight climate change.   

“It sends a signal to countries that are similarly deeply rooted in the meat tradition that it’s possible to create dialogue and start initiatives for change. It’s easy to copy-and-paste,” Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl, secretary general of the Vegetarian Society of Denmark, told Bloomberg in a report published Thursday. 

Earlier this week, Denmark successfully implemented a carbon tax that’ll charge farmers for their cattle’s emissions starting in 2030. 

Making plant-based food appealing to Danes

The Scandinavian country is a pioneer in its own right for encouraging changes to deep-set consumer behaviors. Back in 2003, Denmark was the first country to ban foods with excess trans fat, which has since become the norm across Europe. 

Still, few countries have trodden the path of promoting vegan or vegetarian diets—and those that tried to tackle agricultural emissions, like The Netherlands, have faced farmers’ pushback.

It’s a big ask for the nearly 6 million Danes to consider giving up their…