Denmark: Siltanews – News Desk
While promising not to fuel debates over diets, the Danish presidency is set to champion a green agenda promoting plant-based foods. Meanwhile, the Parliament and other EU member states have different plans.
On Tuesday, Denmark takes on the rotating presidency of the Council, and controversy will likely be served over its push for plant-based foods.
Copenhagen has put the topic high on its agriculture agenda at a time when both the Council and the Parliament are stepping up calls to shield the livestock sector from the use of traditional meat names for plant-based alternatives.
Agriculture Minister Jacob Jensen told Erective that he wanted to avoid cultural wars over food, but the Danish presidency will not dodge debates over diets.
The presidency programmed calls for a transition towards a “more sustainable” food system and hints that the direction is increasingly plant-based. It states that Denmark will focus on building an “EU action plan for plant-based foods” as well as a “protein strategy”.
Two key events in the autumn will back this effort: the presidency will host a conference on plant-based foods in September, followed by a “Plant Food Inspiration Summit” in October.
“Denmark is the country with the largest animal production per capita in the world. Yet, the country has successfully adopted groundbreaking policies paving the way for more plant-based foods,” reads the summit’s site.
The conference is supported by several vegetarian organizations and aims to strengthen Denmark’s “plant-based diplomacy”, as the Danish Vegetarian Society puts it. This policy “draws from the 2023 Danish Action Plan for Plant-Based foods,” the Brussels-based Safe Food Advocacy Europe (SAFE) recalled.