Beef and pork are dinnertime 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 toward a plant-based diet—from government strategies to plant-based funds.   

The country tweaked its dietary guidelines to include 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 will 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 deeply ingrained 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 animal-based consumption. That also has implications for an economy that exports vast amounts of pork and dairy. But Denmark found creative ways to reach Danes so they wouldn’t shun plant-based diets. 

The key is being subtle. 

The government’s strategy is not to use “vegetarian” or “vegan” in its messaging, as meat eaters may see this as polarizing. 

The business tourism group MeetDenmark receives funding to offer plant-based choices at events, so people are introduced to them subtly. Even caterers get in on the project by not displaying too much information on the labels, Bloomberg reported. 

Even the forces of education and hospitality are coming together to turn Denmark’s plant-based vision into a reality. Starting next year, Copenhagen Hospitality College plans to offer a degree for “green food artisans” in which people are taught to cook with meat alternatives.

Denmark is already sowing the seeds to cut its carbon footprint from agriculture, but it still has a lucrative meat industry and the food habits of millions of Danes to manage.

Danish Crown, Europe’s largest pork producer, launched a meat-free offering with a relatively slow uptake. One of the country’s Michelin-starred restaurants swapped to a plant-based menu, prompting angry emails about food that reflect people’s reluctance to change their food patterns. 

A majority of participants had no plans to cut their meat intake, let alone adopt a meat-free diet, a 2019 survey of 1,000 Danes published on ScienceDirect revealed.

But Denmark has already made strides compared to its peers, one nudge at a time, and could set a precedent for the rest of Europe as other countries look to curb emissions.