Plant-Based Diet-Shift Initiative Case Studies: Denmark’s Plant-Based Food Grant

Editorial Note

This report was produced by Rethink Priorities between July 2024 and September 2024. The project was commissioned and supported by an anonymous funder, which does not necessarily endorse our conclusions.

The report is part of a series of six case studies of diet-shift initiatives towards a more plant-based food system. These cases were chosen from a long list to create a portfolio of cases that demonstrated variety in terms of geographic reach, causal mechanisms, institutions and actors involved, and novelty of approaches.

We have tried to flag major sources of uncertainty in the report and are open to revising our views as more information becomes available.

Denmark’s plant-based food grant

Introduction

In 2019, Denmark was swept by a wave of climate protests inspired by Greta Thunberg. These demonstrations, which saw over 100,000 Danish youth take to the streets (Barrett, 2019), played a pivotal role in making climate change a central issue in the 2019 general election (Sorensen, 2019). The public pressure led to a broad political consensus to adopt an ambitious target of reducing carbon emissions by 70% by 2030. This target, originally advocated by Greenpeace, was embraced across the political spectrum. For a couple of years, plant-based food made up only a tiny part of the plans to achieve the target, partly due to the low salience and perceived low tractability of actions in this area in the face of a strong agricultural lobby. However, the facts around agriculture’s impact on the climate and biodiversity crises provided a background for the actions discussed in this case study to give plant-based foods political legitimacy as a solution (according to activist Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl of the Vegetarian Society of Denmark). A key milestone was reached in the government’s 2021 agreement on a green transition of the agricultural sector which proposed to establish a National Action Plan for plant-based food, subsidies for farmers growing crops for human consumption, and a Plant-Based Food Grant.

It has been estimated that capturing just 1-3% of the global plant-based market could generate €600 million to €1.8 billion and create up to 27,000 jobs (National Action Plan, 2023). Health-wise, the government found that if Danes fully embraced climate-friendly dietary guidelines, the country could save up to €1.6 billion annually in healthcare costs while improving public health by increasing healthy life years (Jensen, 2020). Environmentally, shifting to plant-based diets could reduce Denmark’s climate footprint by 31-45%​ (Mance, 2024). While the actions described in this case study could not achieve these outcomes themselves, they show the potential of the shift that these initiatives may be contributing to.

This case study focuses on the Plant-Based Food Grant as the most concrete mechanism to expand both supply and demand of plant-based foods. The case highlights the importance of sequencing policies to achieve incremental success and how to form strategic partnerships across NGOs, industry, and government. The case will also explore the key role of the Vegetarian Society of Denmark as a central node in the network of partnerships across the value chain that allowed policies to receive broad support. We received input from the Vegetarian Society of Denmark and conducted online research to gather information for this case study.

Problem Profile

The Danish government’s diet-shift initiatives were born out of a pressing need to address several interrelated challenges. The agriculture sector (which makes up 61% of Denmark’s land area) accounts for 28% of Denmark’s climate emissions but is forecast to account for 40% of emissions in 2030 (AgricultureandFoodDK, 2023; Birkebaek, 2023). The vast majority of Denmark’s agricultural land is used to raise animals for food (AgricultureandFoodDK, 2023). Moreover, this agricultural land use exacerbates the strain on Denmark’s land resources, which must balance food production with the need for clean water, renewable energy development, and biodiversity preservation (National Action Plan, 2023).

“Denmark’s food consumption leads to some of the highest climate impacts globally, with CO₂ emissions 45 percent above the global average. This is primarily due to the country’s significantly high consumption of animal-based foods”,

Klimarådet, 2021 in Jungsberg et al., 2024

This heavy reliance on meat is not just an environmental concern but also a public health issue. Danish dietary habits are far from aligning with new national dietary guidelines, which recommend limiting meat intake to just 350 grams per week. In stark contrast, the average Dane consumes around 952 grams of red meat per week—nearly three times the recommended amount (Jungsberg et al., 2024). Diet was ranked as the third leading risk factor driving death and disability in Denmark in 2017, with cardiovascular diseases, often associated with excessive meat consumption, being a leading cause of death (Wood et al., 2019).

Many Danish animal agricultural products are exported. In particular, Denmark is one of the world’s largest pig meat exporters: about 90% of the production is exported, largely to EU countries (AgricultureandFoodDK), at a value of US$2.6 billion in 2023 (69% of the total meat export value; TrendEconomy, 2024). This underscores the scale, and economic importance, of Denmark’s animal agriculture industry.

The sales value of plant-based meat, milk, and dairy alternatives in Denmark was €30 million in 2020, an increase of €7 million (30%) since 2018 (Statista, 2022). Despite the rapid growth, the plant-based alternative market represents only a tiny fraction of the animal meat and dairy markets, which were valued at around €6 billion in 2020 (FAO, 2024). Survey evidence suggests there are significant cultural and behavioral hurdles to overcome. In a 2019 survey, a majority of Danish adults (57%) expressed no interest in reducing their meat consumption (Hielkema & Lund, 2021), although more nuanced surveys show more openness to the idea (Coop annual surveys; SmartProtein, 2024). NGOs in Denmark advocating for a more plant-based food system see survey results like this as a potential opportunity to increase that openness and have been advocating for a suite of policies to do just that.

Initiative Overview

National Action Plan for Plant-Based Foods

The National Action Plan for Plant-Based Foods outlines Denmark’s strategy for promoting plant-based diets. The plan’s government website page states “Plant-based foods are the future. There is no doubt that a more plant-rich diet – in line with the Official Dietary Guidelines – helps to reduce the climate footprint.” Spanning 40 pages, the plan is the first of its kind globally, offering a roadmap for advancing the production and consumption of plant-based foods. While meat and dairy are not entirely excluded, the plan aims to reduce their dominance in the Danish diet. The plan sets out directions for government policies and provides examples of types of initiatives they may pursue, but it lacks concrete measurable goals and objectives.

Yet according to Rune-Christofer Dragsdahl of the Vegetarian Society of Denmark, “While the Action Plan lacks measurable targets, it does involve the entire food system, including professional kitchens, the education system, processing, farming, research, and innovation. It stresses that ‘plant-based foods are the future’, and that Denmark wants to contribute to the ‘necessary global transition’ towards more plant-based production, and furthermore wants to “inspire the rest of the world’.”

Plant-Based Food Grant

The Plant-Based Food Grant was established to financially support innovation and growth within Denmark’s plant-based food sector. The fund is managed by an 11-member board comprising professionals selected from various stakeholder organizations. The fund started with an initial total budget of ~€98 million to be spent over eight years (2023-2030). Half of the fund is specifically earmarked for projects related to organic foods.^[1] The fund operates across three strategic areas: “stimulating demand, stimulating supply, and building sectoral bridges”, as described in the Plant-Based Food Grant multi-year strategy. The board has the flexibility to adjust the proportion of funds devoted to each of these three strategic areas each year, depending on evolving needs and opportunities within the plant-based sector. The Plant-Based Food Grant multi-year strategy includes examples of what it may fund:

• Stimulating demand:
  • Increasing the proportion of plant-based foods in public and private institutional kitchens and food services. E.g., “Upskilling kitchen staff in public and private institutional kitchens”, and “​​teaching and the development of teaching materials for private and public large-scale kitchens in institutions, food services, canteens etc. with a focus on dietary guidelines”.
  • Increasing the household consumption of plant-based foods among Danes. E.g., “initiatives to increase the proportion of plant-based foods in convenience products or meal kits, or the way consumers are exposed to more, better plant-based foods in ways that make them more attractive”.
  • Increasing the demand for Danish plant-based foods in export markets. E.g., “Support for participation in international trade fairs to open international eyes to the quality of Danish foods”.
• Stimulating supply:
  • Increasing the quantity and quality of the plant-based products that appear on the market, e.g., research to “test consumer acceptance in terms of taste, consistency or usability in busy everyday life”. This emphasizes “ensuring that products and solutions are market-ready before they are presented to consumers”.
  • Increasing the volume of Danish plant-based food production both on land and offshore, e.g., projects aimed at “developing or testing new production and processing facilities”. “The Food Grant cannot provide dedicated investment support for equipment purchases, for example, but it would clearly be beneficial to support the development of new and existing production facilities in connection with research and innovation projects, to develop new types of products or new processing methods for instance”.
• Building sectoral bridges:
  • Strengthening the entire value chain e.g., “the establishment or strengthening of cross-sectoral collaboration between industry, food artisans, educational environments and food technology, or initiatives to help gear relevant professionals towards more plant-based production and consumption to ensure the necessary knowledge sharing at every stage, including with regard to health.”

Strategies and partnerships

The establishment of the National Action Plan, Food Grant, and subsidies was the culmination of a series of events and initiatives that started gaining pace in 2019, driven by growing public and political awareness of climate change and the need for agricultural reform. A few key mechanisms of change helped produce incremental progress and maintain momentum for the initiatives.

Source: VSD, ZON, FREJ 2024

Strategic partnerships

Engaging various stakeholders across the supply chain and political spectrum was a key feature of the progress in Denmark. This section will lay out some of the partnerships and outputs from those joint efforts that laid the foundation for the National Action Plan and Plant-Based Food Grant.

Over in the Netherlands, politicians and NGOs were put on guard following backlash from farmers to a government plan to reduce nitrogen emissions from farms. This backlash was partly the result of the Dutch government not clearly explaining the measures, and partly due to political opportunism by parties opposed to the proposal (Tullis, 2023; Brzezinkski & Gijs, 2022; Holligan, 2022). Likewise in Denmark, a 2020 proposal to introduce two plant-based days in public canteens was rolled back just a week after release due to pushback (Levitt, 2020). In response to this backlash, the Vegetarian Society of Denmark organized broad-based coalitions in support of plant-based foods.

A collaboration between the Vegetarian Society of Denmark and Organic Denmark (a highly influential farmer’s association in the country), initially facilitated by a left-wing politician, became a cornerstone of the current plant-based movement in Denmark. In 2020, the market share of organic foods in the Danish retail sector was the highest in the world at 13% (AgricultureandFoodDK-Organic Production). The involvement of Organic Denmark, a well-established player in the Danish food sector, lent credibility to NGOs like the Vegetarian Society of Denmark and helped them build trust quickly with both the government and the wider industry​. Organic Denmark, alongside the new Danish Plantbased business association (Plantebranchen), supermarket chain Coop, and others signed a letter of support for the Vegetarian Society of Denmark to establish a Network for Plant Proteins in January 2020. The network became a key forum for advancing plant-based policy, hosting seminars and conferences that facilitated the formation of new alliances across the food sector​.

The Vegetarian Society and Organic Denmark launched the Plant-Based Knowledge Centre in October 2020. This initiative aimed to provide science-based knowledge and practical solutions for integrating plant-based foods into the Danish diet, aligning with the EAT-Lancet recommendations and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The center made other stakeholders aware of the potential in plant-based foods, including increased political interest in the topic, including from government officials. This interest led to the creation of a small fund dedicated to organic plant-based projects, which provided a model for what would later become the separate Plant-Based Food Grant.

Another key set of collaborations occurred between NGOs, business, and government. For the business actors who are legally limited in making health claims, they could benefit from NGOs who have greater freedom to make such claims about plant-based foods. Plantebranchen was able to benefit from the larger staff of the Vegetarian Society of Denmark who elevated their voice and message, while the NGOs benefited from Plantebranchen being better able to reach out to business. The Network for Plant Protein events inspired Plantebranchen and Greenpeace Denmark to work with others, including Vegetarian Society of Denmark, to create a vision report titled “From Feed to Food”. This report outlined 18 suggestions for transforming Denmark’s food system, with the primary recommendation being the development of a National Action Plan for Plant-Based Food. The Network for Plant Protein events also facilitated meetings between the government’s Danish Agriculture & Food Council, traditionally dominated by major animal agriculture players such as Danish Crown and Arla; the youth-led agriculture policy farmer-led think tank Frej, which has strong connections to young farmers; and the Vegetarian Society of Denmark. These three then developed a comprehensive Research & Development Strategy for plant-based foods. The strategy received media attention after which key political parties emphasized the economic and environmental benefits of plant-based food production. The decision by the Vegetarian Society of Denmark to collaborate with both environmental NGOs and industry groups raised eyebrows on both sides, but allowed them to act as a bridge between the two.

Frej was founded in 2016 by two young women raised on conventional farms who wrote many articles in agricultural media “with a clear message of bridging the gap between rural and urban areas and that sustainability can be good business for farmers” (VSD, ZON, FREJ, 2024). Frej insisted on the involvement of the Vegetarian Society, which the Council was more open to after participating in the plant-based professionals network. Frej and the Vegetarian Society of Denmark claim this collaboration was instrumental in mainstreaming the plant-based agenda and securing the support of farmers. The farmers saw the plan coming from farmers themselves, and right-wing political parties began to view the initiative as a positive business opportunity rather than a threat to traditional agriculture (VSD, ZON, FREJ, 2024). The inclusion of business perspectives in policy discussions, as emphasized in the “From Feed to Food” vision report, further helped to align the interests of diverse stakeholders​. These collaborations created space for support across the political spectrum, avoiding the political backlash seen in the Netherlands.

Tackling value chain bottlenecks

Analyses conducted by Aalborg University and the University of Copenhagen suggested that companies in the plant-based sector faced obstacles related to market access, food regulation, and the availability of Danish crops and ingredients (Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries of Denmark, 2023). According to these reports, these bottlenecks were particularly pronounced at the initial stages of the value chain, where the transition from growing crops to processing was seen as the weakest link. To attempt to overcome these challenges, the government, through the Plant-Based Food Grant, is allocating resources to support the development of new cultivation techniques, improve the quality and availability of Danish crops, and enhance processing capabilities. This strategic focus on strengthening the supply side is aimed at ensuring that plant-based products can be brought to market effectively​. The National Action Plan and Plant-based foods grant are also attempting to drive up demand to prove to suppliers and farmers that there is a market worth transitioning to.

Framing plant-based foods as an opportunity

Key stakeholders in government and civil society also employed an inclusive approach that brought in stakeholders of various backgrounds. They did so by highlighting solutions and the economic opportunities associated with plant-based foods, such as new job creation and export potential, and deliberately avoided confrontational or punitive measures that might alienate stakeholders. “When the industry expressed concern about a lack of demand for Danish-produced legumes, we emphasized the need for political support to explore new markets and consumer trends.” (VSD, ZON, FREJ, 2024). For the Vision Report, Plantebranchen pushed to start the report with the market potential of plant-based foods.

“The broad scope of the Plant-Based Food Grant makes it possible for different political parties to allocate and support funding for the Plant-Based Food Grant according to their preferences towards different parts of the value-chain or the plant-based development in general” (Johansen, 2024). This approach was reflected in the careful messaging used by policymakers, who emphasized the term “plant-based” rather than “vegetarian” or “vegan” to avoid polarizing the debate.

After the Vegetarian Society of Denmark suggested the idea to two Danish politicians, from different parties, the Minister of Food and Agriculture persuaded the government to commission a study (Jensen, 2021) from the University of Copenhagen. This study calculated the potential health-economic benefits of following the new national dietary guidelines, which advocated for a plant-rich diet. The findings suggested potential savings of €1.6 billion annually, and were widely covered in the media and used by politicians to bolster arguments for promoting plant-based foods​. The calculation was a low-cost policy ask but addressed an important concern for governments like Denmark’s: healthcare expenditures.

Results and Impact

In the first year of the Plant-Based Food Grant, 2023, no specific targets were established for its action areas. The experience from the first round(s) of applications for grants will form a basis for establishing more specific targets, which will be described in the strategy in future years. However, a few initial goals were set where the Plant-Based Food Grant aims to have:

• At least 60% of Food Grant resources will go to partnership projects. This means that each individual project will have two independent participants from different parts of the value chain.
• At least 70% of projects reach their specific project targets.
• At least 50% of Food Grant resources go towards organic projects.

There are also a number of metrics that stakeholders involved look to as measures of whether the initiatives are on track to make progress:

Increasing funding

The Plant-Based Food Grant was initially allocated ~€98 million (after inflation) over an eight-year period (2023-2030). However, the success and interest in the program led to additional funding being secured shortly after its launch. The Danish government allocated a further ~€4.7 million in the autumn of 2023, and another ~€8 million in June 2024. They have already signaled setting aside an additional ~€2 million annually over 2027-2029 (Agreement on a Green Denmark, 2024), and one party has shown interest in increasing this even further when formally decided on in the autumn of 2024. This increase in funding reflects the government’s recognition of the importance of the plant-based sector and its potential to contribute to Denmark’s climate and health goals​. “While the initial funding was over 8 years, the two times of additional funding is for just 1-2 years. So, if we can keep making them prioritize additional funding at this level every year, it would over time almost double the total amount allocated” (Rune-Christofer Dragsdahl of the Vegetarian Society of Denmark).

Surge of interest in applications

The launch of the Plant-Based Food Grant sparked a significant surge in interest from a wide range of applicants, including startups, universities, and other organizations. The first round of applications, which closed in late 2023, saw 97 applications requesting a total of approximately ~€27 million, nearly four times the amount of funding available for that year (~€7.5 million). NGOs see this demand as a sign of both the enthusiasm within the sector and the existing need for financial support to drive innovation and growth. Of course, some applicants may just be interested in financial support to complete plans they had already committed to.

In the second round of applications, which closed in April 2024, the total funding available was increased to ~€16 million. Yet the total requested still far exceeded the available resources, this time requesting approximately ~€45 million in funding from 101 applications. NGOs view this consistent oversubscription as underscoring the high demand for investment in plant-based food innovation and development, and the potential for further expansion if additional resources are made available​. Again though, a cautionary caveat remains about whether applicants are just interested in low-cost access to finance, wherever it comes from.

Variety of funded projects

For the first round of the grant, the “board of the [Plant-Based Food Grant] has chosen to focus on the development area of ​​demand promotion.” Thus “31 out of the 36 projects address demand promotion as a primary development area, while 78% of the pool’s 58 million DKK goes to these projects. The last 22% of the pool is prioritized for the development area of ​​supply promotion”. “46% of this year’s pool goes to ‘increase the proportion of plant-based food in public and private commercial kitchens and food services’. 30% goes to ‘increase Danes’ private consumption of plant-based foods’, while 17% goes to the area of ​​effort that is about ‘increasing the quantity and quality of the plant products that come on the market’.” The Grant has supported:

On the demand side:

• A project to develop and test nudging measures to get more guests at conferences and meetings to choose plant-based offerings.
• Supporting a “Green January 2024” aiming to increase sales of plant-based foods in the take-away and convenience sector.
• A project to increase the convenience of plant-based choices in supermarkets.
• Projects to increase the scale and availability of plant-based meals at festivals and other attractions.
• Consumer research.
• Projects to develop markets in the UK and Germany for Danish plant-based products.
• A team to travel the country training chefs in plant-based cooking.
• A centralized “knowledge bank” about plant-based cooking for chefs and students.
• A new plant-based degree for Denmark’s hospitality school.

There is some evidence that these types of activities increase plant-based food selection (e.g., on plant-based default nudging interventions (BetterFoodFoundation, 2024a, 2024b), the relative success of Veganuary campaigns in the UK (McPhedran et al., 2023; Trewern et al., 2022)), and mixed evidence on others (e.g., supermarket placement (Vegconomist 2024, 2019; Piernas, 2021; PBFA, 2020)).

On the supply side:

• The production of plant-based cheese and yogurts, e.g., start-up PlanetDairy is working on plant-based versions of natural yogurt and Danbo, a popular cow’s milk cheese from Denmark, through “precision fermentation” to produce “milk” proteins made out of peas and broad beans (fava beans).
• Ways to boost nut, oat, barley, and seaweed production.

35 projects awarded funding in the second round of the grant were announced in August 2024. The second round included more multi-year projects. The funds were divided up as follows: 57% for demand promotion, 31% for supply promotion, and 12% for sector bridging (according to the Danish government’s categorization). Compared to the first round, the second included more funding allocated to projects designed to increase demand for Danish plant-based foods on the export markets, increasing the volume of Danish plant-based food production on land and at sea, increasing the quantity and quality of the plant products that enter the market, and strengthening the entire value chain.

Wider effects

Denmark’s plant-based food initiatives have the potential to have large economic, health, and environmental impacts. However, it’s not possible to identify the specific effects of these initiatives yet on consumer purchases and attitudes.

The National Action Plan for Plant-Based Foods fell short of incorporating specific targets for production, consumption, and exports. However, there is evidence the Plan has informed the government’s subsequent thoughts and actions. “You can see plant-based being mentioned in subsequent governmental strategies such as the [Danish Business Ministry’s] ‘Strategy for green jobs in agriculture and related industries’ … what is happening generally is that the professionals are taking note of the government having prioritized this in the deal from 2021, and accordingly understanding that this is where the food sector will be going” (Rune-Christofer Dragsdahl of the Vegetarian Society of Denmark).

In September 2024, the Strategic Dialogue on the future of EU agriculture, a forum of 29 stakeholders, published a report which recommended the “European Commission should develop, by 2026, an EU action plan for Plant-based Foods.” The report does not explicitly reference Denmark, but the Vegetarian Society of Denmark noted it was aware of several stakeholders who, inspired by Denmark, attempted to put this idea on the table at the EU level.

There are also signs the Danish National Action Plan could be inspiring action in individual countries. “Other European nations have been ‘asking curiously’ about the details of Denmark’s action plan — which the government has now translated into English — and expressing interest in taking a similar approach, says Jacob Jensen, Denmark’s food minister.” (Wass, 2024). The Vegetarian Society of Denmark claims it has already inspired NGOs in other countries, like the Portuguese Vegetarian Association, to get support from political parties for similar proposals.

Lessons Learned

Strategic collaboration

The Danish initiative to promote plant-based diets has provided valuable insights into both the successes and challenges of such a large-scale transformation. A key factor in its success was the strategic collaboration between diverse stakeholders, including environmental NGOs, business associations, and governmental bodies. This inclusive approach, particularly the partnership between two farmers’ organizations (Organic Denmark and the Danish Agriculture & Food Council), representing strongholds of the agricultural sector, and an NGO (Vegetarian Society of Denmark)—with both willing to work with environmental groups and industry groups alike—was instrumental in building broad-based support and ensuring the credibility of the initiative. Many of these groups were able to complement each other: NGOs had the freedom to make health claims that industry could not, and offered more staff to support the work of the Plantbased business association; industry, on the other hand, could better conduct outreach to business than NGOs could. NGOs such as the Vegetarian Society of Denmark worked patiently and pragmatically over a number of years to earn the trust of politicians and use incremental steps (like the plant-protein network) and low-stakes asks (like the health-economics calculation) to inspire politicians without creating much downside risk for them.

Planned sequencing of policies

This case also demonstrates the positive effects of strategic sequencing of initiatives and policies, including: the plant-based professionals network, the plant-based knowledge center, the reports calling for an action plan, the strategy and development report, the dietary guidelines, the health-economic calculations, funding for projects via the Grant, and subsidies for farmers. This approach starts with more voluntary or win-win “carrots” rather than policies that might face more opposition (VSD, ZON, FREJ, 2024; Fesenfeld, 2024). The plant-based network established a forum for discussion among many stakeholders. From these meetings multiple collaborative partnerships were formed which produced the “From Feed to Food” and R&D strategy reports that made early proposals for what would eventually become the National Action Plan and Plant-Based Food Grant. Even small steps such as conducting the analysis of the health-economic effects of adopting Denmark’s dietary guidelines helped provide more motivation for subsequent actions. It also strengthens the case for establishing similar multi-year funding mechanisms in other countries, as it appears to be the case here that once the structure is established, and the Government and Parliament see the high number of qualified projects applying for support, they are encouraged to add more funding (Rune-Christofer Dragsdahl of the Vegetarian Society of Denmark).

Highlighting market opportunities

Advocates did well to focus on inclusive and supportive (rather than restrictive or punitive) messaging and high quality data around the economic potential of a plant-based foods system. The discussions were focused around supporting production and establishing new market opportunities or capturing future project market growth. The term “plant-based” was also given a wide, encompassing meaning “ranging from whole foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, mushrooms and pulses, to mildly processed products like pasta and bread and patties made from lentils and pulses and a broad spectrum of more processed foods, as well as ancient and modern techniques of fermentation. Such a broad view of plant-based foods can help secure support from a variety of stakeholders” (Johansen, 2024).

Right place, right time

There are some contextual factors potentially important to the progress in Denmark that may not be present everywhere, and so one should look for places where these preconditions exist or could be established. These include a consensual multi-party democracy, a relatively small country with short distance to politicians, consumer sentiment showing ~30% of the population was open to reducing their meat consumption or already doing so, wider political agreement on tackling policy goals which plant-based foods fit into (such as reducing climate impacts), and a strong ecosystem of NGO and industry actors (the roles of Greenpeace, Vegetarian Society of Denmark, Frej, Organic Denmark, the Food Council, Plantebranchen to speak on behalf of environmentalists, civil society, farmers, government, and business).

Challenges: measurable targets and data on impact

The lack of specific, measurable targets within the National Action Plan so far limits the ability to track progress and hold stakeholders accountable. Additionally, while the initiative succeeded in increasing awareness and laying the groundwork for future growth, we do not have data yet to suggest it has led to actual changes in private consumption or translated into enough institutional demand that farmers are widely applying for support to transition to plant-based crops for human consumption.

Conclusion

Denmark’s initiatives to promote plant-based diets through the National Action Plan and the Plant-Based Food Grant offer valuable insights into the potential and challenges of driving dietary shifts through policy. These efforts have successfully established a framework for collaboration among stakeholders and laid the groundwork for future developments in the plant-based food sector. However, achieving widespread adoption of plant-based diets and fully realizing the anticipated economic, health, and environmental benefits will require sustained commitment, careful evaluation, and ongoing refinement of strategies. So far there is not clear evidence that the initiative has succeeded in reducing Denmark’s reliance on meat and other animal products.

For philanthropists and advocates, Denmark’s experience underscores the importance of a phased, inclusive approach that builds momentum gradually and avoids backlash from key stakeholders. Starting with voluntary and supportive measures, coupled with positive messaging and robust data on economic potential, was key to gaining broad political support. As similar initiatives are considered in other contexts, adapting these strategies to local conditions and setting specific, measurable targets will be crucial for tracking progress and ensuring accountability. This approach can help ensure that sustainable diet shifts contribute meaningfully to broader climate and health objectives.

Methodology

This collection of case studies was developed through a rigorous, evidence-based approach, ensuring a balanced and objective analysis of dietary transitions across various sectors. The methodology utilized existing literature on plant-based food initiatives, reviewing public-facing materials from organizations working on encouraging plant-based foods, conducting online searches, and key informant interviews. This process involved a comprehensive review of initiatives spanning government policies, retail and food service transitions, and alternative protein companies, farmer transitions, and animal protein company transitions, with examples drawn from both high-income and middle-income countries.

Case study selection

An initial list of 38 potential case studies was identified based on the initiative’s ability to drive significant dietary change and potential for scalability and was evaluated based on a set of predefined success criteria. The primary criteria was that the initiative was designed and intended to increase the share of plant-foods chosen.

This goal intention was the dominant selection criteria. Firstly, rather than attempt to select successful initiatives a priori, as determining whether a given initiative caused changes in food type usage is generally difficult, and reductions/increases are often incorrectly assumed to occur. Experience shows that, in the majority of cases, conclusive evidence is likely to be lacking, and even basic data on actual food type usage before and after the initiative may be altogether unavailable

Secondly, the reliance on this criterion was due to a rather uniform state of the data on many other proposed criteria (Stakeholder engagement, Environmental and economic impacts, Policy and health impacts). The list was systematically narrowed down to six case studies based on an assessment of data reliability and the strength of evidence to support the criteria above, making them critical considerations in the selection process. While many case studies offered generic evidence of success across sectors, efforts were made to prioritise those with concrete, tailored data.

In assembling the final collection, the focus was on creating a diverse portfolio of interventions across geographic and sectoral lines. Examples from both high- and middle-income economies, such as the United States, Germany, Brazil, and India, were included to reflect a broad range of contexts. Additionally, case studies were selected to illustrate both inspiration, practical challenges and enablers of success, ensuring a holistic representation of the state of dietary transitions with transferable insights into other contexts and regions.

Interviewees were selected for each case study on the basis of having been personally involved in the key organisations driving the change in question. In many cases these people were already known to the research team and in others were suggested to us through known relevant contacts. Each case study had one key interviewee to draw information from, in addition to desk research.

Limitations

While this methodology focused on ensuring data reliability and strength of evidence, it inherently limited the scope of the case studies selected. Newer initiatives, which may not yet have comprehensive data or only applied at tiny scale, were not included, resulting in a portfolio composed primarily of well-established cases rather than primarily emerging examples. This approach also led to the exclusion of transitions among livestock and meat companies, and farmer transition case studies, where current evidence remains limited or impacts small in scale. Additionally, the analysis reflects data available at the time of the case studies’ completion, meaning any subsequent reports or new findings were not captured. These gaps highlight areas for future research and expansion as more data becomes available and emerging initiatives mature.

Given the limited interview sample, there are likely aspects of the case studies that are somewhat biased and were not corrected for adequately through desk research to validate claims.

Inherent to the case study methodology, these limitations underscore the importance of continual monitoring and data collection to provide a more comprehensive view of the evolving landscape of dietary transitions.

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1. See Ritchie (2017) for a discussion of the merits of organic relative to conventional agriculture. ↑