To combat the effects of climate change, Denmark wants to make its plates greener. Indeed, as part of a new food and agriculture climate deal, the Danish government plans to establish a “Plant Fund” or “Plant Fund” to invest massively in research and production of plant-based food. Objective: To encourage the population to eat healthier and more ecologically and to become a leading country in the field of vegan food. And the country is investing heavily in that.
At the end of 2021, the Danish government announced that it wanted to invest 1.25 billion Danish kroner (168 million euros) in the research, development and production of plant-based foods under this new agreement. To date, this is the largest financing in this area carried out by a country of the European Union.
As part of this investment policy, Denmark plans to allocate a historic amount of 675 million Danish kroner (91 million euros) to the new “Plant Fund” until 2030. vegetarian† The mission of this “Plant Fund” is to encourage the development of plant-based food companies, support the sale and export of their products, and fund plant-food promotion and education efforts.
Stimulate the agricultural transition and create jobs
The creation of this fund was strongly encouraged by the Danish Plantbased Business Association, an organization that represents manufacturers or importers of foodstuffs of plant origin. And his efforts have paid off: the Danish Ministry of Agriculture has just appointed the organization to the board of directors of this new “Plant Fund”. “The Achilles heel of the plant industry is that the market is too small, so we will do everything we can to ensure that the funds from the fund are mainly used for market development”said Frederik Madsen, head of the secretariat of the Danish Plantbased Business Association, quoted by: vegetarian†
In addition to the “Plant Fund”, the Danish government has provided an envelope of 580 million kroner (56 million) to stimulate the transition of the agricultural sector. This amount is paid in the form of premiums to farmers who undertake to grow vegetable proteins for human consumption. vegetarian†
All but one of the political parties in Denmark voted in favor of this historic new plant-based food deal. “This agricultural deal will also create thousands of jobs”assures Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl, General Secretary of the Vegetarian Association of Denmark.
There is no doubt for Denmark: an ecological policy cannot be achieved without investing in vegetable proteins.