The shift to plant-rich diets in Denmark: a discussion on what we know, do not know, and what comes next

Denmark has gained recognition on the agri-food political stage as the first country to launch an action plan and funding programs to promote plant-based food. This may seem surprising, given that the country is historically characterized by a large and economically strong meat and dairy sector. From the outside, one might also expect that the internal market and consumer trend underpins “going plant-based” – but this is not necessarily the case. We gathered Danish researchers working on consumer-citizen food practices to jointly reflect on what is known, what remains unclear, and how we should investigate developments further to accelerate the reduction in consumption of animal-based food and the transition to more plant-rich diets. Based on this discussion, we advance four recommendations for stakeholder actions and identify four key items for a future research agenda to help close knowledge gaps and inform market and policy efforts that support a shift to more sustainable diets.