Danish Climate-Food Transitions: A Political Ecology in Four Meals

Keywords: political ecology, food, climate transition, food systems
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

In 2021, Denmark released its updated Official Dietary Guidelines, with advice that prioritizes two goals: climate and human health. The Dietary Guidelines are part of Denmark’s legally binding climate action plan to cut 70% of its carbon emissions by the end of the decade and achieve climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest. It is the most radical step taken by any country to transform its food system in support of climate goals. This paper examines the climate-oriented food transitions underway in Denmark particularly as they are integrated into Danish consumption patterns. Using ethnographic and political ecological methods, I historicize the Danish food system and its contemporary re-shaping through four meals. Tracing current tensions about meat versus plant-based diets to key moments in the contested construction of Danish national identity, I argue that the Official Dietary Guidelines reflect ongoing debates and political-material negotiations more than drive a new process of change. This paper shows how food becomes a key site of political negotiation that goes well beyond climate discussions but also intimately shapes possibilities for climate-related environmental and social justice.