Danish people are some of the happiest employees in the world and some of the happiest people on planet earth, but that’s not all; Organic Denmark, an association of companies, organic farmers and consumers has found they are also smart consumers- the most pro-organic consumers in the world, in fact. Of all food sold in Denmark, nearly 8 percent is organic, the highest percentage in Europe.
Denmark Becoming First Organic Country
But they don’t just want to stop there so the Danish government is working to drastically increase their supply of organic food. In 2015, The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries released their plan to double the area under organic cultivation by the year 2020.
In order to make this plan work, the government has committed 400 million kroner ($60.8 million). And one of the first parts of this plan is to serve 60 percent organic food in public institutions: schools, day care centers, and hospitals.
From the article:
“In order to achieve our goals, which are the most ambitious in the West, the public sector needs to lead the way,” Food and Agriculture Minister Dan Jørgensen told The Local Denmark. “With Økologiplan Danmark [Organic Denmark], we will strengthen cooperation between municipalities, regions and ministries with a long line of new initiatives. We will commit ourselves to, among other things, have more organic items on the menu in canteens, hospitals and daycare institutions.”
But, what will it take to achieve this goal?
- They will need to allocate more than 3.3 million Euros for sales promotion on the domestic market over the next few years
- Simplify the country’s organic regulations
- Require organic farming on public lands and then subsidize farmers transitioning to organic
- Allocate nearly 8 million Euros to help public institutions use more organic products
- Serve more organic food in places like The Defense Department cafeteria
- The Ministry of Education will incorporate more lessons about organic farming and its nutritional benefits into curriculum
This is an amazing and ambitious plan for Denmark but they’ve got competition: the country of Bhutan pledged to go 100 percent organic by 2020. Now, their population is significantly smaller than Denmark’s but still- well done to any country who takes up this endeavor.
Oh, and just because it’s sweet, check out this video of the annual releasing of the Danish Dancing Cows. In mid-April, thousands of organic dairy cows- at farms across the country- are released into the green fields of spring and the people come out in droves to see them!
Source: Eco Watch
