Great success - KlimaUdfordringen continues!
Every year, we run KlimaUdfordringen in partnership with Greenpeace and Plantevækst. Usually, registration closes mid-January—but this year, demand to continue has been so strong that you can still sign up! Are you interested in sustainability, climate, and the environment? And curious if a plant-based diet might be right for you? Read on to see why you should join KlimaUdfordringen 2023!
What is KlimaUdfordringen?
Thousands of people—in Denmark and many other countries—kick off the year by challenging old habits and swapping animal products like meat and dairy for plants. This makes a real difference for the climate. Eating plant-based is in fact the actionthat alone can reduce your climate and environmental footprint the most.
Plus, eating plant-based is both delicious and healthy. That’s why Greenpeace organizes KlimaUdfordringen in January together with Dyrenes Alliance and Plantevækst.
KlimaUdfordringen is support and inspiration for anyone wanting to eat greener. Once you sign up, you’ll receive daily emails for 22 days with meal plans, recipes, challenges, and info about nutrition, environment, and climate. Past participants tell us these new food experiences often lead to lasting, greener eating habits.
How much difference does our food make for the climate?
Livestock farming accounts for nearly one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions and uses 83 percent of the world's agricultural land. In fact, livestock production covers an area the size of all of North and South America combined!
Yet despite covering so much land, livestock supplies only 18 percent of global calories and 37 percent of proteins in our diets.
If the world's population ate a sustainable diet, like the so-called Planetary Health Diet, and we halved global food waste, we could free up 60 percent of agricultural land worldwide. Imagine all the forests and wilderness we could restore. That would not only make a huge impact on the climate, but also on the planet’s stressed biodiversity.
Species are going extinct at a rate prompting scientists to call it the sixth mass extinction—a phenomenon last seen when dinosaurs died out 65 million years ago. It’s high time, especially in a country like Denmark, to take decisive action and replace meat on our plates with legumes and vegetables.
Arter udryddes i disse år i et tempo, der har fået forskere til at tale om en sjette masseuddøen – et fænomen, som skete sidst, da dinosaurerne uddøde for 65 millioner år siden. Så det er virkelig på høje tide, at vi især i et land som Danmark kommer i gang med at tage gaflen i den anden hånd og udskifte kødet på tallerkenen med bælgfrugter og grøntsager.
Danes hold an unfortunate record
Denmark ranks among the highest worldwide and in Europe for climate emissions from food. Not a record to be proud of amid an urgent climate crisis.
Two years ago, this led authorities to update the Danish dietary guidelinesto closely align with the Planetary Health Diet—adapted for Danish habits, especially recommending more dairy.
The advice now caps meat at 350 grams per week, urging Danes to cut back on beef and pork. And the Climate Council calculates that if everyone in Denmark followed these guidelines, we could save up to 3.9 million tons of CO2. That’s equivalent to nearly 20 million diesel car trips from Copenhagen to Paris. har regnet ud, at hvis alle mennesker i Danmark følger kostrådene, kan vi spare klimaet for op til 3,9 mio ton CO2. Det svarer til at køre næsten 20 millioner gange i en dieselbil fra København til Paris.
Many want to change eating habits
But we’re far from the goal: the average Dane today eats three times the recommended meat amount—over twice the global average. And although more Danes support reducing meat consumption, many struggle to follow through.
Many obstacles stand in the way, especially habits and what's seen as normal in our social circles.
If you’re one of the many wanting to eat less meat and dairy and experiment with new ingredients like legumes, KlimaUdfordringen this might be just what you need to get started.
Our goal with KlimaUdfordringen isn’t to make everyone a vegan, but to inspire you, share new knowledge, and hopefully bring you new favorite dishes, making it easier to put more plants on your plate moving forward.
I hope you’ll join us!
