48 PERSPECTIVES ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS | VOL 41 | 2023 cent studies, Danish agriculture, primarily pork and dairy production, generates approximately 17.4 million tons of GHGs annually, measured in CO2 equivalents (CO2e) (Searchinger et al., 2021). Among the solutions to the issue of excessive emissions from animal husbandry is plant-based meat replacements, and Denmark, like other nations, has opportunities to enter this market. A PBD refers to a wide range of eating habits that place a greater emphasis on plantbased foods and less on meat (Hemler & Hu, 2019). This reorientation has the potential to help Denmark reach its aggressive target of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. PBDs can reduce GHG emissions in several ways. It is estimated that with full implementation of a PBD, Denmark can reduce emissions by 13.6 to 20.2 metric tons CO2e (58% to 86%), provided domestic production of cattle, pig, and chicken is reduced by 76.2%, 21.1%, and 88.2%, respectively (Prag & Henriksen, 2020). Methane, a strong GHG, is produced by livestock, primarily cattle but also pigs and chickens; therefore, reduced meat consumption can decrease animal methane emissions. Reducing the demand for meat would also decrease the energy, water, and land required for food production; thereby, the carbon footprint of meals can be reduced, since some plant-based foods, such as legumes, nuts, and seeds, take fewer resources to produce, releasing fewer GHG emissions per calorie of food produced. Next, nitrous oxide, another GHG, is known to be produced by livestock feeds that contain corn and soy, which require nitrogen-based fertilizers, such as ammonia, urea, and ammonium nitrate, to grow. For PBDs, fewer nitrogen-intensive crops are required, minimizing GHG emissions. Aside from the reduction of GHGs, PBDs can lead to a median land use reduction of 15% for diets that substitute certain plant-based foods for meat (Aleksandrowicz et al., 2016) and 50% for vegan diets (Fresán & Sabaté, 2019). Diets based on plants can lessen the need for livestock grazing or to grow feed crops. In other words, there will be less land used for the purposes of breeding animals. In an ideal world, this land can be set aside for planting trees to aid in the overall reduction of GHGs for Denmark. A global healthy reference diet has recently been suggested by the EAT–Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health,1 which may be a great starting point for implementing PBDs in Denmark (Willett et al., 2019). The EAT–Lancet emphasizes that the scientific targets for the healthy reference diet are based on a substantial body of knowledge on foods, dietary patterns, and health outcomes. The amount of meat in the EAT–Lancet reference diet is around one-third of what Danes eat, with slightly more fish than the typical Danish diet (Pedersen et al., 2015). By switching from current national diets to the EAT–Lancet Commission’s reference diet, it is calculated that this change could prevent about 25% of all premature deaths worldwide (Wang et al., 2019). The EAT–Lancet reference diet must be modified to account for national preferences and settings, such as food culture, local food availability, nutrient content, and national dietary requirements. A recent study by researchers from the Technical University of Denmark assessed how the EAT–Lancet reference diet could be used to create a culturally appropriate and nutritionally adequate PBD for Denmark. The Danish food data were analyzed to modify the EAT–Lancet reference diet, and it was changed to conform to the Danish Dietary Recommendations and the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations. The Danish-adapted PBD is an example of a healthy diet with reduced meat intake and few fortified foods, with serving sizes within the guidelines of the Danish food-based dietary guidelines and EAT–Lancet reference diet. In the study, the suitability of a PBD in Denmark was recognized along with its potential to be established successfully with a recommended weekly meat consumption of about 350 g if consumption of legumes is increased (Willett et al., 2019). Gradual implementation is necessary for transitioning toward a PBD. One approach is to reduce meat consumption by serving smaller portions at restaurants and promoting the substitution of meat with plant-based proteins. These tactics have been proven to effectively reduce meat purchases and consumption (de Gavelle et al., 2019). However, before incorporating PBDs in Denmark, it is crucial to consider the quality of plant-based foods in public health initiatives aimed at reducing chronic diseases (Baden et al., 2019). Educating people about nutritionally adequate PBDs is also essential to preventing unintended health consequences, such as micronutrient deficiencies (Tuomisto, 2019). Ultimately, transitioning to a plant-heavy diet is a longterm solution that can help Denmark reduce the 17.4 million tons of GHG emissions generated by the agricultural sector to a more acceptable level. The digital revolution Currently, the physical, biological, and digital worlds are increasingly blended in what some observers are 1The EAT–Lancet Commission, established in 2015, brings together specialists in nutrition, health, and sustainability to work on the interconnected problems of environmental sustainability and human health.
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