Ottawa, Canada, 6–7 May 2026. Farmers, researchers and civil society from Canada and Denmark gathered for high-level events, including a high-level reception and a roundtable dialogue on plant-based food systems and sustainable agricultural development in Canada.
The reception took place at the residence of the Danish Ambassador in Ottawa.
Danish Action Plan and collaboration as best practice example
The Danish setting provided a perfect backdrop for Niels Peter Nørring, Climate Director at the Danish Agriculture and Food Council, and Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl, Secretary General of the Vegetarian Society of Denmark and Vice Chair of the board of the Danish Government’s Plant-Based Food Grant, to share experiences on how collaboration between multiple stakeholders can achieve real progress and build political support and dedicated public funding for developing value chains for legumes, pulses, vegetables and other plant-based foods.
The Danish Action Plan for Plant-Based Foods, the EUR 170 million Plant-Based Food Grant and public-private partnership models were presented as best practice examples for building a resilient and sustainable food system, linking climate targets with agricultural competitiveness.
Denmark is the first country in the world to launch a national Action Plan for Plant-Based Foods. The Danish experience was also highlighted in an opinion piece in the Canadian Hill Times, written by Danish Agriculture Attaché Jeppe Juul Petersen and WAP Executive Director Colin Saravanamuttoo in connection with the Danish visit.
Canadian stakeholders met to explore possibilities – with inspiration from Denmark
The reception brought together representatives from the Canadian agricultural sector, civil society and food policy, including representatives from nine political offices and five MPs and Senators. The reception was a great success and participants remained deep in conversation long past its scheduled end time. The roundtable brought together a wide range of stakeholders from environmental and agricultural associations for a cross-sectoral and cross interest dialogue around a shared agenda for developing plant-based value chains. A strong attendance and an inspiring conversation has led the Canadian organizers from WAP to describe it as a conversation that has never happened in Canada before.
Political attention on the Danish Action Plan
The Danish visit prompted MP Giovanna Mingarelli to rise in Parliament to make a statement about the importance of the plant-based food sector to Canada’s economy and environment, acknowledging the visiting delegation from Denmark that was in Ottawa to showcase how a plant-based action plan from Denmark can inform Canadian policy.
Danish examples as inspiration
Bente Svane Nielsen, Senior Advisor at SEGES Innovation in Denmark, joined both events to present how she is leading the work on developing the plant-based value chains in Denmark in the BælgBoost project supported by the Danish Plant-Based Food Grant and the PlantsGoGlobal supported by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Her presentation and the other Danish insights were of great inspiration to the Canadian audience.
Canada is leading on pulse production
Canada is well positioned to become a global leader in plant-based foods. Canada is already a world leader in pulse production, the largest exporter of lentils and among the top exporters of dried peas. Yet much of this raw production is currently exported for processing elsewhere, particularly to the United States. The Danish experience of building value chains, investing in innovation and aligning public policy with industry offered a concrete and transferable model for how Canada might capture more of that value at home.
There was clear recognition among Canadian decision-makers of Denmark as a frontrunner in plant-based food policy, along with a strong appetite for deepening bilateral ties.
The programme and events were organised in collaboration between the Danish Embassy in Ottawa, Danish Plant-Based Diplomacy and World Animal Protection (WAP).
The visit to Canada was very fruitful, and the Danish representative from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the USA has since facilitated a Canadian visit to Denmark, with a focus on Danish plant-based developments and an aim to further strengthen collaboration between the two countries.
