Denmark has been named the most sustainable country in the world twice in the last five years. Climate action in Denmark is far less polarized than in the States, and issues like green energy, sustainable infrastructure, and urban greening are all leading topics on the ballots as Danish citizens prepare to vote in a general election this coming Tuesday. 

The approaching election has been a good opportunity to discuss political and social environmentalism in Denmark, and particularly to discuss within the different spheres I’m a part of. With my own interest in sustainable food production and community building through agriculture, I’ve been engaging my professors, Danish friends, and my fellow volunteers at the farmers market in conversation about agriculture in Denmark, and specifically in Copenhagen. With how green I’ve understood Denmark to be, particularly in light of Copenhagen being the largest city and a hub for social and political change, I was surprised to learn that the farmers market I volunteer at is actually the only one currently in operation in the city. While the city deserves recognition for its sustainable model, many of the projects currently in place center technological advancement, innovation, and industry. This kind of growth is often what policy and local governments focus on and where money for sustainable development is invested. While it is undeniably important, there are other forms of growth, ones that build community, that are equally important to invest in to create a more sustainable world. 

Speaking with different people, I’ve learned that places like Grønt Marked, that promote local and regenerative models of agriculture by connecting consumers and producers, are still fairly new to Denmark. Convenience still takes priority within the Danish food system and the majority of farms are large, industrialized monocultures. Denmark also has the highest pork production per capita in all of Europe and the majority of them are raised on large farms of at least 5,000 individuals. It’s difficult for smaller farms to make their way into the market without the support of non-profits and volunteers. And even then, the cost of producing sustainable food on a small scale is high within this system. To create a sustainable business model, the prices of products from these kinds of small farms, while completely fair considering the labor and cost of production, are not easily accessed by people with lower incomes. 

This tension between sustainability and affordability asks the greater question, how do we create a food system that is sustainable for people and the planet?

There’s certainly no one simple solution, but I find hope in a rising movement, one that Grønt Marked is taking part in, to reconnect people through education and access with where their food comes from and who grows it. Other exciting projects that I’ve encountered while studying here include Bybi, which in English translates to “City Bees”, an organization with bee hives across Copenhagen and that hosts volunteer days, educational workshops, and community conversations to teach people about the production of honey and engage with sustainable food production, and ØsterGro, a rooftop community garden that hosts weekly volunteers who want to support and learn about sustainable urban agriculture and  distribute their products through a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). 

There’s a long way to go before people in Denmark have equitable access to food grown sustainably and in a way that has a regenerative impact on the environment. But these efforts collectively are building a partnership, with gratitude and care at its foundations, between people and the food system, and giving some food autonomy back to the community, to grow sustainably together.