Food Sustainability and Gastronomy – Experience of the Nordic Countries

Abstract

Food sustainability and gastronomy in the Nordic countries have in recent years been combined in several different aspects. Initiatives from fine-dining professionals have been supported by the Nordic Ministerial Council and further developed over a number of years. The welfare model with and increased focus on democracy and equality as well as reduction of poverty is emphasized in the Nordic strategy for sustainable development, which also discusses issues of the environmental load from food production, issues of biodiversity and waste reduction. Attempts to combine food production and export with healthy and sustainable aspects have been emerging during the last decades in the Nordic Countries. Assessment tools for evaluating sustainability as well as nutritional quality have been developed. The New Nordic Cuisine Manifesto has served as a platform for several of the sustainability developments in the region from fine dining to public meals. Another important initiative is the EAT Initiative, which has significantly increased the debate on food sustainability on a global level, from a Nordic origin. Local and regional food systems can certainly be used as focus points for development of healthy, economically viable and sustainable diets. This is the case for the Mediterranean Diet as well as the New Nordic Diet.