Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl on winning the largest government investment in plant-based foods

Rune-Christoffer is an impressive person. In addition to being almost 10ft tall, he led the Vegetarian Society of Denmark’s efforts in getting the Danish government to invest over 110 million Euros in plant-based foods and develop an Action Plan to boost plant-based foods in the country. Given this is one of the most significant policy wins the animal advocacy and plant-based movement has seen in recent years, we chat about how they built the political will to achieve this. We speak about the importance of building coalitions, developing relationships with politicians, and even engaging with the animal agriculture industry. We also speak about their plans to scale this work in the EU so stick around to the end if you want some optimistic and ambitious next steps.Resources: Denmark’s Action Plan for Plant-Based FoodsStrategy of the Plant-Based Food GrantPlant-Based R&D strategy made in collaboration with farmersIshmael – Daniel QuinnMeat: A Natural Symbol – Nick Fiddes Meat: A Benign Extravaganza – Simon FairlieIn Defense of Food – Michael Pollan00:00:00:00 | Intro00:02:26:23 | A recent mistake others can learn from00:04:30:12 | Action Plan for Plant-based Foods00:08:20:01 | The Plant-Based Food Grant00:17:22:12 | Key things that helped on the way to success00:24:59:13 | Whole-Food and Plant-Based diet00:28:35:17 | Building relationships00:37:06:14 | Stance of the Meat industry00:41:40:18 | Organic Denmark00:46:57:16 | Collaboration with other organisations00:51:54:04 | Tactical tips00:58:31:03 | Plan for expanding through EU01:10:45:20 | Working with more challenging countries01:17:49:12 | Closing questionsWith thanks to Tom Felbar (Ambedo Media) for amazing video and audio editing!Note: My (James') views here are my personal opinions and don't represent those of Coefficient Giving.If you enjoy the show, please leave a rating and review us - it means a lot to us!