Danish Crown

Background

Danish Crown is a Denmark-based food manufacturer specialising in beef and pork processing,1โ€œHomepage,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.fo URL:ย https://archive.fo/fNu4j owned by the cooperative Leverandรธrselskabet Danish Crown AmbA.2โ€œOrganization,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.fo URL:ย https://archive.fo/xdFDTย  The company is one of Europeโ€™s largest pork producers3โ€œWho are we?,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/ihUWJย  and the worldโ€™s largest pork exporter, with market access to more than 130 countries.4โ€œDanish Crown,โ€ LinkedIn.ย Archived July 13 2021.

In 1998, Danish Crown merged with Danish cooperative slaughterhouse Vestjyske Slagterier.5Aaron McDonald. โ€œGroup CEO of Danish Crown to step down,โ€ย Food Navigator, September 30, 2015.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/ecdLo In 2015, the company attempted to merge with its local rival Tican, but this was prevented by Danish competition authorities.6โ€œDanish Crown and Tican merger under review,โ€ย PigProgress,ย July 23, 2015.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/wzKWn.ย 

According to its 2019/2020 annual report, Danish Crown slaughtered 18 million pigs and 0.8 million cows during that year. It had 5,900 cooperative members and 22,996 full-time employees, on average, and reported a revenue of DKK 61 billion (ยฃ7 billion) and a net profit of DKK 2 billion (ยฃ246 million).7โ€œAnnual report 2019/20,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/xGiq7.ย  The same year, it announced plans8Emma Upshall. โ€œDanish Crown to invest $322m in factory capabilities,โ€ย FoodBev Media, December 1, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/D4KiU. to offer plant-based products9Katy Askew. โ€œDanish Crown to launch plant-based products โ€˜very soonโ€™,โ€.ย Food Navigator, August 2, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/mVbMJ.ย  and invest a โ€œthree-digit million figureโ€ in more efficient and eco-friendly processing plants.10โ€œDanish Crown will 269 Mio โ‚ฌ in eigene Infrastruktur investieren,โ€ย Top Agrar Online, December 9, 2020.ย Archived July 13 2021. Archive.ph URL: https://archive.ph/JghTh

According to a 2021 study by New York University researchers, Danish Crownโ€™s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are currently equivalent to 29 percent of Denmarkโ€™s total emissions. On a business-as-usual pathway, Danish Crownโ€™s emissions would be responsible by 2030 for 42 percent of Denmarkโ€™s emissions target under the Paris Agreement, known as a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).11Oliver Lazarus, Sonali McDermid, and Jennifer Jacquet. โ€œThe climate responsibilities of industrial meat and dairy producers,โ€ย Climatic Change, March 25, 2021.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.fo URL:ย https://archive.ph/TXRBt.ย ย 

Sustainability non-profits GRAIN and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) estimated in a 2018 report that Danish Crownโ€™s total yearly emissions are 16.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e).12โ€œEmissions impossible: How big meat and dairy are heating up the planet,โ€ย The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, and GRAIN, July 2018.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/L0frI.ย 

In June 2021, three Denmark-based non-profit organisations filed Denmarkโ€™s first climate lawsuit against Danish Crown, accusing the company of spreading false claims about the climate impact of meat.13Frances Schwartzkopff. โ€œFirst Danish Climate Lawsuit Targets EUโ€™s Biggest Pork Producer,โ€ย Bloomberg, June 4, 2021.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย http://archive.today/P0EdL.

Stance on Climate Change

In 2019, Danish Crown launched a new brand identity, claiming to set โ€œa new direction towards a more sustainable future from farm to fork,โ€ and announced that a โ€œnew brand and narrative will make it clearer to customers and consumers that Danish Crown has started this transformation.โ€14โ€œDanish Crown presents its new brand identity,โ€ย Danish Crown, September 16, 2019.ย Archived July, 13 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/5uj7r.ย 

As part of the rebranding, Danish Crown changed its websiteโ€™s motto from โ€œItโ€™s all about foodโ€15โ€œHome,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived June 7, 2017. to โ€œWe are creating a sustainable future for food.โ€16โ€œHomepage,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.fo URL:ย https://archive.fo/fNu4j

The companyโ€™s new website includes a section dedicated to sustainability, where the company states that โ€œclimate researchers all over the world are highlighting meat as one of the great challenges for our planet, the climate and the living conditions of future generations.โ€17โ€œSustainability,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/UL3jx.ย 

On the page, Danish Crown says it aims to โ€œoffer people a sustainable alternative, so they can eat meat in responsible quantities with a clear conscience.โ€ The company plans โ€œto be the worldโ€™s most sustainable and successful meat producer in 2030โ€ and says it is working to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.18โ€œFact Sheet: Danish Crownโ€™s Sustainability Strategy,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/71Voc.ย 

In a presentation given at the University of Copenhagen in 2020, Valeur stated: โ€œI think it is really important that Danish Crown, on a day like today, tells and shows the outside world that we are part of the solution. That we demonstrate that we can and will help to make global food systems climate neutral, and that we are part of the future.โ€19โ€œJais Valeur talte om bรฆredygtighed pรฅ international forskningskonference,โ€ย Danish Crown, February 27, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/hPjTk.ย 

In 2019, Danish Crownโ€™s CEO Jais Valeur stated that he has โ€œa rock-solid belief that we are succeeding in taking a lead role globally on sustainability.โ€20โ€œFem skarpe til Jais Valeur,โ€ย Danish Crown, November 21, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/E2PJQ.ย 

In 2018, Danish Crownโ€™s chairman Erik Bredholt explained in a press release that the company is increasingly focusing on sustainability to โ€œgo on the offensiveโ€ since โ€œeveryone is talking about climate and sustainability.โ€ According to Bredholt, Danish Crown now requires farmers to apply for sustainability certification to โ€œdemarcate Danish Crown’s pigs positivelyโ€ and โ€œto show the outside world that we take the lead on the sustainability agenda for meatโ€ to create โ€œa new edgeโ€ that cannot be copied by competitors.21โ€œFem skarpe om bรฆredygtighed til formanden,โ€ย Danish Crown, March 8, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/YG9Gi.ย 

However, the company has also been critical of some efforts to address climate change.

In a 2021 interview with Berlingske, Danish Crown CEO Jais Valeur voiced concerns that the climate debate could drive agriculture out of Denmark.22Vibeke Lyngklip Svansรธ. โ€œDanish Crown-topchef med advarsel: โ€œReel risiko for, at vi kรธrer landbruget ud af Danmark med klimadebatten,โ€ย Berlingske,ย June 8, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/uqcS5.ย 

In 2021, Danish Crown criticised Denmarkโ€™s newly launched dietary guidelines, which highlight the health and environmental impacts of food, for not including information about local differences in meat production. It called for dietary guidelines to be โ€œregularly revised to reflect the progress of agriculture.โ€23โ€œDanish Crown: Spis mindre, men bedre dansk kรธd,โ€ย Danish Crown,ย January 7, 2021.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/aIl0r.ย 

In 2020, Valeur responded to discussions about meat-free days in government canteens by stating, โ€œthe debate about what we should eat in the future deserves more than being reduced to a question of mandatory meat-free days.โ€24Jais Valeur. โ€œDanish Crown: Kรธdfrie dage hรธrer til pรฅ de lette lรธsningers holdeplads,โ€ย Altinget,ย November 10, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/Bolqu.ย 

Livestock emissions

In its sustainability report, Danish Crown acknowledges โ€œthat meat production is a substantial contributor to greenhouse gas emissionsโ€ and provides data about the emissions of farms that have joined the companyโ€™s โ€œClimate Track,โ€ a scheme that aims to reduce supplying farmersโ€™ emissions. According to the report, emissions on certified farms increased from 223kg CO2e per pig in 2019 to 223.8kg in 2020. Danish Crown explained the increase by pointing out that farmers on the Climate Track own the smallest herds, โ€œhave a much lower feed efficiency per pig and do not use the latest technology.โ€ In September 2019, Danish Crown reported having โ€œcertified the 950 Danish cooperative members who deliver 90 per cent of the pigs for our Danish abattoirsโ€ as part of its Climate Track program.25โ€œSustainability report 2019-2020,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/uBR43.

Farmers who join the scheme are inspected and certified by Baltic Control, a Danish inspection, testing, and certification company. Danish Crown plans to add all of its supplying members based in Denmark, Poland, Germany and Sweden to the program by 2023.26โ€œSustainability report 2019-2020,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/uBR43.

In the companyโ€™s 2019/2020 sustainability report, Danish Crown claimed that the company had reduced emissions from its facilities from 410,869 to 363,335 tonnes of CO2e in scope 1 and 2 emissions through a transition to renewable energy at several sites. Danish Crown did not include scope 3 emissions in its estimate, however, which account for the majority of meat companiesโ€™ emissions.27โ€œSustainability report 2019-2020,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/uBR43.

In contrast to Danish Crownโ€™s estimate, sustainability non-profits GRAIN and IATP estimated the total yearly emissions of Danish Crown to be 16.5 Mt of CO2e in a 2018 report, using a UN Food and Agriculture Organisation model that covers scope 1โ€“3 emissions.28โ€œEmissions impossible: How big meat and dairy are heating up the planet,โ€ย The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, and GRAIN, July 2018.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/L0frI.ย 

Scope 1 and 2 emissions stem from direct activities of a company or activities under their control, as well as from the production of energy used by the company.29โ€œWhat is the Difference Between Scope 1, 2 and 3 Emissions?,โ€ย Compare your Footprint, November 2, 2018.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/bvtk7. Scope 3 emissions are all other indirect emissions originating from sources the company does not own or control, including land used to produce animal feed and emissions from farms that supply meat companies.30Dr. Meryl Richards. โ€œMeasure the Chain: Tools for Assessing GHG Emissions in Agricultural Supply Chains,โ€ย Ceres et al.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/7UvXX.ย 

Key Narratives

Danish Crown promotes a number of narratives to justify its business model. Find out more about how the meat industry is climate-washing its activities in our investigation. And you can read counter-arguments and criticisms of these narratives in our factsheet.

โ€˜Animal agriculture isnโ€™t a serious driver of climate changeโ€™

โ€˜Danish meat is more environmentally friendlyโ€™

In January 2021, Danish Crown criticised Denmarkโ€™s newly launched dietary guidelines, which highlight the health and environmental impacts of food, for not including information about local differences in meat production.31โ€œDanish Crown: Spis mindre, men bedre dansk kรธd,โ€ย Danish Crown,ย January 7, 2021.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/aIl0r.ย 

In 2020, the company added stickers to pork products stating that the climate footprint of one kilo of Danish pork from Danish Crown had been reduced by 25 percent since 2005.32โ€œKlimaindsats bliver synlig i kรธledisken,โ€ย Danish Crown, August 24, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/oF20u.ย  The company stated that producing one kilo of pork in Denmark caused 2.82kg of GHG emissions in 2016, compared with 3.79kg in 2005.33Marie Sรฆhl, Jeppe Kyhne Knudsen, and Klaus Schjerning Andersen. โ€œDanish Crowns reklamer for klimasvin fรฅr grรธnne tรฆsk: โ€˜Det ligner vildledning!โ€™,โ€ย DR, September 23, 2020.ย Archive July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/dWHPc.ย  Danish Crown backed up this claim by citing a life cycle assessment conducted by Aarhus Universityโ€™s Department of Agroecology for Danish Crown in 2019. The report is not publicly available, and Danish Crown did not reply to DeSmogโ€™s request for access.34โ€œDanish pork has 25% less carbon footprint,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/tI6Ne.ย 

In 2019, Aarhus University withdrew a report on the climate impact of beef published by the Danish Centre for Food and Agriculture (DCA), one of the universityโ€™s research centres, when an investigation revealed that Danish Crown and the Danish agricultural association Landbrug & Fรธdevarer, of which it is a member,35Henriette Stevnhรธj. โ€œKรธdsagen โ€“ fรฅ overblikket her,โ€ย Aarhus Universitet, November 15, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/dIVCh. had influenced36โ€œAarhus Universitet erkender at have tilbageholdt dokumenter,โ€ย Jyllands-Posten, December 1, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/RdAe0.ย  and co-written the report.37Lasse Skou Andersen, Lise Richter, and Martin Bahn. โ€œEfter oksekรธdsrapport: Landbrug & Fรธdevarer erkender โ€™graverende fejlโ€™ i andre sager,โ€ย Informatรญon, September 21, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/3QeHR.ย 

In an opinion piece published online, Danish Crown CEO Jais Valeur referred to calculations by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and stated that one kilo of Danish pork produced 10.8kg of CO2 emissions, lower than many other countries, to support the claim that โ€œthere is a huge difference in meatโ€™s climate footprint, depending on where it is produced.โ€38Jais Valeur. โ€œDanish Crown: Kรธdfrie dage hรธrer til pรฅ de lette lรธsningers holdeplads,โ€ย Altinget,ย November 10, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/Bolqu.ย  The WRI report, which had been part-funded by Landbrug & Fรธdevarer, concluded that โ€œDenmark is in the lowest carbon cost tier of countries analyzed for both pork and dairy, which differs from some other analyses, but differences are not large.โ€39Stefan Wirseniusย et al. โ€œComparing the life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of dairy and pork systems across countries using land-use carbon opportunity costs,โ€ย World Resources Institute, May 2020.ย Archived July 13 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/guEDO.ย 

The WRI and Aarhus University emissions estimates depend on different life cycle analysis models. The World Resources Instituteโ€™s model considers land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF), which includes deforestation and organic soil carbon.40โ€œLand use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF),โ€ย European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, July 24, 2015.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/cTHgE.ย  Aarhus University uses a life cycle assessment model41Anette Eckholt. โ€œFremtidens grรธnne grise,โ€ย JA Aktuelt, January 15, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/rWail. developed as part of a project initiated by Danish Crown titled โ€œPork 4.0.โ€ The assessment model does not consider the emissions caused, and carbon sequestration prevented, by land use and is only used by Aarhus University in the context of the โ€œPork 4.0โ€ project.42โ€œCSR report 2016/17,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/EKPu1.

Also in 2020, the company ran an advertising campaign, claiming that โ€œpigs are more climate-friendly than you think.โ€43Marie Sรฆhl, Jeppe Kyhne Knudsen, and Klaus Schjerning Andersen. โ€œDanish Crowns reklamer for klimasvin fรฅr grรธnne tรฆsk: โ€˜Det ligner vildledning!โ€™,โ€ย DR, September 23, 2020.ย Archive July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/dWHPc.ย  After criticism from consumer organisation Forbrugerrรฅdet Tรฆnk and green think tank Concito, Danish Crown stopped using the slogan. The company continues to claim, however, that it produces โ€œclimate controlled pork.โ€44โ€œClimate-controlled pork from our Danish farmers,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/b6en7.ย 

In June 2021, three Denmark-based non-profit organisations, the Vegetarian Society of Denmark, the Climate Movement, and the Green Student Movement, filed Denmarkโ€™s first climate lawsuit against Danish Crown for these two marketing campaigns, accusing the company of spreading deceptive claims about the climate impact of pork.45Frances Schwartzkopff. โ€œFirst Danish Climate Lawsuit Targets EUโ€™s Biggest Pork Producer,โ€ย Bloomberg, June 4, 2021.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย http://archive.today/P0EdL.

โ€˜Meat can be produced sustainablyโ€™

In his opening speech to the 2018 โ€œMEAT2030โ€ conference,46โ€œLetโ€™s Meat 2030 Together,โ€ย Danish Crown, September 19, 2018. Archived June 14, 2021.ย  Valeur said he wanted a future where โ€œconsumers actively seek sustainably produced meat,โ€ โ€œmeat production and farming systems are resilient, diverse and thriving; working in harmony with the environment and nature,โ€ and โ€œfarmers are paid a fair price for their products and are an influential and valuable part in society.โ€47Jais Valeur. โ€œMeat 2030: Action for a sustainable future,โ€ย Danish Crown. Archived June 14, 2021.

After the conference, Valeur stated: โ€œI was particularly happy about the consensus that meat should be on the dinner plate in the future. We must have a place on the plate so that we do not become irrelevant in the future.โ€48Jais Valeur. โ€œMEAT2030: Ideer til mere bรฆredygtigt kรธd,โ€ย Danish Crown, September 20, 2018.ย Archive July, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/gv4y3.ย 

A 2018 study published in Nature found that reducing meat consumption is crucial to lowering the food systemโ€™s emissions and that โ€œ[i]f socioeconomic changes towards [meat-heavy] Western consumption patterns continue, the environmental pressures of the food system are likely to intensify, and humanity might soon approach the planetary boundaries for global freshwater use, change in land use, and ocean acidification.โ€49Marco Springmannย et al.ย โ€œOptions for keeping the food system within environmental limits,โ€ย Nature, October 10, 2018.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/hiTaq.ย 

โ€˜Grazing supports biodiversityโ€™

In 2021, Danish Crown criticised a database about the carbon footprint of different foods launched by Danish retailer Salling Group A/S and the sustainability think tank Concito, claiming it lacked nuance. Danish Crown argued that for โ€œbeef cattle, which are bred solely for meat production, CO2 emissions are of course high, but in return they graze in fields and contribute greatly to biodiversityโ€ by โ€œcontributing to the emergence of more insects, worms, flowers, plants, and birds, which add biotopes that are attractive to the holistic view of nature.โ€50โ€œNy rapport om klimabelastning savner nuancer,โ€ย Danish Crown, February 2, 2021.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/bxXDK.ย 

The US-based Center for Biological Diversity states: โ€œThe ecological costs of livestock grazing exceed that of any other western land use.โ€51โ€œGrazing,โ€ย Centre for Biological Diversity.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/n59Hj.ย  A 2020 study by researchers from the University of Alberta warned that scaling up livestock grazing to meet future food demand could threaten the biodiversity of herbivores and pollinators worldwide.52Alessandro Filazzolaย et al.ย โ€œThe effects of livestock grazing on biodiversity are multi-trophic: a meta-analysis,โ€ย Ecology Letters, February 6, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021.

โ€˜Our feed comes from responsible sourcesโ€™

According to Danish Crownโ€™s website, the company plans to ensure that their โ€œDanish production needs for soy is [sic] covered by third party certified or verified responsible say [sic] that does not cause deforestation.โ€53โ€œWe are creating a sustainable future for food,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/3yz0T. In 2019, the company joined the Danish Alliance for Responsible Soy.54โ€œDanish Crown tilslutter sig Dansk Alliance for Ansvarlig Soja,โ€ย Danish Crown, September 26, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/nU4qA.ย  Danish Crown’s Communications Director Astrid Gade Nielsen stated: โ€œDanish feed companies buy soy from areas that live up to the fact that no rainforest has been cleared within a certain number of years, however, the challenge is a lack of documentation on this.โ€55โ€œStort fokus pรฅ bรฆredygtig soja,โ€ย Danish Crown, February 7, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/b84eB.ย 

In response to the 2020 Amazon fires, Danish Crown announced it would be partnering with the European Feed Manufacturers Federation (FEFAC)56Jane Byrne. โ€œDanish Crown moves to ensure its soy value chain is deforestation-free as report calls out the company on its soy sustainability policies,โ€ย Feed Navigator, May 4, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/rCJ8h.ย  and plans to acquire โ€œRTRS or RTRS equivalent certificates / credits to cover the companyโ€™s Danish production with effect from 1st October 2020.โ€57โ€œResponsible soy,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/z6v1s.ย  RTRS credits support farmers to produce soy without deforestation but do not necessarily mean that the credit buyers themselves are feeding sustainable soy to farmed animals.58Tom Levitt. โ€œHow can we stop using soya linked to deforestation?,โ€ย The Guardian, November 25, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/aasxK.ย 

According to a 2021 Greenpeace report, Danish Crown has knowingly contributed to deforestation in Brazil, including the widely-reported fires of 2020, through its trading partners JBS, Minerva, and Marfrig.59โ€œSรฅdan kan du lรฆgge pres pรฅ Danish Crown,โ€ย Greenpeace, March, 4, 2021.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/28M39.ย 

โ€˜Locally-produced meat cuts out transport emissionsโ€™

The company argues on its website that meat produced in Denmark โ€œhas a very short way from farm to fork.โ€60โ€œDanish Crown: Spis mindre, men bedre dansk kรธd,โ€ย Danish Crown,ย January 7, 2021.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/aIl0r.ย 

According to an analysis published by Oxford Universityโ€™s Our World in Data project, however, the transport, processing, retail, and packaging of food account for only a small share of emissions, while most GHG emissions caused by animal agriculture result from the production of the meat itself.61Hannah Ritchie. โ€œYou want to reduce the carbon footprint of your food? Focus on what you eat, not whether your food is local,โ€ย Our World in Data, January 24, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/jK4Se.ย 

โ€˜Meat is needed for a healthy diet and to feed the worldโ€™

โ€˜Meat is needed to feed the worldโ€™s growing populationโ€™

On September 19, 2018, Danish Crown hosted a conference titled โ€œMEAT2030โ€ in Copenhagen with the goal โ€œto get input for a more sustainable future for meat.โ€62Jais Valeur. โ€œMEAT2030: Ideer til mere bรฆredygtigt kรธd,โ€ย Danish Crown, September 20, 2018.ย Archive July, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/gv4y3.ย  One day before the conference, Danish Crown CEO Valeur wrote an article published by Altinget, stating: โ€œIn ten years, the middle class worldwide will have grown from 3.2 billion people to 5 billion who will […] have meat as part of their diet. This is wearing out the planet and this development cannot continue. We are therefore faced with a choice: Should we stop eating meat, or should we find a sustainable way forward? At Danish Crown, the answer is clear. Meat has always been part of the human diet, and so it will remain in the future.โ€63Kiki Qvistgaard. โ€œDanish Crown: Fremtiden er bรฆredygtig โ€“ ogsรฅ for kรธd,โ€ย Altinget, September 18, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/C0IQC.ย 

On the companyโ€™s โ€œSustainabilityโ€ section of its website, Danish Crown states that despite the climate impacts of meat consumption, โ€œthis does not mean that Danish Crown will be producing less meatโ€ because โ€œin 2050, according to the UN, there will be approximately 10 billion mouths to feed.โ€64โ€œWe are creating a sustainable future for food,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/3yz0T.

A 2018 study published in Nature, however, found that reducing meat consumption is crucial to lowering the food systemโ€™s emissions and that โ€œ[i]f socioeconomic changes towards [meat-heavy] Western consumption patterns continue, the environmental pressures of the food system are likely to intensify, and humanity might soon approach the planetary boundaries for global freshwater use, change in land use, and ocean acidification.โ€65Marco Springmannย et al.ย โ€œOptions for keeping the food system within environmental limits,โ€ย Nature, October 10, 2018.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/hiTaq.ย 

โ€˜Meat is an exceptional source of nutrientsโ€™

According to Valeur, โ€œmeat has always been associated with quality of life and prosperityโ€ and is โ€œa good and safe way to vital proteins, vitamins and minerals.โ€66Jais Valeur. โ€œVi vil skabe en bรฆredygtig fremtid for kรธd,โ€ย Danish Crown, September 18, 2018.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/PDnjt.ย  At a conference held at the University of Copenhagen in 2020, Valeur stated that โ€œmeat has an important role to play in a balanced diet.โ€67โ€œJais Valeur talte om bรฆredygtighed pรฅ international forskningskonference,โ€ย Danish Crown, February 27, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/hPjTk.ย 

Nutrition associations, including the British Nutrition Foundation, approve of meat-free diets, however.68โ€œPlant-based diets,โ€ย British Nutrition Foundation.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/Ws13f.ย  According to the American Dietetic Association, โ€œappropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.โ€69Winston Craig and Ann Reed Mangels. โ€œPosition of the American Dietetic Association: vegetarian diets,โ€ย National Centre for Biotechnology Information, July 2009.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/yU1Fh.ย 

โ€˜Eating meat is a personal choiceโ€™

In response to newly launched dietary guidelines by the Danish government in January 2021, Danish Crown argued it should be left to โ€œthe individual consumer to assess their meat intake.โ€70โ€œDanish Crown: Spis mindre, men bedre dansk kรธd,โ€ย Danish Crown,ย January 7, 2021.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/aIl0r.ย 

โ€˜Innovations in animal agriculture will tackle climate changeโ€™

โ€˜We are producing less emissions-intensive meatโ€™

As part of the companyโ€™s sustainability strategy, Danish Crown launched a โ€œClimate Trackโ€ scheme to โ€œproduce meat that is (net) climate neutral in 2050,โ€ pointing out that โ€œDanish farmers have [already] successfully improved efficiency, so that the amount of feed needed to produce 1 kg of pork has fallen significantly over the last several years.โ€71โ€œWe are following the Climate Track,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:https://archive.ph/jGxTL.ย 

Sustainability non-profits GRAIN and IATP warn that โ€œthe large gains in โ€˜efficiencyโ€™ realised by industrial farming in the twentieth century will be hard to repeat without major ecological, social and health impacts.โ€72โ€œEmissions impossible: How big meat and dairy are heating up the planet,โ€ย GRAIN and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, July 18, 2018.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/xY4Y7.ย 

โ€˜Breeding and genetic engineering will reduce the climate impacts of meatโ€™

In 2019, Danish Crown partnered with SEGES, an offshoot of Landbrug & Fรธdevarer, Aarhus University, and other companies for the โ€œFutureBeefCrossโ€ project, aiming to develop more climate-friendly beef cattle through breeding and genetic engineering.73โ€œLandmand inviterer til et kig pรฅ fremtidens bรฆredygtige slagtekalv,โ€ย Danish Crown, November 5, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/2Ycfz.ย 

โ€˜We are using more sustainable packaging and fertiliserโ€™

In 2021, Danish Crown committed to purchasing CO2-free fertiliser from a new production plant in Esbjerg, a project led by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP)74โ€œDFDS Aims to Bring Environmental Footprint to Climate Neutral,โ€ย Railly News, February 27, 2021.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/gX0gz.ย  expected to start operations in 2026.75Sladjana Djunisic. โ€œCIP joins Dansh shipping, agri-sector on offshore wind-to-ammonia project,โ€ย Renewables Now, February 23, 2021.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/HDZGC.ย  In 2019, Danish Crown launched new packaging to reduce its plastic consumption.76โ€œDanish Crown introducerer ny klimavenlig emballage til foodservice,โ€ย Danish Crown, November 26, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/VvjTZ.ย 

According to an analysis published by Oxford Universityโ€™s Our World in Data project, the packaging of meat accounts for only a small share of emissions caused by the livestock sector.77Hannah Ritchie. โ€œYou want to reduce the carbon footprint of your food? Focus on what you eat, not whether your food is local,โ€ย Our World in Data, January 24, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/jK4Se.ย 

โ€˜We are producing green energyโ€™

In 2019, Danish Crown argued that biogas produced from its slaughterhousesโ€™ residual products provide โ€œenough green energy to heat many homes.โ€78โ€œOur abattoirs are very energy-efficient and make optimum use of the pig,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/p1sPm.ย 

Environmental campaigners have criticised manure management technologies such as biogas digesters for โ€œhelping to perpetuate large-scale factory farming under the guise of mitigating climate change.โ€79Gosia Wozniacka. โ€œAre Dairy Digesters the Renewable Energy Answer or a โ€˜False Solutionโ€™ to Climate Change?,โ€ย Civil Eats, April 24, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/q37P3.ย  Campaigners have also argued that gas produced on factory farms does not qualify as clean energy because burning the gas releases carbon dioxide and other contaminants, while methane-capture technologies fail to address the majority of industrial livestock farming emissions.80Viveca Morris. โ€œWhy meat and dairy corporations are the Achillesโ€™ heel of Bidenโ€™s climate plan,โ€ย LA Times, May 16, 2021.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/SMMgN.ย 

Lobbying

In 2019, the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food invited Danish Crownโ€™s CEO to chair a new climate partnership between the government and the food and agriculture sector,81โ€œJais Valeur bliver formand for klimapartnerskab med regeringen,โ€ย Danish Crown, November 7, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/lwke8.ย  to help the Danish government reach its goal of reducing the countryโ€™s emissions by 70 percent by 2030.82โ€œKlimapartnerskaber,โ€ย Erhvervsministeriet.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/znEsv.ย  After Danish Crown farmers criticised Valeur for accepting the position instead of focusing on meat sales, its press manager Jens Hansen stated: โ€œIn our view, it would be crazy to say no to leading the climate partnership, when there is an inquiry from the country’s Minister of Food and the Prime Minister. In the role of chairman, Jais Valeur and Danish Crown get the best possible opportunities to shape and contribute to a climate strategy that ensures we still have significant food production in 2050, which contributes to jobs and foreign exchange earnings in Denmark.โ€83โ€œSvineavlere gรฅr imod Danish Crowns klimaindsats,โ€ย Food Supply, November 28, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/BsYtT.ย 

The climate partnership chaired by Valeur submitted a report to the Danish government in 2020, suggesting steps towards a more sustainable and climate-friendly system of agriculture in Denmark.84โ€œKlimapartnerskabet for Fรธdevare- og Landbrugssektoren,โ€ย Klima-, Energi- og Forsyningsministeriet.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/ghfIz.ย  The submission of the report coincided with the outbreak of COVID-19, and CEO Valeur stated that Danish Crown had decided to postpone discussions about the report with the Danish government and parliament.85Jais Valeur. โ€œKlimapartnerskabet for Fรธdevare- og Landbrugssektoren,โ€ย LinkedIn, March 16, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/vbeWD.ย 

โ€œGlad for gris,โ€ a campaign launched in 2019, which aims โ€œto strengthen the sale of pork in Denmark by contributing to an improvement in the perceived value of pork through a digital consumer campaign, targeted at young people,โ€86Alexandra Oโ€™Sullivan Freltoft. โ€œKlimaaktivist: Jeg tror ikke lรฆngere, at alle landmรฆnd er bagstrรฆberiske bรธnder,โ€ย Information, June 13, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. received โ‚ฌ2.45 million in funding from the EU.87Sini Erรคjรครค. โ€œMarketing Meat: How EU promotional funds favour meat and dairy,โ€ย Greenpeace, April 2021.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/2PmT5.ย  The campaign was run by Landbrug & Fรธdevarer, an organisation representing Danish food and agricultural companies, including Danish Crown. It was also supported by the Danish Pig Tax Fund, overseen by the Danish Ministry of Food and Agriculture, working to โ€œstrengthen the development opportunities and competitiveness of the whole pork sector.โ€88โ€œHomepage,โ€ย Svineafgiftsfonden.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/EeHvq.ย 

In 2018, Danish Crown reported that it had been collaborating with European food groups to develop the EU Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) standards for โ€œdocumenting and communicating the environmental footprint of the production of red meatโ€ since 2016.89โ€œCSR report 2017/18,โ€ย Danish Crown. Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:

In 2017, Danish Crownโ€™s Senior Sustainability Manager Charlotte Thy gave a presentation at a conference on developing EU PEF standards organised by the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food titled โ€œChallenges in the development of PEFCR for meat. Market possibilities for Danish meat sector.โ€90โ€œProducts Environmental Footprint,โ€ย Miljรธ- og Fรธdevareministeriet.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.pg URL:ย https://archive.ph/zR2IP.

When current Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederiksen, then chairman of Denmarkโ€™s Social Democratic Party, dismissed the discussion about the environmental impact of meat as hysterical in 2018, CEO of Danish Crown Beef Finn Klostermann reportedly replied: “If you do not become Prime Minister, then you can become a seller at Danish Crown.”91Frederik Siiger Hansen and Torben Worsรธe. โ€œS-formand: Debat om kรธd er hysterisk,โ€ย Landbrugs Avisen, November 22, 2018.ย Archived July 13, 2021.ย 

Bjarke Kamstrup, former press manager at the Danish Ministry of Food and Agriculture became Public Affairs Manager at Danish Crown in May 2021.92โ€œBjarke Kamstrup,โ€ย LinkedIn.ย Archived July 13, 2021.

Affiliations

Jais Valeur, CEO of Danish Crown, chaired a climate partnership in 2019 consisting of 14 Danish business leaders invited by the Danish Ministry of Environment and Food to help the government reach its 2030 emissions goals.93โ€œJais Valeur bliver formand for klimapartnerskab med regeringen,โ€ย Danish Crown, November 7, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/lwke8.ย  The 14 members included representatives of other high-emitting sectors, including from aviation (SAS Danmark), shipping (Mรฆrsk), and transport (DSV Panalpina).94โ€œ13 climate partnerships will support the Danish government in reaching the green targets,โ€ย State of Green, November 13, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/MuHbG.ย 

In September 2018, Danish Crown hosted a conference titled โ€œMEAT2030.โ€ Speakers included the then Danish Prime Minister Lars Lรธkke Rasmussen; Lisa Sweet, Head of Agriculture, Food and Beverage Industries at the World Economic Forum; Michael La Cour, Managing Director of IKEA Food Services; Stephanie Draper, Chief Change Officer at Forum for the Future; Anne Mottet, Livestock Officer at FAO; and food entrepreneur Claus Meyer Nielsen.95โ€œLetโ€™s Meat 2030 Together,โ€ย Danish Crown, September 19, 2018. Archived June 14, 2021.ย  The presentations covered the ecological footprint of livestock farming, changing consumer preferences, and the potential of technological innovations, including plant-based and lab-grown meat alternatives.96Jais Valeur. โ€œMeat 2030: Action for a sustainable future,โ€ย Danish Crown. Archived June 14, 2021.

Karl Christian Mรธller, Chief Analyst at Danish Crown, is on the board of directors of Dansk Protein Innovation, which supplies grass protein to animal feed producer Vestjyllands Andel.97โ€œBestyrelsen,โ€ย Dansk Protein Innovation.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/kXHWU.ย 

Research Collaborations

As part of the companyโ€™s sustainability messaging, Danish Crown uses a life cycle assessment model developed as part of the โ€œPork 4.0โ€ project,98Anette Eckholt. โ€œFremtidens grรธnne grise,โ€ย JA Aktuelt, January 15, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/rWail. a project initiated by Danish Crown and carried out in collaboration with Aarhus University, Danish health authority Statens Serum Institut, and consulting firm SEGES, an offshoot of Landbrug & Fรธdevarer. The โ€œPork 4.0โ€ assessment model does not consider the emissions caused, and carbon sequestration prevented by, land use and is only used by Aarhus University in the context of the โ€œPork 4.0โ€ project.99โ€œCSR report 2016/17,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/EKPu1.

In 2019, Aarhus University withdrew a report from Aarhus Universityโ€™s Danish Centre For Food And Agriculture (DCA) and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) about the climate impact of beef and veal100Henriette Stevnhรธj. โ€œKรธdsagen โ€“ fรฅ overblikket her,โ€ย Aarhus Universitet, November 15, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/dIVCh. when an investigation by the newspaper Information revealed that Danish Crown and the Danish agricultural association Landbrug & Fรธdevarer had influenced101โ€œAarhus Universitet erkender at have tilbageholdt dokumenter,โ€ย Jyllands-Posten, December 1, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/RdAe0.ย  and co-written the report, as well as subsequent press releases.102Lasse Skou Andersen, Lise Richter, and Martin Bahn. โ€œEfter oksekรธdsrapport: Landbrug & Fรธdevarer erkender โ€™graverende fejlโ€™ i andre sager,โ€ย Informatรญon, September 21, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/3QeHR.ย 

Danish Crown confirmed that the company should have been listed as a co-author of the report103โ€œKammeradvokaten: Danish Crown skulle have stรฅet som medforfatter pรฅ oksekรธdsrapporten,โ€ย Danish Crown, October 1, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/nVrIg.ย  and announced it would be working with Danish law firm Kammeradvokaten/Poul Schmith โ€œto assess our collaboration with research institutes, – especially regarding the beef report from 2019 but also in relation to reports from previous years.โ€104โ€œSustainability report 2018-2019,โ€ย Danish Crown.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/M5NMx.ย 

Further investigations uncovered errors and omissions105โ€œIntern undersรธgelse pรฅ Aarhus Universitet finder fejl og mangler i 34 ud af 55 rapporter,โ€ย Information, November 5 2019.ย Archived July 13 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/eWV0U.ย  in 34 out of 55 DCA reports produced by Aarhus University that involved collaboration with private companies and interested groups.106Henriette Stevnhรธj. โ€œKรธdsagen โ€“ fรฅ overblikket her,โ€ย Aarhus Universitet, November 15, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/dIVCh. The university decided not to withdraw these additional reports.107โ€œOksekรธdsrapport var ikke alene: Aarhus Universitet finder mangler i flere rapporter,โ€ย DR, November 4, 2019.ย Archived July 13 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/DF5dc.ย 

In 2019, Aarhus University partnered with Danish Crown, among other Danish retail companies, to develop a Masterโ€™s degree programme in Commercial and Retail Management.108โ€œAnnual Report 2019,โ€ย Aarhus Universitet, April 1, 2019.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/0CDss.ย  In 2020, Danish Crown partnered with Aarhus University and consulting firm SEGES for โ€œPork 4.0,โ€ a research project on sustainable pork production.109Anette Eckholt. โ€œFremtidens grรธnne grise,โ€ย JA Aktuelt, January 15, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/rWail.

Copenhagen Universityโ€™s Department of Food Science works with Danish Crown, among other meat producers, to help the company โ€œwith the challenges the meat industry is facing.โ€110Renรฉ Lametsch. โ€œUCPH FOODโ€™s research in meat,โ€ย University of Copenhagen.ย Archived July 2013, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/5eund.ย  In 2020, Copenhagen Universityโ€™s Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences invited Danish Crown to speak at a conference titled โ€œTransforming global food systems under climate change: Achieving zero emissionsโ€.111โ€œTransforming global food systems under climate change: Achieving zero emissions,โ€ย University of Copenhagen, February 25, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/II8ZW.ย 

Since 2017, Copenhagen University and Aarhus University have been collaborating with Danish Crown on the โ€œSuperGrassPorkโ€ project, an initiative working to supplement pig feed with locally grown grass protein funded by the Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries-backed Green Development and Demonstration Program (GUDP). Other partners in the project include Friland A/S, a Danish Crown supplier, animal feed and crop producer Vestjyllands Andel, and the Institute for Food Studies, a non-profit organization working to improve human and planetary health through food-based solutions.112Jane Byrne. โ€œTrial: Locally produced grass protein in organic pig diets does not compromise quality, productivity or taste,โ€ย Feed Navigator, February 25, 2020.ย Archived July 13, 2021. Archive.ph URL:ย https://archive.ph/qecoI.

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