A new study by Madkulturen – an independent organisation under the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries – has found that meat dominates the list of Danes’ favourite evening meals.

That is despite a broad acceptance in the Nordic country that vegetable-base dishes help reduce individual CO2 footprints, broadcaster DR writes, reporting the results of the survey.

The latest survey is the tenth of its kind, ranking the ten most popular dinner choices in Denmark. The list is as follows:

1. Rye bread with toppings
2. Pizza
3. Sandwiches
4. Burger
5. Chicken with sides
6. Pasta dishes such as spaghetti bolognese
7. Sausage-based dish e.g. hotdogs, medister sausage, pølsehorn (sausage roll)
8. Frikadeller (meatballs) with sides
9. Steak with sides
10. Fish with sides

“When we have meat for dinner, we see it as the primary ingredient half of the time.That number has not changed over the last eight years,” the report states.

Madkulturen’s director Judith Kyst told DR that the results reflect a firmly established food culture in Denmark.

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“We are hanging on to a repertoire of dishes based on the principle that good food contains meat. Instead of having the difficult discussion about food culture, many off us are pushing climate considerations down the road,” she said.

The survey does not only speak of a stubbornly set food culture though. More Danes – 75 percent – correctly identified three pictures of legumes in this year’s survey, compared to 67 percent in the previous one in 2019.

Some 94 percent recognise chickpeas based on a photo. Nine percent of dishes now contain legumes, compared to 3 percent in 2013.

The number of people who agreed with the statement “I want to eat in a climate-friendly way” has regressed drastically, from 60 percent in 2019 to 46 percent now.

Even for 18-25-year-olds, the most climate-friendly group in terms of food choices, that figure shrank from 79 percent four years ago to 57 percent this year.

Some 83 percent of families with children under 6 years old eat meat on a typical evening, compared to 72 percent without children.

That is likely to be because of the popularity of minced meat among children, the report states.

“It is used in many dishes that are straightforward to make and are considered sure hits with children, like spaghetti Bolognese, lasagne and burger,” the conclusion of the report notes.