The Danish Ministry of the Environment has proposed including information on the environmental impact on food labels, along with nutritional values, according to the magazine Time. The objective is that individual consumers can evaluate and know how to contribute to solving the problem of climate change with their purchasing decisions.

The labeling plan, which will involve different supermarket chains, will be accompanied by a program to help consumers select products with less environmental impact.

Interest groups such as the Danish Agricultural-Food Council have welcomed the proposal, although they consider that unhealthy products should not be prioritized because they have less environmental impact. The representative of the Slow Food movement in Copenhagen, which advocates eating local products, has also welcomed the plan, although regrets that labeling is not mandatory – so you can choose not to include labeling on highly polluting products -.

A recent report from the United Nations Panel on Climate Change warns that we have less than 12 years to prevent the average global temperature from rising above 1.5ºC, which has catastrophic effects. Our dietary choices have a major influence on CO2 emissions and methane, deforestation for pastures and plantations, availability of water, and ultimately, climate change.

Denmark is in the Top 20 countries for best efforts to combat global warming.