The value of Danish-grown fruit and vegetables

Few things capture the taste of summer quite like a carrot freshly pulled from the ground. Crisp, aromatic and still cool from rinsing, it evokes memories of childhood gardens and long days spent outdoors. Fresh vegetables and fruits are just essential elements in our daily food.

Yet despite the appeal of locally grown produce, Denmark produces less each year during the last decades. The rest is imported.

This situation can be turned around.

Given Denmark's fertile soils, favorable climate and strong expertise for horticultural production and culinary pleasures, the country's horticultural sector has significant potential. Researchers argue that expanding Danish fruit and vegetable production could strengthen food resilience, support crop- and biodiversity, and climate footprint, and create new opportunities for sustainable agriculture. Achieving this, however, will require continued investment in both education, research and innovation.

Professor Hanne Lakkenborg Kristensen from the Department of Food Science at Aarhus University (AU FOOD) has dedicated her career to understanding how vegetables can be grown more sustainably and efficiently under organic and regenerative conditions in collaborative research projects.

For her, the fascination begins with the remarkable diversity of horticultural crops.

"Fruit and vegetables are amazing. They offer incredible diversity - on the plate, in the field, and in the greenhouse. From crisp cucumbers and peppery radishes to sweet cherries and hearty winter cabbages, they each have their own qualities. I'll happily take the whole lot”, she says with a smile.

Research in fruit and vegetables is about far more than improving yields. It explores how plant biology, cultivation methods and new technologies can work together to create production systems that are both productive and environmentally responsible.

Even well-known crops continue to present new scientific and highly relevant questions.

"Take cauliflower," Hanne says. "So beautiful and crisp, with delicate nutty flavours and a mild pungency at the end, yet its character changes completely depending on how it's prepared. We already understand a great deal about its growth physiology, but how do we cultivate it using nature-based solutions and advanced technologies? That's what makes this research so exciting and full of perspectives."

By improving cultivation practices and developing more resilient production systems, researchers hope to make Danish horticulture better equipped to meet the urgent demands for sustainable food production.

In this video (in Danish), Hanne Lakkenborg Kristensen explains why Danish horticulture matters, how research supports education and innovation in fruit and vegetable production, and why increasing domestic production could benefit both consumers and the environment.

Watch the video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_56G-XRK3t4