FoodDay 2026: Building Sustainable Food Systems Within Planetary Boundaries

Theme: Food production within the planetary boundaries

How should future agricultural systems be designed if we are to produce sufficient quantities of food while remaining within the planetary boundaries? This session explores different agricultural paradigms and examines their potential, limitations and practical implications for farmers, food companies, consumers and policymakers. 

Four speakers representing practice, industry and academia will each present their perspective on how different production systems affect soil health, climate impact, biodiversity, raw material quality and economic feasibility. The session concludes with a 20–30 minute panel debate with audience participation. 

Moderator: Jens Renner Christensen, project manager FREJ 

Programme:

Sandra Villumsen Regenerativt Jordbrug – Board Member / School Leader 
Presentation: Regenerative agriculture in practice: pathways to soil restoration and resilient farming systems 
Sandra provides a hands‑on introduction to regenerative farming principles, including soil cover, crop diversity, permanent rooting and reduced tillage. She discusses how regenerative practices can enhance carbon sequestration, increase resilience and promote biodiversity - and outlines the incentives and barriers faced by Danish farmers. 

Fredrik Sahlin Godis Grønt / Øm Klostergaard
Presentation: From market garden to whole‑farm regeneration: experiences from Godis Grønt / Øm Klostergaard
Fredrik Sahlin shares insights from running a regenerative, biologically focused vegetable production system that integrates no‑till beds, compost-based fertility, biodiversity corridors and careful water management.

Maja Karolina Rydgård Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences (PLEN), University of Copenhagen 
Presentation: Comparing farming systems: environmental and agroecological impacts 
Maja presents research based evidence on how conventional and organic systems differ with respect to climate and environmental impacts, nutrient-use efficiency, and soil health. Her presentation provides a scientific foundation for understanding the trade-offs and synergies among systems.

Andreas Michael Wolff Department of Food and Resource Economics (IFRO), University of Copenhagen 
Presentation: Simple Question, Complex Answer: Comparing the Carbon Footprint of Organic and Conventional Farming 
Andreas is currently working on a systematic literature review that compares the carbon impact of organic and conventional farming across multiple functional units – per area, product, and economic value. In this presentation, he will outline the key findings from the review and discuss how fundamental choices in assumptions, system boundaries, methodological approaches, and data sources shape the resulting conclusions. 

Panel Debate (20–30 minutes) 
Can we feed the world within the planetary boundaries—and which agricultural model brings us closest? 
All four speakers participate in an open discussion moderated by a chair (to be added). The debate invites audience questions and focuses on whether one system clearly outperforms the others, or whether hybrid or context-dependent solutions represent the most viable path forward. 

Organizers: Thomas Bøker Lund, Assoc. Prof., Department of Food and Resource Economics and Kristian Holst Laursen, Assoc. Prof., Department of Plant and Environmental Science

Alternative proteins have strong potential to support sustainable and ethical food systems, but major hurdles, e.g. sensory, nutritional, technological, and regulatory, must be overcome before they can replace conventional animal-based proteins. We will turn and explore the food-for-the-future route by thinking backwards: Consumer ⇒ Nutrition ⇒ Industry ⇒ Research ⇒ Regulation. Taking the set-off by an expert panel with talks about alternative proteins, sustainability, nutrition, and regulation, we will work in groups on the question: Imagine it is 2036: What alternative protein foods must people eat to ensure peoples’ and planet health?  Following a group-panel ping-pong. This will result in an infographic roadmap.

Expert panel:
Professor Hanna L. Tuomisto, University of Helsinki & Natural Resources Institute, Finland

Senior advisor Hanne Boskov Hansen, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries of Denmark, Denmark

Associate Senior Lecturer Samira Prado, Örebro University, Sweden

Organizers:
Associate Professor Vibeke Orlien, Department of Food Science, UCPH

Postdoctoral researcher Marie-Luise Puhlmann, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, UCPH

Theme: Food production within the planetary boundaries

Biotechnological and biological innovations are central to transforming food production to remain within planetary boundaries. This session explores how biosolutions - ranging from fermentation technologies to metabolic engineering - can contribute to more resource‑efficient, climate‑friendly, and resilient food systems.

The session brings together academic researchers and industry to examine how fermentation-based food production can reduce environmental impact and improve resilience. Through three talks and a panel debate, the session will address both the scientific frontiers and real‑world implementation of biosolutions for sustainable food production.

Moderator: Serafim Bakalis, Department of Food Science - Ingredient and Dairy Technology, Faculty of SCIENCE University of Copenhagen.

Programme:

Lene Jespersen
Professor, Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen
Presentation: Untangling the Wonders of Microbial Activity — From Traditional Fermentations to New Biosolutions
Lene introduces the central role of fermentation in food processing and demonstrates how microbial activity can contribute to more sustainable and efficient food systems.

Marianne Nissen
Professor, Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen
Presentation: Proteins of the Future
Marianne provides an overview of current knowledge on proteins, discussing how processing affects their properties and how this links to food quality and nutritional value.

Sotirios Krampranis
Professor, Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Copenhagen
Presentation: Yeast Metabolic Engineering for the Sustainable Biomanufacturing of Food and Beverage Ingredients
Sotirios presents yeast as a microbial workhorse and shows how metabolic engineering enables efficient biosynthesis of food ingredients and bioactive compounds. His talk connects molecular‑level innovations to broader sustainability impacts, including carbon efficiency and resource use.

Bongki Engel
Arla Foods
Presentation: Industrial Perspectives on Biosolutions in Dairy and Food Production
Bongki offers an industry perspective on how major food companies evaluate, integrate, and scale biosolutions. He highlights considerations such as industrial feasibility, sustainability metrics, consumer acceptance, and how biosolutions can complement existing production systems.

Panel Debate (20–30 minutes)

How can biosolutions accelerate the transition to sustainable food systems within planetary boundaries?
All speakers join an open discussion moderated by Serafim Bakalis. The debate addresses questions such as:
• Which biosolutions hold the greatest potential?
• What technological and societal barriers remain?
• How can academia, industry, and policymakers collaborate to drive sustainable transitions?

Organizers:

Kristian Holst Laursen, Assoc. Prof., Department of Plant and Enviromental Sciences, University of Copenhagen
Serafim Bakalis, Prof., Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen

Explore sustainable healthy diets through a food‑systems lens, featuring new evidence on how closely Danes follow national dietary guidelines, how healthy food environments can normalize everyday eating habits, and how social and equity factors shape sustainable food choices. These perspectives will set the stage for a closing discussion on key consumer barriers and the potential of interventions such as taxation, discounts, or plant foods on prescription, to support healthier and more sustainable dietary habits.

Program:
Camilla Christensen, Researcher at National Food Institute, The Technical University of Denmark: “To what extend are the Danish dietary guidelines followed by the Danes” 

Lea Matthiessen, PhD fellow at Department Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, UCPH: “Normalizing dietary habits through healthy food environments” 

Kia Ditlevsen, Associate Professor at Department of Food and Resource Economics, UCPH: “Sustainable food consumption in everyday life” 

Open discussion (speakers, audience) moderated by Assistant Professor Catalina Cuparencu, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sport and TBD 

Organizers:
Catalina Cuparencu, Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sport, University of Copenhagen
Thomas Bøker Lund, Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Copenhagen