Health Aspects

What are the main challenges

What do we expect from a transition? Should/could meat e.g., be cut out completely?

  • The role of meat and livestock in new diets
  • The consequences of excluding meat for the supply chain/ primary production

How do we define the ideal composition of a "transition" diet considering proteins, micronutrients etc. with due attention to health, circularity, climate, biodiversity, resource efficiency, etc.?

Which nutrition elements will be missing when changing diets? 

Predicting the absorption of different/alternative/new nutrients in different populations when changing diets  

Considering new risks, e.g., allergies, and food safety implications

How to conceptualize the “ideal” or “good enough” diet 

  • How to ensure that the ideal diet and modifications of this are in line with the diversity of food cultures?  
  • How to ensure that “vulnerable” groups are not ignored? 

The advantages and disadvantages of using new protein resources, such as insects and artificial meat 

Paying attention to the fact that health is not only about nutrition but also pleasure and well-being 

How can consumers be empowered to accept and utilise 'health' opportunities within the transition to plant-based diets?

How to put diet change into action and closing the science to practice gap?

What are the barriers to adoption of sustainable foods in the consumer population, with respect to vulnerable groups, cultural differences, data science, and behaviour?

To explore barriers and possibilities related to microbiological, nutritional and consumer quality aspects, and use this knowledge to create a multilevel strategy for dietary behaviour changes.


Key characteristics of the Hub

Related to the theme of the Hub, participants represented competencies and interests ranging from, e.g. chemical food safety, protein processing from animal and plant sources, chemical composition and safety of “future foods”, health/sustainability lifecycle assessments, circularity and livestock production, dietary guidelines and health promotion, consumer and sensory sciences, including consumer motivation and values, the pleasure of eating and behavioural change from meat-based to more plant-based diets.


What kind of research areas would complement the Hub research?

  • Perspectives from humanities, data sciences, logistics. 
  • People from the primary production that are looking into sustainable production.
  • A need to include perspectives on societal structures, to help map out barriers to adoption of sustainable foods in the consumer population, including vulnerable groups, and to integrate sociological perspectives to be able to explore TRL and SRL.  

Academic Coordinators


Lisbeth Truelstrup Hansen

National Food Institute

Technical University of Denmark

Phone: +45 20 64 06 77

E-mail: litr@food.dtu.dk


Alice Grønhøj

Department of Management

Aarhus University

Phone: +45 87 16 50 42

Mobile: +45 61 77 96 97

E-mail: alg@mgmt.au.dk

Administrative Coordinators


Hanne Vibeke Seidler

Special Consultant

Email: hsja@food.dtu.dk

Phone: +45 93 51 07 95


Bodil Hjarvard

Academic Employee

Email: bohj@agro.au.dk

Phone: +45 93 52 29 26