image source: http://www.crowdbabble.com/blog

Last week I wrote about the Nordic Food Manifesto, and how Denmark created a strong “real food” culture largely from an intentional effort led by Claus Meyer. It wasn’t political lobbying or public petitioning that resulted in food reform, but rather a grassroots effort led by citizens with the power to actually implement and follow-through with change.

I ended the post alluding to one question: Why is it so hard for us to do this ourselves, as individuals? If an entire country can implement and spread a common view towards food, why can’t we?

There’s nothing really stopping us from mimicking Denmark’s success. The problem is, we’re inundated with so many messages about what we should be eating, and how we should be living, it’s hard to know where to start. So rather than following successful frameworks that have been shown to work (like the Nordic Food Manifesto), most people jump from diet craze to diet craze, trying to find the “right way to eat.”

But how did Claus Meyer succeed? What was the secret sauce that helped the Manifesto take hold? And is it reasonable to think we can apply those lessons to our own lives? Continue reading →