A main challenge in sustainable food systems is to link sustainable production to sustainable diets and consumption patterns. The new Nordic diet (NND) builds on and shares the Mediterranean diet (MD) thinking, but utilizes the ingredients and flavours of a northern climate. In both diets, variation in produce, organic, local production and seasonality are essential, all of which contribute to the preservation of the local landscape and sea, as well as to the health of the consumers. The agricultural biodiversity plays a huge role and provides a variety of plant and animal food products from both wild and domesticated sources.
Both diets have been associated with health benefits. The NND is a prototype regional diet taking health, food culture, palatability and the environment into account. Thus, the principles and guidelines could be applied in any region of the world. There are currently activities for initiating, modeling and assessing these transformation processes.