Fat in Denmark? You may want to think twice about drowning your sorrow in a pint of Chubby Hubby as it's going to get a bit more expensive.

Though less than 10% of Denmark's population is obese, the Danish government ain't takin' the chance that they're becoming like Americans - so they're instituting a "fat tax":

Starting Oct. 1, Danes will see a price increase in products that are high in saturated fats, which researchers at Denmark's Institute of Food and Resource Economics have attributed to the cause of 4% of the country's premature deaths.

Butter, oils, and high-fat dairy products will see the biggest price increases; products with more than 2.3% saturated fat will be taxed 16 kroner per kilogram ($2.90 USD) of saturated fat. Shoppers should be ready to pay up to 30% more for a pack of butter, 8% more for a bag of chips, and a liter of olive oil will cost 7.1% more than usual.

Link

Previously on Neatorama: Hungary's "Fat Tax"

The sales ban enforces a law restricting products fortified with added vitamins. Food giant Kellogg’s withdrew some brands of breakfast cereal from Denmark when the legislation passed in 2004, but until now Marmite had escaped the attention of Danish authorities.

"What am I supposed to put on my toast now?" asked British advertising executive Colin Smith, who has lived in the country for six years. "I still have a bit left in the cupboard, but it’s not going to last long."

Link

I say it’s about time! My taste buds still recoil from the horror of trying it once many years ago. What do you think?

A fertility clinic in Copenhagen wanted an easy way to transport biological materials in insulated storage through the city, and so commissioned the construction of the Sperm Bullitt:

The Sperm Bike is, like the company’s sperm donations, a Danish product and constructed around the Danish Bullitt cargo bike from Larry vs Harry.

Producing the Sperm Bike was no easy task. It was constructed by the Danish company 10 Tons – who specialise in zoological and botanical models as well as paleontologic reconstructions, including full-size whales and dinosaurs.

With the tail, the bike is 2.9 metres long and fully-loaded with… um… sperm… it weighs 50 kg. About the same as my cargo bike with two kids and a bag of groceries.

If you scroll to the bottom of the linked article, you can find links to images of other unique custom cargo bikes built by the same company.

Link via Marginal Revolution | Photo: Copenhagenize

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the average Dane devours 321 lbs. of meat a year. This edges out New Zealand (313 lbs. per person) for the top spot.

The United States, at 275 lbs., is fifth — also following the tiny nations of Luxembourg (312 lbs.) and Cyprus (289 lbs.) For the sake of comparison, the average citizen of the United Kingdom eats 175 lbs. of meat a year, and the typical Frenchman 222 lbs.

Link via Ace of Spades HQ | Photo: USDA

Mukhtar is a bud bus driver in Copenhagen. You can tell he was worried when a trumpeter started playing on his bus. Would the other passengers complain? Then it gradually became clear that almost everyone on the bus was there to wish him a happy birthday! -Thanks, Hanan!

The problem of toilet paper waste has been brought to the forefront of the media through a comprehensive, worldwide usage study by watchdog organisation World Watch, which said that each Dane uses a meagre 13 kilos of toilet paper annually – a figure at the ‘bottom’ of those for the western world.

On the flip side, Americans – the world leaders in TP usage – go through a whopping 23 kilos each per year. That figure is equivalent to using 57 squares of a roll each day.

Link via Ace of Spade HQ | Image: CDC

The strike in Denmark followed the company’s April 1 decision to introduce new rules for employees on beer drinking at work, said Jens Bekke, spokesman at the world no.4 brewer.

“There has been free beer, water and soft drinks everywhere,” he said. “Yesterday, beers were removed from all refrigerators. The only place you can get a beer in future is in the canteen, at lunch.”

Bekke said drivers retained an old right to three beers per day outside lunch hours, and warehouse workers claimed the same right.

“Because of that, the warehouse staff went on strike yesterday, with other staff striking in sympathy,” he said.

Link | Previously on Neatorama: Carlsberg Beer and Mentos | Photo: US Department of State

Is the belief in (or fear of, depending on your point of view) God necessary to have a "good" society? What would a nation of atheists look like? Would a godless country lead to lawlessness and immorality?

We actually don't have to wonder - there is a place where the great majority of people are not only not religious - they're can't even be bothered about the questions of faith, God, and life's meaning.

Sociologist Phil Zuckerman spent a year in Denmark and Sweden, the least religious countries in the world and perhaps even in history, and interviewed people about their religious beliefs (technically, the absence of such beliefs). He published his findings last year (Oct 2008) in his book Society without God: What the Least Religious Nations Can Tell Us About Contentment.

TYWKIWDBI has some thought-provoking excerpts from the book:

Here's the premise of [Zuckerman's] book:

“First of all, I argue that society without God is not only possible, but can be quite civil and pleasant. This admittedly polemical aspect of my book is aimed primarily at countering the claims of certain outspoken, conservative Christians who regularly argue that a society without God would be hell on earth: rampant with immorality, full of evil, and teeming with depravity. Well, it isn’t. Denmark and Sweden are remarkably strong, safe, healthy, moral, and prosperous societies…”

He's careful not to extol the absence of religious belief as preferable for a society, while arguing strongly that when religious belief (or dogma) is absent, society can crank along just fine. Herewith some excerpts and some of my notes from the book -

p. 6 - “…their overall rates of violent crime – such as murder, aggravated assault, and rape – are among the lowest on earth. Yet the majority of Danes and Swedes do not believe that God is “up there,” keeping diligent tabs on their behavior… In fact, most Danes and Swedes don’t even believe in the very notion of “sin.” Almost nobody in Denmark and Sweden believes that the Bible is divine in origin. And the rate of weekly church attendance in these Nordic nations is the lowest on earth…” [...]

p. 10 – "When they say they are “Christian” they are just referring to a cultural heritage and history. When asked what it means to be Christian, they said 'being kind to others, taking care of the poor and sick, and being a good and moral person.' They almost never mentioned God, Jesus, or the Bible in their explanation of Christian identity. When I specifically asked these Nordic Christians if they believed that Jesus was the Son of God or the Messiah, they nearly always said no – usually without hesitation. Did they believe that Jesus was born of a virgin or that he rose from the grave? Such queries were usually met with genuine laughter – as through the mere asking was rather silly.”

I haven't read it, but will definitely put this fascinating book on the short list of must-reads this year: Link

Here's a fascinating interview with Phil Zuckerman about, amongs other things, the difference of being a religious Christian in America and a cultural Christian in Denmark and the rise of Islam because of the immigration from Africa:

[YouTube Clip]

On October 6 2006 “Nyhedsavisen”, a new Danish daily newspaper hit the streets. A quality newspaper staffed with 100 journalists and ambitions of being the largest Danish newspaper with a daily circulation on 500.000 and 1 million readers (total Danish population equals some 5,5 million). The newspaper should feature an editorial mix prioritizing both prize-winning critical journalism and stories close to the everyday life of ordinary Danes.

The prizing of Nyhedsavisen was simple: it was free. And, as something entirely new: it was (intended) to be delivered to the homes of all Danes – without any costs. Not only the newspaper itself was free, delivery was free as well. It was in effect “double-free”.

Read the rest of the story here: Link – via The Long Tail