Norwegians have never been known for going with the grain. This is the homeland of Leif Erikson, after all, that famous Viking known for discovering the New World around 1000 AD, nearly 500 years before Columbus!
Norwegians seem to be leading the worldwide parade back to Traditional Foods as well in recent months as the country embraces a diet emphasizing a high intake of whole, traditional fats such as butter and cream.
Lars Galtung, the head of communications for Norway’s largest farmer-owned cooperative, puts is plainly, “Norwegians are not afraid of natural fats, they love their butter and cream.”
Sales of butter have soared 20% in October 2011 and 30% in November 2011. This Fall spike in butter demand comes on the heels of a very wet summer which cut milk output by 25 million liters and already limited supplies of the beautiful yellow, nutrient dense sacred food.
Butter is now selling on the country’s auction sites with approximately 1/2 pound of butter starting at around 13 US$ which is about 4 times the normal price.
Importing of butter from top dairy producer Denmark is discouraged by high import duties as Norway is not part of the European Union, a further demonstration of its independent thinking populace.
The butter shortage occurs at a particularly inopportune time, given that traditional Christmas treats include butter and cream filled cookies, pastries, and other goodies.
Clever and forward thinking Norwegians will no doubt find a creative way around the butter shortage, substituting other healthy fats such as coconut milk, coconut oil, tallow, lard, and suet in their favorite holiday recipes.
One thing is for certain, this move back to Traditional Fats in Norway won’t be a short lived one. Once people try a diet high in natural fats and low in grain based carbs on for size, they won’t be going back anytime soon as they quickly find that their actual size is shrinking!
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Source: Diet Craze Leaves Norwegians Starved of Butter
Today I went to Oslo’s Open Air Museum / Folksmuseum where there was a demonstration of making traditional lefse and then cooking it on an open fire. The lefse were for sale, for $4 each. I asked the woman dressed in 18th Century costume what she was using for fat, and she replied margarine in the dough and real butter to spread on top after it is cooked. So, I do not have the impression at all that traditional fats are making a comeback. The Norwegians love cream, but also low-fat and non-fat yogurt. I have not yet found full fat yogurt. With such high tariffs to import food, I think cheap vegetable oils must easily make their way into the food supply. I seriously can’t imagine many people baking with coconut oil during a butter shortage. Coconut oil prices must be sky-high. Also, lard does not seem to be popular in Europe at all.
I saw a few stories on the news about this and the most amusing part was that they kept claiming the reason for the shortage was a fad diet. How many generations or centuries does it take to stop being a fad?
Exactly. This annoyed me to no end. Eating butter is no fad!!! It’s what folks used to do before the garbage butter substitutes hit the market and people were misled into buying them being told they were somehow “healthier” than the real thing! What a sham!
They are saying it is a ‘Fad diet’ because lots of people have picked up the low carb diet since the summer – mostly in part thanks to the newpapers pushing it (and at times contradicting themselves, but that is another story). They say now that something like 4 of 10 is eating or has been effected by (ie. wife eating that way, husband having to sorta follow) the low carb ‘fad’.
But I do agree, Norwegians really love there natural fats. There is not a scare/worry about eating them… We dont have many of those low fat foods laying around in the stores either – just recently I have started seeing some..
My hope is that this will cause more coconut oil to be brought in, as now it is hard to come by and very expensive – 2 cups (5 dl) cost around $18 (110 kr-). I would love if it got cheaper!
Butter Scarce as Norwegians Embrace Traditional Diet – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/Bml2CKVB
I too, lost 10 lbs over the summer eating Amish butter and coconut oil on as many foods as possible. Delicious! My only frustration was that the only way to buy raw milk in VA is to purchase a share in a cow, and since I’m not here all that much it doesn’t make sense to do that. I wish I could as I’d like to make my own yogurt. I like the Greek yogurts, but they are almost all zero fat, which I know I don’t want. Why is it so difficult to do what’s right/healthy!?
Denmark is going the opposite way and I hope that Norway doesn’t get talked into changing back to a SAD diet.
There’s a fantastic website with tons of free, sound, and scientifically backed advice from a Swedish doctor (Andreas Eenfeldt) who is a leader in the low carb high fat revolution (as he calls it) that is happening in that part of the world (25+% of Swedes eat LCHF now!). Check it out if you like: dietdoctor.com. I’ve found the site to be a huge resource in the transition to eating healthy. Almost, but certainly not as helpful as your site is for me, Sarah!
Butter Scarce as Norwegians Embrace Traditional Diet – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/06ycDnPn
Mmm “the butter diet” http://t.co/iR1mBptY
Have some family in Norway, and don’t remember hearing anything.
One correction (which is my sacred duty as a proud, headstrong Icelander).
While Eric the Red was a Norwegian, Leif Eriksson was Icelandic. One of the first people to be born in Iceland as a matter of fact.
You’ll be glad to hear that Icelanders too embrace a much more traditional diets than Americans, and pasteurization is largely considered to enhance shelflife, and not to kill anything that they know.
Neat! Didn’t know that. Because he was considered a Viking, I assumed Leif was Norwegian like his Dad, Eric the Red. Never knew any Vikings came from Iceland as well 🙂
I love this post! I have changed to a high natural fat low grain diet and have lost ten pounds! I feel the best I have ever felt! I will never go back to eating processed foods again!
I can put on 10 pounds practically overnight if I don’t eat enough whole natural fats like butter as when I don’t eat enough of these wonderful fats, I crave carbs constantly and this puts the weight on in a hurry.