Plant-based protein products in the news: Mind the gap between innovation and public discourses

Markets for plant-based protein products are experiencing unprecedented growth. However, the extent to which the wider diffusion of plant-based protein products is beneficial to human and planetary health is still a contested issue in public discourses. The study of media frames for plant-based protein products can serve as a basis for approaches of technology assessment, which aim to inform actors involved in innovation processes of important aspects of diffusion, including controversy and unexpected risks regarding societal reactions. In this paper, we conduct a frame analysis of three U.K. broadsheet newspapers (the Telegraph, the Guardian, and the Times) between 2010–2020 to explore how media frame plant-based protein products. The results show that overall media coverage for plant-based diets has adopted a positive stance. However, there is variation in how plant-based protein products and particularly meat and dairy substitutes are portrayed. The biggest stumbling block appears to be potentially adverse health implications associated with the consumption of meat and dairy substitutes. We therefore argue that the scope of strategic choices regarding product design should also focus on the development of products more analogous to whole plant-based foods. Moreover, we argue that the long-term resilience of the plant-based protein sector will require strategies that convincingly align with policy goals for food security and broader food system sustainability

Incumbent entry modes and entry timing in sustainable niches: The plant-based protein transition in the United States, Netherlands, and United Kingdom

While literature on sustainability transitions has generally portrayed incumbent firms as reluctant to engage in sustainable niches and primarily employing strategies that aim to limit niche growth, practice offers many examples that contradict this. In this paper, we mobilize insights from organizational literature, and particularly the concept of entry modes and entry timing from the international business and strategy literature, to investigate incumbent firms’ engagement in sustainable niches through the introduction of new products, collaborative efforts with new entrants, the introduction of new brands, mergers & acquisitions, and investments. We focus on entry modes of incumbent firms, including food firms, meat processors, retailers, and food service firms, in meat substitute markets in the United States (US), the Netherlands (NL), and the United Kingdom (UK). We identify distinct entry mode patterns for the four firm types and that the entry modes of different types of incumbent firms vary in their timing and commitment towards the plant-based meat substitute niche. Contrary to the general consensus stemming from previous literature on incumbent engagement in transitions, our case shows that incumbents proactively engaged with niche products incentivized by economic opportunities stemming from changing consumption patterns, which preceded any regulatory action

Transitions towards sustainable food systems: The case of the protein transition

Food is essential to human life, yet the current food system is threatening the environment by significantly contributing to climate change and a range of other impacts, including biodiversity loss, terrestrial ecosystem destruction, freshwater consumption, and water pollution. The sustainability of meat and dairy production has become an important concern because of the negative environmental impact of livestock agriculture. Moreover, while meat is an important component of the human diet, scientific studies show adverse health impacts for individuals with high intakes of red processed meat. Taking the environmental and health implications of livestock agriculture and meat consumption into consideration, the importance of diets in determining food system sustainability is paramount. The shaping of dietary consumption patterns has been intertwined with the evolution of the food-processing sector. At the same time, food choices are shaped by societal aspirations, responses to new identities and preferences, and the expression of cultural meaning. Therefore, a change of dietary consumption patterns towards sustainability requires a sustainability transition, radical interlinked shifts in technologies, infrastructures, organizations, markets, regulations, and behavior. This thesis builds on sustainability transitions literature to advance the conceptualization of transition dynamics in the food system by developing insights into the protein transition case, i.e. the recent reorientation of the food industry towards plant-based meat substitute products. While there are many empirical studies on sustainability transitions in electricity and mobility systems, research on meso-level sustainability transition dynamics in the food-processing industry is limited. This gap is significant when seeking to understand shifts in food production and consumption, because the conceptualization of innovation dynamics derived from previous transitions literature does not necessarily hold for transitions in the food industry. This thesis specifically focuses on institutional change processes regarding the emergence and diffusion of plant-based meat substitutes and the behaviour of firms. The chapters in this thesis draw insights from different sustainability transitions frameworks, as well as other streams of social science literature, including organizational science and communication literature. Overall, this thesis illustrates that while empirical sustainability transition studies have over-emphasized the bottom-up dynamics of radical innovation processes in the energy and mobility system, the protein transition case highlights the importance of endogenous change enacted by users and incremental improvements in existing products. It makes a number of important theoretical contributions including illustrating how political change processes can be a lever for accelerating sustainable innovation

Transitions towards sustainable food systems: The case of the protein transition

Food is essential to human life, yet the current food system is threatening the environment by significantly contributing to climate change and a range of other impacts, including biodiversity loss, terrestrial ecosystem destruction, freshwater consumption, and water pollution. The sustainability of meat and dairy production has become an important concern because of the negative environmental impact of livestock agriculture. Moreover, while meat is an important component of the human diet, scientific studies show adverse health impacts for individuals with high intakes of red processed meat. Taking the environmental and health implications of livestock agriculture and meat consumption into consideration, the importance of diets in determining food system sustainability is paramount. The shaping of dietary consumption patterns has been intertwined with the evolution of the food-processing sector. At the same time, food choices are shaped by societal aspirations, responses to new identities and preferences, and the expression of cultural meaning. Therefore, a change of dietary consumption patterns towards sustainability requires a sustainability transition, radical interlinked shifts in technologies, infrastructures, organizations, markets, regulations, and behavior. This thesis builds on sustainability transitions literature to advance the conceptualization of transition dynamics in the food system by developing insights into the protein transition case, i.e. the recent reorientation of the food industry towards plant-based meat substitute products. While there are many empirical studies on sustainability transitions in electricity and mobility systems, research on meso-level sustainability transition dynamics in the food-processing industry is limited. This gap is significant when seeking to understand shifts in food production and consumption, because the conceptualization of innovation dynamics derived from previous transitions literature does not necessarily hold for transitions in the food industry. This thesis specifically focuses on institutional change processes regarding the emergence and diffusion of plant-based meat substitutes and the behaviour of firms. The chapters in this thesis draw insights from different sustainability transitions frameworks, as well as other streams of social science literature, including organizational science and communication literature. Overall, this thesis illustrates that while empirical sustainability transition studies have over-emphasized the bottom-up dynamics of radical innovation processes in the energy and mobility system, the protein transition case highlights the importance of endogenous change enacted by users and incremental improvements in existing products. It makes a number of important theoretical contributions including illustrating how political change processes can be a lever for accelerating sustainable innovation

Frames for plant-based protein products regarding health from the Telegraph, the Guardian (London), and the Times (London) between 2010–2020.

Frames for plant-based protein products regarding health from the Telegraph, the Guardian (London), and the Times (London) between 2010–2020.</p

Plant-based protein products in the news: Mind the gap between innovation and public discourses

Markets for plant-based protein products are experiencing unprecedented growth. However, the extent to which the wider diffusion of plant-based protein products is beneficial to human and planetary health is still a contested issue in public discourses. The study of media frames for plant-based protein products can serve as a basis for approaches of technology assessment, which aim to inform actors involved in innovation processes of important aspects of diffusion, including controversy and unexpected risks regarding societal reactions. In this paper, we conduct a frame analysis of three U.K. broadsheet newspapers (the Telegraph, the Guardian, and the Times) between 2010–2020 to explore how media frame plant-based protein products. The results show that overall media coverage for plant-based diets has adopted a positive stance. However, there is variation in how plant-based protein products and particularly meat and dairy substitutes are portrayed. The biggest stumbling block appears to be potentially adverse health implications associated with the consumption of meat and dairy substitutes. We therefore argue that the scope of strategic choices regarding product design should also focus on the development of products more analogous to whole plant-based foods. Moreover, we argue that the long-term resilience of the plant-based protein sector will require strategies that convincingly align with policy goals for food security and broader food system sustainability