Meat substitution in the Netherlands

Meat substitution in the Netherlands: How to further accelerate the green protein transition from an innovation perspective

Tolonen, Ella (TU Delft Technology, Policy and Management)

Quist, J.N. (mentor)
Pesch, U. (graduation committee)

Delft University of Technology
Universiteit Leiden

Industrial Ecology

2018-06-20

The research studies the Dutch meat substitution sector from an innovation perspective by applying theories from the field of sustainability transition studies: functions of innovation systems theory and multilevel perspective. This is done in order to gain in-depth knowledge on how the development of the Dutch meat substitute innovations system could be further fostered. The data presented is delivered primarily from expert interviews conducted among 14 actors connected to the field of meat substitution between November 2017 and May 2018. In terms of multilevel perspective, it was revealed that the meat production and consumption regime does not actively try to undermine the raising meat substitution niches, but rather obstruct their development by the deeply embedded rules and structures of the regime that it seems to be unwilling to change. As the landscape pressures of rising environmental concern, rising concern over animal welfare, changing health perceptions and quest for culinary novelty offer only soft pressure to the regime, the meat production, and consumption regime has time to reconfigure itself and adopt innovation from the meat substitute niches in a symbiotic manner. Due to this, the transition pathway that meat substitution is currently taking in the Netherlands is that of reconfiguration. The functioning of the innovation system was determined to be especially good in terms of entrepreneurial activities and knowledge development, and the greatest single bottleneck was detected in the functioning of market formation by the government. Investigation of the expectations of the producers of meat substitutes revealed that the expectations relating to social practices and technologies are especially diverse, due to which the actors develop varying strategies for operation. These varying expectations have likely results in the abundance of niches within the system. Based on the results of the analysis on functional dynamics, eight recommendations were given for action to foster the development of the system.

sustainability
Innovation system functions
Innovation diffusion
food production

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:559ae075-3aeb-48de-8c2a-d185e32a3d32

Student theses

master thesis

© 2018 Ella Tolonen