Moving Beyond Meat: Understanding the rise and dominance of plant-based meat substitutes

Abstract

Our global food system is under immense pressure. The large-scale production of meat and dairy fuels climate change, deforestation, and biodiversity loss, while also raising ethical concerns about animal welfare and working conditions. As the world’s population grows, we urgently need new ways to produce and consume food sustainably. This thesis examines one of the most visible responses to that challenge: plant-based meat substitutes. Designed to look, taste, and cook like real meat, these products have rapidly moved from niche vegan items to everyday options in supermarkets and fast-food chains worldwide. Drawing on sustainability transitions and related social science literatures, this dissertation explores the innovation system dynamics that shape the development and diffusion of plant-based meat in the United States, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It shows that their success was not only the result of technological innovation but also depended on the proactive engagement of multinational corporations such as Burger King, Unilever, and Vion, broader institutional and cultural shifts in how societies view meat, and efforts to make plant-based eating acceptable and desirable to mainstream consumers. Yet the study also highlights the limits of this transformation. The current focus on meat substitutes may make the protein transition too narrow in scope. While plant-based meat substitutes have the potential to reduce many of the adverse impacts of livestock agriculture, they may also reinforce existing consumption habits and corporate power structures. The dissertation calls for more diverse innovation pathways and greater attention to power, justice, and inclusivity in shaping the future of the protein transition.