The Evolving Role of Governments in Navigating Protein Transitions: a Comparative Case Study Across Three European Countries

Current European food systems are locked in incumbent and established practices centred around animal-based proteins. As an alternative, shifts towards more plant-based protein consumption and production have been proposed. While extensive scholarly attention has been paid to protein transition pathways (Duluins and Baret, 2024) and innovation eco-systems (Bulah et al., 2024; Tziva et al., 2020), less attention has been put on the varying roles government can, should and have taken up in the transition (Kaljonen et al., 2021). Research on sustainability transitions delineate different roles governments can take vis-à-vis niche innovators in transitions (Runhaar et al., 2025). Besides facilitating regime change in favor of niche actors, governments can also co-opt or actively defy change (ibid.). As protein transitions have been unfolding for several decades now, the evolution offers a fruitful lens to look at how the roles of government have evolved over time and across the European Member States. Within mission-oriented innovation policies, governments are pro-actively called upon to provide direction and coordination in the complex processes of societal change (Elzinga et al., 2023). Whether and how much the different governments in Europe have taken up this baton remains an open terrain. In this paper we investigate what roles governments have taken with respect to protein transition, and more specifically, how their roles have evolved over time. We compare protein transitions as they have unfolded in Flanders, Denmark and Finland, each marked by notable shifts in actor coalitions, and the roles taken by the government. Adopting an evolutionary perspective, we examine how governments actively engage in un/doing protein transition, how their roles evolve, and how missions or the absence thereof shape the unfolding of the transition. The analysis highlights when and how governments are willing to coordinate a mission, what this implies for power im/balances in the food system, and what can be learned from the emerging protein transitions across the European member states. The results contribute to the role of governments in transition over time and how they evolve as part of the overall policy mix.