A new beef: An analysis of discourse coalitions in the nascent cellular agriculture policy subsystem

Abstract A robust approach to examining the nature and influence of coalitions in the policy process is the Advocacy Coalition Framework (ACF), which is especially useful to study policy issues fraught with scientific and technical controversy. Yet, important gaps exist in ACF literature regarding nascent policy subsystems. Consequently, there is scant knowledge about early coalition development and subsystem dynamics. One valuable way to address this shortcoming is via the study of discourse coalitions, or groups of actors who are linked through shared public positions on policy debates. An interesting case in which to study these dynamics is developing around an emerging food production technique called cellular agriculture that has gained attention as a promising alternative to animal‐derived meat production, potentially requiring significantly fewer resources. There are several challenges that must be overcome to realize the potential of cellular agriculture, and doing so will require designing policies that consider diverse actors with varied interests. The objectives of this study are as follows: (1) to gain initial insight into the characteristics of discourse coalitions in nascent policy subsystems; (2) to enhance the formalized procedure for measuring discourse coalitions developed by Muller (2015), who provided standardized criteria for performing qualitative analysis of such groups; and (3) to demonstrate the value of studying discourse coalitions in nascent policy subsystems as they are understood within ACF scholarship. Our findings reveal three key characteristics of discourse coalitions in this subsystem that may warrant further investigation in other nascent subsystems.