Research Line: Urban–Rural Circularity / Seed Call: I4CS
Despite broad societal enthusiasm for plant-based proteins, the growth of recognisable Dutch-grown beans in everyday diets has stalled. This slowdown persists even as the Netherlands has committed to healthier, more sustainable dietary patterns aligned with planetary health goals. Building on the chain-wide commitments of the Bean Deal network, this project addresses a critical bottleneck: existing market structures, procurement routines, legal frameworks and professional practices continue to lock the protein system into established pathways.
The project plants the seed for transdisciplinary research with three pioneering initiatives—Eiwitboeren van Nederland, Plant Protein Forward, and emerging ecosystem service partnerships—to understand why progress remains limited and how innovative arrangements can unlock systemic change. Central to this ambition is strengthening farmers’ earning capacity while forging new vertical market relations and horizontal, area-based collaborations that align food production with soil health, biodiversity and climate resilience.
Objectives and Route to Impact
The core objective of this seed money project is to build shared diagnostic and strategising capacity across sectors to accelerate the transition towards locally sourced plant-based proteins.
The project is structured in two connected phases:
Phase 1: Joint diagnosis of system lock-ins
Researchers and societal partners collaboratively analyse how economic rules, procurement practices, governance arrangements and professional norms across the food chain constrain the uptake of Dutch-grown beans. This diagnostic process is supported by interdisciplinary training and results in a shared understanding of leverage points within the system. Insights are synthesised during a “Thinking Dinner” with societal partners.
Phase 2: From diagnosis to strategy
Building on the diagnostic phase, the project identifies operational practices and deal structures that enable systemic change. Using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis and appreciative inquiry of bottom-up initiatives, the team explores how vertical (market-based) and horizontal (area-based) arrangements can be aligned and mutually reinforcing. These insights feed into an agenda-setting event, positioning the network for future large-scale research proposals and coordinated action.
Together, these phases aim to reimagine the farm–food–nature nexus as a foundation for economically viable farming and planetary health diets.
Contribution to Cross-EWUU Collaboration
The project brings together complementary expertise from Wageningen University & Research, Eindhoven University of Technology, and Utrecht University, alongside societal partners embedded in the Bean Deal network. Academic expertise in circular business models, food governance, partnerships and regional planning is combined with facilitation and capacity building through the EWUU Centre for Unusual Collaborations.
This cross-EWUU collaboration enables an integrated perspective on economic, legal, governance and organisational dimensions of food system transitions, while remaining closely connected to bottom-up initiatives and practice-based innovation in Dutch protein provisioning.
Team
- Sietze Vellema – Wageningen University (Principal Investigator)
- Duygu Keskin – Eindhoven University of Technology
- Daniel Polman – Wageningen University
- Francesca Rubiconto – Wageningen University
- Martijn Kuller – Utrecht University
- Wendy Aartsen – EWUU, Centre for Unusual Collaborations
- Sonja Zuijdgeest – Kwartierkracht