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RESEARCH ARTICLE

Culture Wars: Subcreation and the Narrative Contestation of Cultivated Meat

Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · 11 October 2026 · DOI 10.1108/s0733-558x20260000105011

Cultivated meat has become a focus of cultural conflict, shaping whether the public sees it as morally desirable or a threat to society. The authors analyse discourse from supporters and opponents through a framework of narrative worlds organised around time. They find that both camps invoke tradition, identity and autonomy, but place these values in opposing accounts of continuity and change. The paper argues that this lens can explain disputes over legitimacy in climate policy, reproductive technology and artificial intelligence governance.

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