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Visual and Textual Framing by Coalitions in a Policy Controversy994the results of this exploratory study are culturally biased since we had to limit our data to English. Further research should construct a broader dataset that includes sources in languages other than English and from non-Western countries.4.6 ConclusionIn this study, we investigated how “dream”, “nightmare” and balanced online sentiment coalitions textually and visually frame processed food. We studied 89 online actors and their 164 webpages. We extracted from the pages text and 344 visualizations about processed food. The results show that the negative coalition was most dominant. This coalition framed processed food as posing health threats due to unhealthy ingredients that their intake should be limited or avoided. In the negative coalition, compared to other coalitions, more online actors supported this framing with data visualizations suggesting that their claims are supported by scientific evidence, and more online actors supported this framing with photographs of visually attractive processed foods. The slightly less dominant positive coalition framed processed food as providing a health opportunity and allowing many possibilities for improvement of taste, greater convenience and food choice for consumers, and diet diversity. In the positive coalition, compared to other coalitions, more online actors supported this framing with photographs that depict humans preparing foods in industrial environments. In the balanced coalition, processed food was framed as providing a health opportunity and allowing many possibilities – as was the case in the positive coalition, but also as posing possible health threats. In the balanced coalition, compared to other coalitions, more online actors supported this framing with visualizations that emphasize the difficulty in making food choices.The dream and nightmare views of processed food will most likely remain prevailing in society, given that “mass-produced food will remain a powerful part of culture” (Bentley & Figueroa, 2018, p. 93). Hence, investigating the various meanings that are given to processed food by different actors is essential. In addition, this study also adds an investigation of online coalitions and their textual and visual framing to a recent study that sees the way in which the digital is entangled with food as an expression of the complex relationship between the digital and our daily life (Lewis, 2018; Rousseau, 2012).Efrat.indd 99 19-09-2023 09:47