Cultured Meat and Future Food Podcast

Aniekan Esenam of Hamilton Feb 18, 2025

In this Future Food Show episode, host Alex Shirazi interviews Aniekan Esenam of Hamilton. Aniekan shares his background in mathematics, AI, and bioprocessing, highlighting Hamilton’s role in cultivated meat and precision fermentation. He explains how Hamilton’s sensors monitor pH, oxygen, CO2, and cell density in bioreactors, optimizing production. They discuss single-use vs. reusable systems, AI’s role in bioprocessing, and the future of novel foods. Aniekan envisions a future where 60% of meat comes from novel sources by 2040.

Mihir Pershad of Umami Bioworks Jan 23, 2025

On this episode Alex Shirazi discusses the state of growth within the Cultivated Meat and Seafood industry, how to get to Factory #1, and the current state of the investment cycle in novel protein.

Learn more about this episode at https://futurefoodshow.com

Parendi Birdie of Asentia Oct 21, 2024

In this episode of the Cultured Meat and Future Food Show, host Alex Shirazi interviews Parendi Birdie, an entrepreneur and leader in the alternative protein industry. Parendi shares her extensive background, including how she transitioned from running her family's Montessori business to becoming a key figure in the cultivated meat space. She discusses her journey in building startups like Good Meat and Mission Barns, her role in advancing the field of cultivated meat, and the challenges and opportunities within the industry.

Sissel Beate Rønning of Nofima Oct 14, 2024

Sissel Beate Rønning is a senior scientist at the food research institute Nofima in Norway, where she tries to use modern technology in food production for a growing population. Her primary focus is: Can we culture meat, and can we use the rest of the materials from the food industry in the process? How can we produce healthy food ingredients? Sissel holds a master’s degree in gene technology from the University of Tromsø and has a PhD in GMOs from the National Veterinary Institute in Norway. Her postdoc focused on cancer research and human medicine in the Department of Pathology, Oslo University Hospital, Norway.

Learn more about ISCCM10 at www.culturedmeatconference.com

Jeff "Trip" Tripician of Meatable Oct 02, 2024

On the Cultured Meat and Future Food Show, Alex welcomes Jeff "Trip" Tripician, CEO of Meatable, a cultured meat company based in the Netherlands. Trip shares insights into his 40-year career in agriculture, focusing on premium meat and sustainable practices. He highlights the shift towards consumer demand for environmentally and ethically responsible products. Tripp discusses Meatable’s approach to cultivated meat, which uses advanced science to produce meat without harming animals. He also touches on the challenges of global food security and the potential of cultivated meat to address these issues.

Dr. Dwayne Holmes of New Harvest (NH@20) Sep 04, 2024

We are joined with Dr. Dwayne Holmes of New Harvest. Based in the Netherlands, Dr. Holmes overseas the New Harvest Netherlands entity which covers cellular agriculture in the European regions.

Learn more about New Harvest at https://new-harvest.org/

The Cultured Meat Symposium is taking place on September 12-13, 2024 in Silicon Valley, California. Learn more about the event and register at https://cms2024.com

Deniz Kent PhD of Prolific Machines (August 2024) Sep 03, 2024

Alex Shirazi sits down with Deniz Kent, CEO of Prolific Machines, at their Emeryville, CA office.

Learn more about Prolific Machines and learn about partnering with them at https://www.prolific-machines.com/

The Cultured Meat Symposium 2024 is taking place on September 12-13, 2024. Learn more and register for the event at https://cms2024.com using code: FUTUREFOOD

Ed Steele of Hoxton Farms Aug 28, 2024

Host Alex Shirazi chats with Ed Steele on his background in machine learning, how he started Hoxton Farms with childhood friend Max Jamilly, and the future of delicious, fatty, meat products.

Learn more about Hoxton Farms at https://hoxtonfarms.com/

The Cultured Meat Symposium 2024 (CMS24) is taking place on September 12-13, 2024 in Silicon Valley, California. Learn more and register for the event at https://cms2024.com. Dr. Vítor Espírito Santo of Hoxton Farms, a longtime cellular agriculture veteran and past CMS speaker, will be speaking at the event.

Dr Zack Abbott of ZBiotics Aug 15, 2024

On this episode we are excited to welcome Dr Zack Abbott of ZBiotics. Alex Shirazi chats with Dr Abbott about his background, the founding story of ZBiotics, and how a few connections were made along the way.

Learn more about ZBiotics at https://zbiotics.com

The Cultured Meat Symposium is coming to Sunnyvale, California on September 12-13, 2024. Learn more and register for the event at https://cms2024.com. Listen to the full episode for a special discount.

Isha Datar of New Harvest (NH@20) Jul 23, 2024

New Harvest is a nonprofit research institute that supports open, public cultured meat research. Founded in 2004, we are the world’s longest-running organization dedicated to advancing the field of cellular agriculture.

This year New Harvest turns 20! As part of the NH@20 podcast series, we interview Executive Isha Datar and discuss milestone achievements over the past two decades, and get a glimpse of what might be coming next.

The Cultured Meat Symposium is taking place on September 12-13, 2024. Learn more about the event at register at https://cms2024.com

Aleh Manchuliantsau of Planetarians Apr 26, 2024

Join Alex Shirazi and Aleh Manchuliantsau discuss the upcycled plant-based protein products.

Paul Shapiro, Author of "Clean Meat" April 2024 Mar 28, 2024

Purchase the updated edition of Clean Meat on Amazon or anywhere books are sold.

Learn more about Paul Shapiro and Clean Meat at www.cleanmeat.com

Doug Grant of Atlantic Fish Co. Feb 21, 2024

Doug is the co-founder and CEO of Atlantic Fish Co. Their Raleigh, North Carolina-based team is using cellular agriculture to address the problem of carbon-intensive, overfished species. Prior to AFC, he co-founded two other startups and covered the alternative protein industry for three years as the host of the "Brave New Meat" podcast, interviewing entrepreneurs, investors, and thought leaders in the space. He has an MBA from Georgetown University focused on entrepreneurship. Prior to the private sector, he served for 10 years as a helicopter pilot in the Navy.

Ali Khademhosseini, Ph.D. of Omeat Oct 15, 2023

Ali Khademhosseini is one of the foremost tissue engineers in the world. Khademhosseini is the founding director at the Terasaki Institute for Biomedical Innovation, out of which Omeat was born. After learning about the environmental impacts of the conventional meat industry, Ali realized that his extensive background in tissue engineering could be applied to develop a process for more sustainably produced cultivated meat. Khademhosseini pivoted his focus to enter the field, developing Omeat’s unique cultivation process poised to redefine the industry. The company has developed a highly differentiated, IP-backed approach that enables the cultivation of any kind of meat in a way that is orders-of-magnitude more sustainable and humane than the conventional approach.

Dr. Mark Post of MosaMeat – A look into the International Scientific Conference on Cultured Meat (ISCCM) Sep 30, 2023

Mark is the scientist behind the world’s first cultured burger. As a medical doctor by training and having worked on tissue engineering for vascular grafts, he became massively inspired by the possibilities of cultured meat, and co-founded Mosa Meat.

On this episode we chat about the International Scientific Conference on Cultured Meat (ISCCM).

Learn more about the upcoming ISCCM event at www.culturedmeatconference.com

Jim Mellon of Agronomics Sep 28, 2023

Jim Mellon is an author, entrepreneur and an investor with interests in a number of sectors. He has substantial real estate holdings in Germany and the Isle of Man, as well as holdings in private and public companies through his private investment company Burnbrae Group.

After leaving Oxford, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics, he worked in Asia and the United States in two fund management companies. Mr. Mellon is the co-author of five books, all written with a view to identifying emerging thematic trends leading to investment opportunities.

We had a great chat with Jim and learned about his in-depth and hands on experience within the field of cellular agriculture.

MJ Kinney and Cameron Semper: Transforming the Future of Proteins Sep 08, 2023

Thanks for joining us on the Future Food Show. This episode is part of the Transforming the Future of Proteins series, where we explore the work of XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion, a global incentivized competition that challenges innovators to reinvent alternative proteins.

On this episode, we are excited to host MJ Kinney and Cameron Semper.

MJ Kinney is a food scientist and the Founder of FareScience, a consulting company that specializes in next generation food product development. Her specialization in alternative proteins has spanned b2b, b2c, and non-profit sectors, throughout which she has built collective experience in R&D, technical sales, and project management.

Cameron is a research scientist who specializes in molecular biology and recombinant protein technology. As a New Harvest Research Fellow (2019-2021) he used protein biochemistry to study potential cost reductions for growth media used in fish cell culture. He is passionate about the potential of cellular agriculture to facilitate the transition to a more sustainable and decentralized food system. Cameron holds a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Calgary and is currently a postdoctoral fellow.

Dr. Denneal Jamison-McClung of UC Davis: Transforming the Future of Proteins Aug 28, 2023

This episode is part of the Transforming the Future of Proteins series, where we explore the work of XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion, a global incentivized competition that challenges innovators to reinvent alternative proteins.

On this episode, we are excited to host Dr. Denneal Jamison-McClung

Denneal directs the UC Davis Biotechnology Program and is co- founder of the UC Davis Cultivated Meat Consortium. She has over twenty years of experience as a science educator, teaching a variety of courses in biology, plant physiology, genetics, molecular biology, genomics and bioinformatics at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

External Links:

CMC website with course/summit info:
Education & Outreach | Cultivated Meat Consortium (ucdavis.edu)

CMC Twitter:
UC Davis Cultivated Meat Consortium (@UCDavis_CMC) / X (twitter.com)

UC Davis Biotechnology Program website:
UC Davis Biotechnology Program

UC Davis Biotech Program Twitter:
UC Davis Biotechnology Program (@UCDavisBiotech) / X (twitter.com)

Ziliang Yang of CellX: Transforming the Future of Proteins Aug 15, 2023

Thanks for joining us on the Future Food Show. This episode is part of the Transforming the Future of Proteins series, where we explore the work of XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion, a global incentivized competition that challenges innovators to reinvent alternative proteins.

Ziliang is the Founder and CEO at CellX, a leading cultivated meat startup in China. Over the past 3 years, he has built a team of 40 and raised ~$20 million to bring cultivated meat products to consumers in China and around the world. He was recognized as Forbes Asia and Forbes China 30 under 30 in 2022, and top 50 entrepreneurs by innovation China.

He has been a flexitarian for six years and cares deeply about the negative impact of factory farming on the environment, humans, and animals. As an impact entrepreneur, he is working to create large-scale social impact through a sustainable business model.

Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed: Transforming the Future of Proteins Jul 29, 2023

This episode is part of the Transforming the Future of Proteins series, where we explore the work of XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion, a global incentivized competition that challenges innovators to reinvent alternative proteins.

Prince Khaled is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of KBW Ventures, and works across several tiers and levels of the business.
Highly active in the green technology ecosystem, he often participates in events pertaining to sustainability, climate change, food security, and how food technology and breakthrough research and development promise to alleviate these pressing world issues.

Bernhard Kowatsch: Transforming the Future of Proteins Jul 13, 2023

This episode is part of the Transforming the Future of Proteins series, where we explore the work of XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion, a global incentivized competition that challenges innovators to reinvent alternative proteins.

Bernhard is the Head of the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme (WFP) Innovation Accelerator, which he created in 2015. The Accelerator sources, nurtures and scales start-ups and nonprofits working to achieve Zero Hunger, as well as running accelerator programs for external partners such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Humanitarian Grand Challenge, and other UN Agencies.

Jordan Wolfe of Cultured Supply Jul 11, 2023

Jordan is the founder of Cultured Supply, a B2B purchasing platform for the bioeconomy. Starting with food and beverage ingredients and products, Cultured Supply is focused on helping companies building more regenerative and localized supply chains direct from the source.

Learn more at https://culturedsupply.com/

Dr. Sirli Rosenvald of TFTAK: Transforming the Future of Proteins Jun 29, 2023

Thanks for joining us on the Future Food Show. This episode is part of the Transforming the Future of Proteins series, where we explore the work of XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion, a global incentivized competition that challenges innovators to reinvent alternative proteins.

On this episode, we are excited to host Dr. Sirli Rosenvald, head of alternative protein research at TFTAK. Sirli is a highly experienced food scientist with over 10 years of experience in food research. She has vast experience in managing different teams and projects with a specific emphasis on alternative proteins and sensory and consumer research. She is a recognized expert in the alternative protein space, having published numerous scientific articles and presented at industry and scientific conferences.

Doug McNish, Greg Potter, and Laura S. Hackl of ProFillet: Transforming the Future of Proteins Jun 15, 2023

Thanks for joining us on the Future Food Show. This episode is a part of the Transforming the Future of Proteins series, where we explore the work of XPRIZE Feed The Next Billion, a global incentivized competition that challenges innovators to reinvent alternative proteins.

On this episode, We’re excited to host Doug McNish, Greg Potter, and Laura S. Hackl, three of the members of Team ProFillet, to the show.

ProFillet is a collection of some of the world's best minds who have come together to tackle one of the most pressing issues of our time: How do we Feed the Next Billion? The founders at ProFillet come from a variety of industries and have a range of talents: from professional kitchens, science and technology, to marketing, finance and operations. This diversity of perspectives and experiences allows the team to approach challenges from a variety of angles, leading to innovative solutions and better outcomes.

Robert Yaman of Innovate Animal Ag Jun 01, 2023

Robert Yaman is the Founder of Innovate Animal Ag, a new non-profit organization dedicated to introducing and promoting new technologies to the animal agriculture industry.

Miguel Neumann of Eternal: Transforming The Future of Proteins May 25, 2023

This episode is part of the Transforming The Future of Proteins series.

XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion is a multi-year, $15M competition that incentivizes teams to produce chicken breast or fish filet alternatives that replicate or outperform these conventional proteins in the following ways: access, environmental sustainability, animal welfare, nutrition, as well as taste and texture.

Miguel is an entrepreneur specialized in Innovation.

Over his career, he acted in a variety of C-Level roles. His experience spans over 20+ years leading projects and teams internationally.

Miguel founded and funded companies in the fields of cryptocurrencies and blockchain, artificial intelligence, and biotechnology. Many of these projects raised 8-figure rounds through venture capital fundraising, M&A, and ICOs.

Miguel is currently the interim CEO of Eternal.

Learn more about the XPRIZE Feed The Next Billion Challenge at ⁠www.xprize.org/feed⁠

Robin Simsa of Revo Foods: Transforming The Future of Proteins May 11, 2023

This episode is part of the Transforming The Future of Proteins series.

XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion is a multi-year, $15M competition that incentivizes teams to produce chicken breast or fish filet alternatives that replicate or outperform these conventional proteins in the following ways: access, environmental sustainability, animal welfare, nutrition, as well as taste and texture.

Robin is the Founder and CEO of Revo Foods. Robin has a Ph.D. in Biotechnology from the University of Gothenburg and Tufts University and is recognized as one of FORBES "30 under 30" for the DACH region.

With a background in biotechnology and a passion for ocean sustainability, Robin has extensive experience in the field of 3D food printing, which he used when building his first start up.

Revo Foods has revolutionized the production of plant-based fish alternatives and is currently the largest supplier of salmon alternatives in Europe.

We have a great conversation with Robin as we discuss 3d Bioprinting technologies for food, what is like creating a startup, and the opportunities competitions can bring to the table.

Learn more about the XPRIZE Feed The Next Billion Challenge at ⁠www.xprize.org/feed⁠

Learn more about Revo Foods at www.revo-foods.com

Chris Landowski of Onego Bio May 10, 2023

Chris will be speaking at the upcoming Future Food Tech Alternative Protein Event in New York City this June. You can register for the event at https://futurefoodtechprotein.com. Get a 10% discount on tickets using the coupon code CM10.

Chris Landowski is the Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Onego Bio, a company producing animal-free egg white proteins with precision fermentation.

Chris is a cellular agriculture trailblazer and the scientific mastermind behind the technology.

The chosen method for producing egg white protein is based on harnessing the microflora Trichoderma reesei for protein production and Chris believes this technology is superior because of its efficiency and productivity.

Prior to co-founding Onego Bio, Chris spent 15 years developing breakthrough precision fermentation platforms at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland.

He has extensive experience in recombinant protein production and translating this knowledge to enable commercial scale production of animal-free proteins.

One thing I greatly appreciate about this episode with Chris is that he breaks down fairly technical concepts into very digestible bites.

Jeremy Agresti of Triplebar May 04, 2023

Jeremy Agresti has spent his career developing tools to drastically change the pace of biology with massive-throughput measurements using microfluidics. His seminal contributions as pioneer of miniaturizing biology with microfluidics have resulted in a large number of publications and patents, which have been cited more than 9,000 times, and form the foundation of several companies in the space. His work has allowed Amyris to bring their biofuels and chemicals to market faster, and for companies like Bio-Rad, Illumina and 10x Genomics to bring new single-cell genomics tools and clinical diagnostic tests to market. Jeremy is a co-founder and advisor to Slingshot Biosciences and founder and CTO Triplebar, where he leads a team of scientists and engineers to leverage the power of evolution to bring new biology-produced products to the world and build a sustainable future for the planet.

Caroline Kolta of XPRIZE: Transforming The Future of Proteins Apr 27, 2023

This episode is part of the Transforming The Future of Proteins series.

XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion is a multi-year, $15M competition that incentivizes teams to produce chicken breast or fish filet alternatives that replicate or outperform these conventional proteins in the following ways: access, environmental sustainability, animal welfare, nutrition, as well as taste and texture.

Caroline Kolta is the Program Director on XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion, where she oversees the technical and day to day operations of the competition including project management, knowledge management, stakeholder management, and risk management.

Prior to this, she worked on an array of projects including supporting XPRIZE Foundation’s research on circular and resilient food systems, in addition to designing competitions for alternative protein, circular water economy, sustainable food packaging, and Alzheimer's Disease.

Caroline comes to XPRIZE with 7 years of experience in the international development, governance, and election monitoring sectors in the Middle East and North Africa region as a project manager, researcher, and policy advisor. Her professional career is geared towards advancing human rights and freedoms, civic engagement, and empowering marginalized populations.

She holds an MA in Sustainable International Development, with a focus on Conflict Resolution and Coexistence from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and a Bachelor of Political Science from Cairo University.

Learn more about the XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion Challenge at www.xprize.org/feed

Vanessa Haley-Benjamin - New Harvest Fellowship Series Apr 12, 2023

Vanessa Haley-Benjamin - New Harvest Fellowship Series

Edward Shenderovich of Synonym Biotechnologies Feb 13, 2023

This episode is sponsored by the Black & Veatch NextGen Ag Team. Learn more about Black and Veatch at https://www.bv.com

Edward Shenderovich is co-founder and CEO of Synonym Biotechnologies. Before Synonym, Edward was the Executive Chairman and co-founder of Knotel, a leading flexible office company (acquired by Newmark), founding and managing partner of Kite Ventures, a global venture investment company, and a founding executive of SUP Media, where he oversaw the company’s strategic development, including the rollout of LiveJournal globally. Previously, he was a co-founder and CEO of Quantum Art, a content management software provider, and a co-founder of Merchantry, a New York-based provider of online marketplace infrastructure (acquired by Tradeshift). Edward has served on the boards of directors of a number of successful companies, including Tradeshift, Delivery Hero, Plated, Domo, and others. He started his career as an Industry Analyst at Silicon Valley Bank. Edward is a graduate of UC Berkeley and a Fellow at Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore.

Check out Capacitor, The free worldwide database of biomanufacturing capacity at https://capacitor.bio/

Joshua March of SciFi Foods Jan 11, 2023

On this episode, we’re excited to have Joshua March. Joshua is Co-founder and CEO of SCiFi Foods, a startup creating transformational products by combining cultivated meat with plant-based ingredients to make burgers shockingly close to the taste of conventional beef.

A serial entrepreneur with two exits to his name, Joshua was previously the Co-founder of Conversocial, a digital care platform for messaging that integrates with many of the world's leading brands.

Joshua has a passion for all things food science, environmental sustainability, and believes in the potential of synthetic biology to create superior products for a rapidly growing world. Originally from England and now based in San Francisco.

Sophie Letcher - New Harvest Fellowship Series Dec 19, 2022

Sophie Letcher is a PhD student and New Harvest Research Fellow in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Tufts University. She is a part of David Kaplan’s (growing!) cellular agriculture research group, and so far, her research as focused on two main topics. The first is using bioelectricity (endogenous electrical currents) to control muscle cell proliferation and differentiation, and the second is furthering the field of entomoculture (insect cell culture for food). Prior to starting at Tufts, she received her B.A. at Kenyon College in Neuroscience, then worked as a research technician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA.

This episode was originally recorded in December 2021.

Explained: UPSIDE Foods Receives First FDA "Green Light" for Cultivated Meat –with David Kay Nov 19, 2022

David Kay, Director of Communications at UPSIDE Foods discusses the FDA "No Questions" Letter regarding cultivated chicken as safe to eat.

This is a huge milestone within the cell-cultured meat industry and one step closer to seeing cultivated meat products on dinner tables.

Alex Shirazi of the Cultured Meat and Future Food Podcast discusses the meaning behind the announcement and the impact on the food industry.

Learn more about UPSIDE Foods at https://upsidefoods.com/.
Read the letter at https://upsidechickenletter.com/.

Listen to the previous episode with David Kay at https://cmsymp.medium.com/david-kay-of-upside-foods-on-the-cultured-meat-and-future-food-show-podcast-5c0d2cefc4f2

Lejjy Gafour of CULT Food Science Oct 09, 2022

The Cultured Meat Symposium 2022 is taking place on October 28-29, 2022. Learn more and register for the event at https://cms2022.com

On this episode I chat with Lejjy Gafour of CULT Food Science. We chat about Lejjy's background, his start within the cellular agriculture industry, touch on Future Fields, and learn about CULT Food Science.

Additional show notes will be posted soon.

Are you a regular listener? Be sure to Subscribe or Follow on your favorite podcast platform.

Deniz Kent of Prolific Machines Sep 08, 2022

Alex Shirazi sits down with Deniz Kent, Co-founder and CEO of Prolific Machines. Prolific Machines is a Stealth startup based in San Francisco. They are working on technologies that seriously reduces the cost of cultured meat production. On this episode we chat about Deniz' background and how the company came to be.

Learn more about Prolific Machines at https://www.prolificmachines.com/

Patricia Bubner of Orbillion Aug 31, 2022

The Cultured Meat Symposium 2022 is taking place on October 28-29, 2022 in Downtown San Francisco. Learn more and register at https://cms2022.com

This episode of the Cultured Meat and Future Food Podcast features Patricia Bubner of Orbillion. Alex and Patricia chat about Orbillion, different cuts of cultivated meat products, and the importance of messaging within the industry.

Learn more about Orbillion Bio at https://www.orbillion.com/

Yonatan Golan of Brevel Aug 17, 2022

On this episode I speak with Yonatan Golan of Brevel. I was introduced to Brevel in one of my favorite ways possible, at a networking event! The event was hosted by Black & Veatch at the Future Food Tech event in New York City. There I met someone from the Brevel team who eventually connected me to Yonatan. I am so glad I was able to speak with Yonatan about the fascinating topic of micro-algea and how it could very well be one of the biggest protein solutions.

Learn more about Brevel at https://brevel.co.il/

The Cultured Meat Symposium 2022 is taking place in San Francisco on October 28-29, 2022. Learn more and register for the event at https://www.cms2022.com

Peter Nesaei and Reza Ovissi of OceanTastes, Inc. Aug 08, 2022

This episode features Dr. Peter Nesaei and Dr. Reza Ovissi of OceanTastes, Inc. OceanTastes, Inc. is a cultivated seafood startup based in California. We discuss how the Peter and Reza met, their inspiration for creating OceanTastes, Inc. and the exciting journey ahead.

Learn more about OceanTastes, Inc. at https://www.oceantastes.com

The Cultured Meat Symposium 2022 is taking place on October 28-29, 2022. Learn more and register for the event at https://cms2022.com

Brett Thompson of Mzansi Meat Co. Aug 03, 2022

The Cultured Meat Symposium 2022 is taking place in San Francisco on October 28-29, 2022. Learn more and register for the event at https://cms2022.com.

On this episode, Alex chats with Brett Thompson of Mzansi Meat Co., one of the first cultivated meat companies in South Africa and even on the continent of Africa. Learn about how Brett's background in plant-based foods and animal advocacy lead to the first investor check and what's next for Mzansi.

References in this episode:

South African Consumer Adoption of Plant-Based and Cultivated Meat: A Segmentation Study: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.744199/full

Plant-based and Cultivated Meat Adoption in Egypt, Kenya, and Nigeria: https://www.credenceinstitute.org/_files/ugd/e40e4e_ec6909e70bc242e894d42d5eb34f85fb.pdf

Caroline Wilschut of Meatable Jul 24, 2022

The Cultured Meat Symposium is taking place on October 28-29, 2022. Learn more and register for the event at https://cms2022.com

On this episode, Alex Shirazi sits down with Caroline Wilschut of Meatable to chat about who we need to educate about cultivated meat products and the understanding of the technology over the last few years.

Learn more about Meatable at https://meatable.com

Elysabeth Alfano of VegTech™ Invest Jun 22, 2022

Elysabeth Alfano is the CEO of VegTech™ Invest, the advisor to the VegTech™ Plant-based Innovation & Climate ETF. The VegTech™ ETF has created a completely new impact asset class: plant-based innovation and alternative in the capital markets. The company has also launched the industry benchmark index, VegTech™ Plant-based Innovation & Alternative Proteins Index. Elysabeth is a plant-based industry expert and speaks globally on the intersection of sustainability and our global food supply system, including recently at the U.N. Global Leaders Compact Summit. She is the CEO of Plant Powered Consulting, and advised multinationals and C-Suite Executives on the industry landscape, direction and whitespaces. Finally, Elysabeth hosts the Plantbased Business Hour, which features the CEOs and thought leaders in the industry. The Plantbased Business Hour is considered, “The Gold Standard” for those who want to understand, participate in, and capitalize on this secular trend.

Learn more about Future Food Tech Alternative Proteins at www.futurefoodtechprotein.com

Laura Katz of Helaina Jun 19, 2022

Laura is the Founder and CEO of Helaina. Founded in 2019, Helaina is the first company to produce human milk proteins that are identical to those in breast milk, creating a new category of infant formula. Disrupting the infant formula category which has been stagnant for decades, Helaina has raised more than $25 million. Laura became NYU’s youngest ever adjunct professor in Food Science & Technology in 2017 and was featured in Forbes’ 30 under 30 list in 2022.

Learn more about Helaina at www.myhelaina.com

Learn more about Future Food Tech Alternative Proteins at www.futurefoodtechprotein.com

Will Patrick of Culture Biosciences Jun 16, 2022

Alex sits down with Will Patrick of Culture Biosciences, the company leading the way for bioreactors in the cloud.

Design, monitor, and analyze high-throughput bioreactor experiments in Culture's Cloud Lab from your laptop.

Culture essentially acts as a Bioreactor in the cloud allowing companies to radically accelerate their research. We learn about the basics of the platform and the ideal applications.

Learn more about Culture Biosciences at https://www.culturebiosciences.com/

Trevor Williams of the Farm Traveler Podcast Jun 09, 2022

Trevor Williams is a former high school agriscience teacher turned podcaster that started the FarmTraveler podcast in 2019. Farm Traveler has one goal, that being to connect consumers with farmers, ranchers, and entrepreneurs in the agriculture industry. Trevor has published over 150 podcast episodes, educational videos, and Farm Tours on the Farm Traveler Youtube channel, and produces two other agriculture-focused podcasts.

Subscribe to the Farm Traveler Podcast at https://thefarmtraveler.com/

Listen to Alex's episode on the Farm Traveler Podcast at https://thefarmtraveler.com/2022/04/13/ep-145-what-is-cultured-meat/

Michele Simon May 01, 2022

As a public health attorney, food policy expert, author, and thought leader, Michele uses her passionate and fearless voice to advocate for a better food system through her writing, media appearances, and consulting.

Michele’s extensive writings on the politics of food and alcohol led to the publication of her first book in 2006, Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight Back. NYU Professor Marion Nestle described it as “brilliant.”

Michele founded the Plant Based Foods Association in 2016. As Executive Director of the nation’s only membership association to promote the interests of plant-based food companies, she grew the organization to over 300 members and led a team of policy and retail experts. Her leadership and strategic efforts enabled PBFA to fight the powerful meat and dairy lobbies, while forging new marketplace opportunities for the industry.

Michele currently runs her own strategy consulting business, where she offers advice on policy, media relations, investing, and coaching for women.

Michele Simon is admitted to practice law in California, has a master’s degree in public health from Yale University and received her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

We cover a lot of diverse topics and I will be first to admit that it was very interesting to understand certain viewpoints as it comes to reducing animals in the food system, restaurants offering vegan options (and whether that’s a good thing), and taking a closer look at reporting that’s out there in the industry now.

Tim Olsen of Merck, KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany Feb 22, 2022

Thanks for tuning in to the Cultured Meat and Future Food Podcast. On this episode we are exciting to have Tim Olsen of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany.

Tim joined Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany in 2020 as Head of Commercial for the Cultured Meat program. His goal is to commercialize technologies that enable large scale cost effective and sustainable production of cultured meat and seafood products. Previously, Tim directed laboratory operations and led the development of bioinks at Allevi, a 3D bioprinting company. Tim then held the Senior Scientist position on the Process and Product Development team at RoosterBio, a regenerative medicine company focused on fueling the rapid commercialization of scalable human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) and exosome manufacturing technologies. His skillsets include stem cell culture optimization, media development, and scaling manufacturing in bioreactor systems. Tim then transitioned into commercial operations at RoosterBio as the Northeast USA and Europe Account Manager to leverage his technical skillset to focus on bringing solutions to the customers who were working on bringing regenerative medicine products to the clinic and the market. Tim received a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Clemson University (2015) and sits on the External Advisory Board for the Department of Biomedical Engineering at The College of New Jersey, his undergraduate alma mater.

Dr. Aletta Schnitzler of TurtleTree Jan 14, 2022

Dr. Aletta Schnitzler is the Chief Scientific Officer at Turtle Tree. Previously, Aletta held various roles at Merck KGaA across Cell Therapy Bioprocessing and Cultured Meat R&D and Strategy. Aletta received her Ph.D. in 2007 from Boston University School of Medicine in the fields of immunology and neuroscience, focusing on trophic factors that influence immune cell activation, as well as neural differentiation and maintenance of phenotype.

Learn more about TurtleTree:

https://turtletree.com/

Tobias Messmer of Mosa Meat Jan 13, 2022

Tobias Messmer is a Jr Scientist in the Stemness & Isolation team at Mosa Meat and a PhD student at Maastricht University.

After completing his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Molecular Biotechnology at Heidelberg University, and internships at Cambridge University and Harvard University, Tobias’ current work focuses on molecular characterization of muscle cells during the proliferation and differentiation stages of cultivating beef. In 2020, Tobias has co-founded the Cellular Agriculture Online Symposium (CAOS) - an online platform to facilitate scientific exchange in the Cell-Ag space.

Read the Blog Post:
https://mosameat.com/blog/cultivating-beef-without-fetal-bovine-serum

View the Publication:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-021-00419-1

Jamie Harris of Animal Advocacy Careers Jan 13, 2022

Jamie has a History degree from Oxford University and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education from Nottingham University. Dedicated to reducing animal suffering, he has volunteered for a variety of effective animal advocacy organizations, including Faunalytics, The Humane League and the Good Food Institute. He is also working to grow the effective altruism movement by managing the local group Effective Animal Altruism London.

Nick Cooney of Lever VC Jan 05, 2022

Nick Cooney founded and serves as Managing Partner at Lever VC, an early-stage venture capital fund focused on alternative protein startups. The alternative protein sector includes both plant-based meat and dairy companies (Nick’s past investments in this space include Beyond Meat, Miyoko’s Kitchen, Sunfed Meats, and Good Catch Foods) as well as cultivated meat companies (Nick’s investments in this space include Memphis Meats, Aleph Farms, and Avant Meats). Through Lever VC and his prior fund, Nick has invested in several dozen alternative protein companies globally, with a combined net value of over $7+ billion USD.

Joe Fassler of The Counter Dec 09, 2021

Joe Fassler's piece "Lab-grown meat is supposed to be inevitable. The science tells a different story." brought new discussions to the cultured meat industry.

Joe Fassler is deputy editor of The Counter, a nonprofit newsroom covering the business, politics, and culture of American food. Twice a finalist for a James Beard Media Award, his food journalism has been anthologized in The Best American Food Writing and appeared in publications like TheAtlantic.com, The Guardian, and Smithsonian.

Josh Balk of the HSUS returns to the Future Food Show Nov 27, 2021

Josh Balk is the Vice President of Farm Animal Protection at the Humane Society of the U.S. In addition, he is the cofounder of Hampton Creek, now Eat Just Inc, a food technology company famous for producing the Just Egg product.

Prior to working with HSUS, Josh is known for his work at Compassion Over Killing. He has been an advocate for animals for almost 20 years.

This is Josh's second episode on the future food show, where we dig a little bit deeper into the great work that he and his team are accomplishing and the future of food.

John Sanbonmatsu of CleanMeat-Hoax.com Nov 16, 2021

John Sanbonmatsu is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, where he teaches ethics, political theory, and the philosophy of technology. He is author of the book, The Postmodern Prince: Critical Theory, Left Strategy, and the Making of a New Political Subject, editor of the book, Critical Theory and Animal Liberation, and is the creator and curator of the www.CleanMeat-Hoax.com website. His new book, The Omnivore's Deception: What We Get Wrong about Meat, Animals, and the Nature of Moral Life, is expected to be released at the end of 2022.

Michelle Egger of BIOMILQ Oct 20, 2021

As a passionate food scientist, Michelle looks to combat global food security and malnutrition in everything she does. She has expertise in dairy fermentation, formulation, and processing and is thrilled to ditch the cows for humans. Inspired by upstream solutions for infant nutrition at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, she became obsessed with advancing human nutrition through better infant feeding options. Michelle seeks to harness the capacity to drive environmental and social change through creative food solutions with a consumer-first design. Her entrepreneurial expertise in social impact and sustainable business models drives her commitment to seeking mission-aligned partners.

Reducetarian Foundation, Brian Kateman Aug 30, 2021

Brian Kateman is the lead producer of Meat Me Halfway, a documentary about finding common ground at the dinner table. He is cofounder and president of the Reducetarian Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy to create a healthy, sustainable, and compassionate world.

Learn more about the Reducetarian Foundation:

https://www.reducetarian.org/

Learn more about Meat Me Halfway (Documentary):

https://www.meatmehalfway.org/

Simon Fried of MeaTech Aug 20, 2021

This episode is sponsored by the Black & Veatch NextGen Ag Team. Learn more about Black and Veatch at https://www.bv.com

Simon, head of business at MeaTech, grew up around restaurants, has business experience including food retail, FMCG, distilleries and 3D printing. Combined with his academic background in risk, behavioral economics, and behavior change, he’s excited to be playing a part in the cultivated meat mission.

The Cocoa Concept, Linda Lilly Aug 16, 2021

The Cultured Meat Symposium (CMS21) is taking place this October 22-23, 2021 in Downtown San Francisco. Learn more and register for the event at https://www.cms21.io.

Linda Lilly is the Director and Founder of The Cocoa Concept. She grew up in the south of Germany, studied Film and Literature in Munich and Vancouver before moving to London to work for Sony Pictures. After changing her take on nutrition and fitness in 2018, Linda went through a physical and emotional transformation herself that led her to not only lose over 20kg but also to spend more and more time researching products that will benefit her mind and body. In 2020 she founded her own company The Cocoa Concept with the purpose to introduce the benefits of Cocoa Husk Tea to the UK market. Whilst still working full time at Sony Pictures she realized that there is an opportunity, people like her who want to lead a healthy lifestyle who want to enjoy themselves without feeling guilty need to know about this product. She constantly tries to challenge herself, practice mindfulness and set positive affirmations to achieve her goals. Linda is currently a candidate at the NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator Program.

The Cocoa Concept wants to underline the importance of what we are putting into our bodies – they create a pure product with a natural chocolatey sensation, no dairy, no artificial sweeteners, no sugars, or additives. Their first product is called Cocoa Husk Tea, which is made from the outer shell of the cacao bean. Cocoa Husk is a by-product in the chocolate making process that would otherwise go to waste. That's where The Cocoa Concept comes in and uses it to create a unique and healthy way to enjoy a calorie-free hot chocolate suitable for everyone – no matter whether you are vegan, dairy free or want to cut down your sugar intake. The Cocoa Concept was born to support people in leading a healthy lifestyle, elevate their fitness journey and promote mindful moments. You can buy their product directly on their website or find it in cafes and health stores across London. They’ve recently been featured in Vogue Magazine as “the latest tea trend”.

Learn more about The Cocoa Concept here:

https://www.thecocoaconcept.com/

Catching up with The Better Meat Co. and Paul Shapiro Jul 31, 2021

We’re excited to have Paul Shapiro back on the show. This will be his second episode on the Cultured Meat and Future Food Podcast.

Paul Shapiro is the author of the national bestseller Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World, the CEO of The Better Meat Co., a four-time TEDx speaker, and the host of the Business for Good Podcast.

Learn more about the book:
https://cleanmeat.com/

Learn more about the Business For Good Podcast:
https://www.businessforgoodpodcast.com/

Learn more about The Better Meat Co.:
https://www.bettermeat.co/

Cellular Agriculture Australia, Bianca Le Jul 16, 2021

The Cultured Meat Symposium 2021 (CMS21) is taking place this October 22-23, 2021 in person. Learn more and register at https://cms21.io

Dr Bianca Le is a cell biologist and Honorary Fellow in Agriculture and Food at the University of Melbourne. Bianca completed her PhD at the Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University and is currently the Director of Cellular Agriculture Australia, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting and accelerating R&D in the cellular agriculture industry.

When Bianca’s not doing science, she talks and writes about it. She is an experienced science communicator and has contributed to various national policy projects spanning diversity in STEM workplaces, waste management, and science diplomacy at the Academy of Technology and Engineering. Earlier this year, Bianca was one of the 60 STEM experts in Australia selected to be a part of 'Superstars of STEM', a nationally funded program to elevate the public profile of prominent women in STEM.

Vow, Marie Gibbons and Soroush Pour Jul 12, 2021

The Cultured Meat Symposium 2021 is taking place in San Francisco on October 22-23, 2021. Learn more and register at https://cms21.io

Marie Gibbons is a well known name in the industry. She recently moved to Sydney from Berkeley, CA to join Vow as a research scientist

As a passionate animal lover and veterinary student-turned-cultured meat researcher, she joined the cellular agriculture field in 2016 in hopes of removing animals from food production. She was granted research fellowships with both New Harvest and the Good Food Institute and spent her graduate studies focusing on large scale cultured poultry production at North Carolina State University and Harvard Medical School. Upon graduation, Marie joined Memphis Meats, now Upside Foods, as the founder of their media development department. There, she spent over 2 years developing scalable, edible, animal component free media for multiple species and cell types. She now works with Vow's incredible team of scientific researchers, engineers, robots, and office dogs to create delicious and exotic cultured meat products using automated, high-throughput platform technology.

Also joining us on the show is Soroush Pour.

Soroush joined Vow as Head of Engineering in February 2020. He founded, built and exited his first software company while an undergrad at Duke University as a fully funded Robertson Scholar. He was one of the first engineers and later engineering managers at San Francisco FinTech API company Plaid as it grew from 15 to 170 people, now worth over $13B. Before joining Vow, Soroush worked as a consultant in the alternative protein industry, doing independent research as well as consulting work supporting multiple alternative protein organizations. His goal is to bring about a food system that can feed billions while protecting the beautiful blue planet we all depend on. At Vow, he and his team create intuitive software and high-throughput robotics to make cultured meat lab R&D drastically faster and less manual than it otherwise would be.

David Kay of Upside Foods Jul 02, 2021

The Cultured Meat Symposium 2021 is taking place in San Francisco this October 22-23, 2021. Learn more at https://cms21.io.

David Kay is the Director of Communications and first employee at UPSIDE Foods. David leads the company's communications and public relations strategies, and helps develop and execute the company’s policy strategies. David played a key role in initiating the founding of AMPS Innovation, the trade coalition for the cultured meat, poultry and seafood industry in the US. David has spoken at or been interviewed in The Atlantic, Vice, The Chicago Tribune, Quartz and SXSW, and has given the keynote address at the Cultured Meat Symposium, Cell Agri, and the Food Innovation Summit. Prior to joining UPSIDE Foods, David studied political science at Stanford University and worked with a variety of non-profits to encourage more sustainable eating practices.

Doug Dresslaer of Dairy Farmers of America Jun 24, 2021

This episode is sponsored by the Black & Veatch NextGen Ag Team. Learn more about Black and Veatch at www.bv.com.

Doug Dresslaer is the Director of Cultural Innovation for Dairy Farmers of America. Doug works with DFA farmer members and employees to foster a culture of innovation within the Cooperative to help keep DFA at the forefront of emerging technologies and trends in the industry. Prior to joining DFA in 2019, Doug worked with the cooperative as managing director of the T-Mobile and DFA Accelerator program working with startups to help build partnerships between small businesses and T-Mobile and DFA.

Matt Gibson of New Culture Jun 01, 2021

This episode is sponsored by the Black & Veatch NextGen Ag Team. Learn more about Black and Veatch at https://www.bv.com

Matt grew up in New Zealand. He studied microbiology and genetics at the University of Auckland before co-founding New Culture, a venture-backed cell ag startup based in the Bay Area that is making cow cheese without the cow.

Larissa Zimberoff, Author of Technically Food: Inside Silicon Valley's Mission to Change What We Eat May 25, 2021

Technically Food: Inside Silicon Valley's Mission to Change What We Eat is available on June 1st. Learn more about the book and pre-order at http://itstechnicallyfood.com/.

Alex Shirazi sits down with Larissa Zimberoff as they discuss startups highlighted in her upcoming book as well as nuances of why and how people eat what they eat! Larissa's Bio, from the book, below.

Larissa Zimberoff doesn’t like to eat on the go but is known to walk miles to sample something delicious. She is an itinerant fruit forager, and will pluck a white loquat, fuyu persimmon, or green apple off any wandering branch. The story she tells friends will be about scaling the fence, and how great that fruit tasted. College years were spent at UCSD, wandering the eucalyptus groves and beaches of San Diego. Eventually, she landed in the Bay Area. Larissa worked in San Francisco’s tech industry for more than a decade, including at Gap Inc, Yahoo!, and Flickr, but found her way out. She moved to New York in 2011, lived on the Lower East Side, and earned an MFA in creative nonfiction from the New School in 2013. She’s written on the promise of fake eggs, the potential of peas, and how artificial intelligence saved a winery. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Wired, Time, Bloomberg Businessweek, and many more. Her passion for technology is matched by an equally precious hope for foods that comes from the natural world. She lives in Northern California, where she’s close to mountain hikes and seaside cycling. This is her first book.

Mike Beveridge of FreshDirect May 20, 2021

This episode is sponsored by the Black & Veatch NextGen Ag Team. Learn more about Black and Veatch at https://www.bv.com

Mike is a Senior Associate Merchant at FreshDirect, a New-York based online grocer. He joined FreshDirect in 2019 to work in their express, one-hour delivery service, improving the supply chain, buying and merchandising for Meat, Poultry, and Seafood. He took over the Meat and Poultry sourcing and supply chain at FreshDirect in April 2020, right at the start of the COVID pandemic, and spends most of his time on FreshDirect’s four whole-animal programs—Grass Fed Beef, Antibiotic-Free Angus Beef, Pasture-Raised Pork, and Pasture-Raised Lamb.

Mike graduated from Cornell University in the winter of 2016, where he studied Food Industry Management and Environmental Science. Prior to FreshDirect, he worked for Smithfield Foods, where he worked for their Walmart sales team, as well on the Foodservice Marketing team.

Catching up with Didier Toubia of Aleph Farms May 12, 2021

This episode is sponsored by the Black & Veatch NextGen Ag Team. Learn more about Black and Veatch at www.bv.com

We're excited to welcome Didier Toubia of Aleph Farms back on the show!

Didier Toubia is the Co-Founder and CEO of Aleph Farms, a cultivated meat company that is shaping the future of food by growing slaughter-free beef steaks directly from cow cells, preserving natural resources, and avoiding the use of antibiotics. Prior to Aleph Farms, Didier co-founded and led IceCure, which went public in 2010, and served as the CEO of NLT Spine, which was acquired by SeaSpine in 2016. Didier was trained as a Food Engineer and Biologist at Agrusup (Dijon, France) and holds a joint executive MBA from Kellogg (IL, US) and Recanati (Israel).

Sonia Lo of Sensei Ag May 06, 2021

This episode is sponsored by the Black & Veatch NextGen Ag Team. Learn more about Black and Veatch at www.bv.com

Sonia Lo, Chief Executive Officer, Sensei Ag

Sonia Lo joins the Sensei Ag team with over 32 years of combined agriculture, technology and business experience. Ms. Lo began her career in technology with a UK media conglomerate. She then went on to build her first tech venture as CEO of eZoka Group, a UK-based internet startup that was sold in 2002. Following eZoka, Ms. Lo founded and served as Managing Director of Chalsys LLP, an advisory and direct investment firm which has invested over $120 million in 15 global growth stage companies. From Chalsys, she became the Director of Localization and Global Content for Google, Inc.

Most recently, prior to Sensei Ag, Ms. Lo was CEO of Crop One Holdings, Inc., a vertical farming company that owns FreshBox Farms in Millis, MA and a joint venture with Emirates Flight Catering in Dubai which building one of the world’s largest vertical farms with an anticipated output of three tons per day. Ms. Lo earned her BA in Political Science from Stanford University and an MBA with Distinction from Harvard Business School. She also holds Professional Chef and Pastry Qualifications from London and City College and has completed certifications in Green Supply Chain Management and Zero Energy Architecture.

Christie Lagally of Rebellyous Foods with Zack Olson of Black & Veatch Apr 20, 2021

This episode is sponsored by the Black & Veatch NextGen Ag Team. Learn more about Black and Veatch at www.bv.com

We are excited to have two fantastic guests on today's episode. Christie Lagally of Rebellyous Foods and Zack Olson of Black & Veatch.

Christie Lagally is the founder and CEO of Rebellyous Foods, a food production technology company working to make plant-based meat price-competitive with traditional chicken products.

Ms. Lagally is a mechanical engineer and holder of multiple patents in manufacturing technology. She spent much of her career in the aerospace industry working on commercial airplanes and spacecraft in testing, design, and manufacturing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Previously, Ms. Lagally served as a Senior Scientist for the Good Food Institute uncovering the technical barriers in the development of plant-based meat and clean meat (i.e. cultured meat). Ms. Lagally holds Bachelor's degrees in Organizational Psychology and Mechanical Engineering and a Master’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering.

She is also an active member of the National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington, a co-founder of the Humane Voters of Washington (a political action committee) and serves as a Washington State Council Member for the Humane Society of the United States.

Zack Olson is part of the Black & Veatch Growth Accelerator which drives smart, rapid, profitable growth; discovers opportunities; and challenges convention. He is a co-managing director of the Growth Accelerator’s NextGen Agriculture business, and currently leads that engineering team. Throughout his career he has been involved in projects that required developing innovative and cost-effective solutions, in close collaboration with the end client, particularly pertaining to energy performance improvements.

Lou Cooperhouse of BlueNalu Apr 13, 2021

This episode is sponsored by the Black & Veatch NextGen Ag Team. Learn more about Black and Veatch at https://www.bv.com.

Lou Cooperhouse is recognized as a leading global authority in food business innovation and technology commercialization, with extensive leadership experiences throughout his 35-year career in the food industry.

He is a results-driven professional, and has led cross-functional teams in a wide array of industry settings that include: multinational corporations, foodservice and retail operations, new business startups, mid-sized and family-run companies, university entrepreneurship and innovation centers, and industry trade associations.

Lou also has considerable expertise in food safety and quality assurance systems, and has provide leadership at numerous FDA and USDA-inspected operations throughout his career, and has conducted third-party audits of dozens of food companies throughout the nation as well. \

Lou received a MS in Food Science and BS in Microbiology, both from Rutgers University, and has served as an Adjunct Professor at the Rutgers Business School.

Steve Matzke of CP Kelco Mar 31, 2021

Steve Matzke is Senior Manager of Pioneering Innovation for CP Kelco, a global provider of nature-based ingredients, and he is based in San Diego. Steve received a master’s degree in chemical engineering from UC-Berkeley and has spent the majority of his career in process development and the manufacturing of fermentation-derived ingredients. He has intimate knowledge of large-scale fermentation processes and has spent significant time in all three of CP Kelco’s fermentation manufacturing sites in the U.S. and China. His current focus is in the alternative protein space and how CP Kelco can contribute to this evolving foodscape.

CP Kelco has nearly 90 years of experience serving food, beverage and consumer products manufacturers worldwide. The company unlocks nature-powered success and applies innovation and problem solving to develop tailored solutions for its customers. Pectin, gellan gum and citrus fiber are among the nature-based ingredients in CP Kelco’s portfolio. Learn more at https://cpkelco.com.

Santiago Campuzano - New Harvest Fellowship Series Mar 24, 2021

This episode is part of the New Harvest Fellowship Series.

Santiago Campuzano, a former Research Fellow, received his MSc from the University of Ottawa under the supervision of Andrew Pelling. While at the Pelling Lab, Santiago’s research demonstrated how celery can be repurposed as animal-free scaffolding capable of recreating alignment of skeletal muscle cells in vitro. Now residing in Vancouver, Santiago currently works as a Bioengineer at STEMCELL Technologies. Santiago is also an active member of the Open Science Network, a local community lab devoted to educating community members and facilitating multidisciplinary collaborations.

Cameron Semper - New Harvest Fellowship Series Mar 10, 2021

This episode is part of the New Harvest Fellowship Series. To learn more about New Harvest, visit https://new-harvest.org.

Cameron is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Calgary. His research seeks to leverage protein biochemistry for the advancement of cellular agriculture. Cameron’s work involves using microbes to produce growth factors that can then be used to improve the outcomes of fish cell culture. His other research interests include fungal secondary metabolism and structural biology.

ORIGINAL PHOTO BY AZIN GHAFFARI/POSTMEDIA

John Yuen - New Harvest Fellowship Series Mar 02, 2021

This episode is part of the New Harvest Fellowship Series. Learn more about New Harvest at https://new-harvest.org.

John is a fourth year PhD Candidate working on cultured meat in the David Kaplan Laboratory, alongside Andrew Stout, Natalie Rubio, Ning Xiang, Michael Saad and Sophie Letche - a growing cell-ag team! John's goal is to develop scalable techniques to overcome the challenge of oxygen and nutrient delivery to cells within larger tissues. For example, it is often quoted that cells can only survive ~200 microns away from a blood vessel or other source of nutrition (e.g the culture media). This means that even a 1 mm thick tissue might encounter cell viability or survival issues within its core/central region. To address this, John is investigating methods to generate macroscale constructs of muscle and fat via perfused 3D tissue culture strategies. The hope is that methods to support cell survival in larger constructs will enable more advanced muscle and fat tissues to be grown in the future, containing the higher order, macroscale structural organization seen in products such as whole muscle cuts of meat. Imagine the large arrays of aligned muscle fibers seen in steak and chicken breast, etc.

Is cell-based meat Kosher? A discussion with Rabbi Joel Kenigsberg Feb 26, 2021

Joel Kenigsberg is a rabbi, educator and researcher with a special interest in the application of ancient religious texts to modern technological innovations. He has presented extensively on this topic at international forums including at Oxford, UCL, London School of Jewish Studies and the European Conference of Rabbis, as well as publishing articles in both mainstream and academic press and consulting some of the leading companies in the cellular agriculture field.

Rabbi Kenigsberg received his ordination from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. He holds an MA from Bar-Ilan University in the interdisciplinary field of science and Jewish religious law, and graduated from the Manhigut Toranit (Torah leadership) program at the prestigious Eretz Hemdah Institute of Advanced Jewish Studies in Jerusalem, where he formed part of a team of scholars fielding cutting-edge questions from around the world.

Zac Cosenza - New Harvest Fellowship Series Jan 17, 2021

This episode is part of the New-Harvest Fellowship Series. Learn more about New Harvest at http://new-harvest.org.

Zachary Cosenza works on computational tools for design optimization and parameter estimation using optimal experimental design, machine learning, Bayesian optimization, and other statistical learning methods for design of cell growth media for bioprocesses in cell-based meat industry.

Dave Schnettler of LabFarmFoods Jan 05, 2021

On this episode, Alex Shirazi chats with Dave Schnettler of Lab Farm Foods about the future of food tech investing and Lab Farm Foods.

Dave Schnettler is an early-stage tech investor and serial entrepreneur. He previously co-founded a digital marketing agency and investment syndicate. Dave brings his business expertise and knowledge of the cellular agricultural landscape to the Lab Farm Foods table, overseeing all non-tech aspects of daily operations.

Martín Salinas, Henk Hoogenkamp, and Gastón Paladini of Moolec Science Dec 30, 2020

This is the first episode with three guests joining us for the Cultured Meat and Future Food Podcast. Please welcome Martín Salinas, Henk Hoogenkamp, and Gastón Paladini of Mollec Science.

Moolec Science is a global pioneer using Molecular Farming to introduce a hybrid concept between plant-based and cell-based technologies in the alternative proteins space. It is a newly formed Ag-Foodtech company consolidating a unique pipeline of projects and capabilities in the Molecular Farming space, with more than one decade under development.

Kai Steinmetz – New Harvest Fellowship Series Dec 15, 2020

Kai Steinmetz is a PhD candidate from the University of Auckland. His research aims to create serum free and cost-effective growth and differentiation media for cultured meat production - both basal media and serum requirements will be addressed. His research will also establish a deer primary muscle cell culture for the first time ever and test new media formulations on these cells.

Special Edition: Eat Just, Inc., Announces Cell-cultured chicken has been approved for sale Dec 04, 2020

This is a special edition episode with Dr. Vitor Santo of Eat Just, Inc.

SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Eat Just, Inc., a company that applies cutting-edge science and technology to create healthier, more sustainable foods, today announced that, after a rigorous consultation and review process, its cultured chicken has been approved for sale in Singapore as an ingredient in chicken bites. The company has developed other cultured chicken formats that will be an extension to this product line.

Josh Balk of the Humane Society of the U.S. Nov 24, 2020

Join Alex as he sits down (virtually) with Josh Balk, Vice President, Farm Animal Protection at the Humane Society of the U.S./ Founder of Hampton Creek. The two discuss where the world is headed in terms of the foods we eat and advancements in food technology.

Björn Lárus Örvar, Ph.D. of ORF Genetics Nov 13, 2020

Björn is a co-founder of ORF Genetics. He served as the CEO of the company from 2006 to 2013 and the Executive V.P. and Chief Scientific Officer of ORF Genetics since 2013. Björn received his Ph.D. in plant molecular genetics in 1997 from the University of British Columbia, Canada, and was a post-doctoral fellow at McGill University, Montréal for three years before moving back to Iceland. Björn is responsible for business development with special focus on developing animal portfolio of growth factors for cell-cultured meat.

Lavanya Anandan of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany Oct 24, 2020

Lavanya is the Head of Partnerships & External innovation, within the Strategy & Transformation group at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a global life science and pharmaceutical company. Based at the company’s Innovation Hub in the Bay Area, she is leading the exploration of how these parallel industries can accelerate cultured meat development. Lavanya has held diverse roles in sales, marketing and strategy within the biotech industry. She has a PhD in Molecular & Cellular Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Learn more about Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany at culturedmeat.emdgroup.com

Dr. Tiffany Lee of the North American Meat Institute Sep 23, 2020

Register for the Cultured Meat Symposium at http://cms20.com

Tiffany Lee is the director of regulatory and scientific affairs for the North American Meat Institute where she provides informed scientific analysis to its members on many issues, including food safety, food processing, food quality, diet and health, nutrition, public health initiatives, biotechnology, new technologies, research priorities, and animal health.

Lee earned her Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Master of Science degrees from Kansas State University in 2012. After practicing in a mixed animal clinic in Limon, Colorado, she returned to Kansas State University to pursue a PhD degree in Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology.

Ricardo M. Gouveia, PhD - New Harvest Fellowship Series Sep 13, 2020

Register for the Cultured Meat Symposium 2020 at https://cms20.com

Ricardo completed his Licenciatura degree in Biology from the University of Lisbon, in Portugal, back in 2004, where he developed an eclectic taste for knowledge. In 2012, his eagerness to expand on my personal and scientific menu of skills found him in the UK, where he joined Professor Che Connon’s Tissue Engineering Lab as a Research Associate.

Since then, his research interests have forked into multiple fields, and allowed me to make new and exciting discoveries relevant to areas as diverse as healthcare, bio-manufacture and food.

Scott Allan - New Harvest Fellowship Series Sep 01, 2020

Register for the Cultured Meat Symposium 2020 event at http://cms20.com

Scott Allan is a New Harvest Research Fellow and PhD student with the Centre for Sustainable Chemical Technologies at the University of Bath, UK. He is working with Dr Marianne Ellis and Dr Paul De Bank on bioreactor design for scaling up cultured meat production, with a focus hollow fibre bioreactors.

Prior to this, Scott obtained his Masters degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Bath and has work experience in both upstream and downstream oil & gas. His final year (senior year) project was an engineering design project, with individual and group aspects, focusing on the design of a hypothetical large-scale production plant for cultured meat production.

He is now actively pursuing research for a sustainable future in the Ellis lab, with an interdisciplinary approach at the intersection between tissue engineering and bioprocess design.

Carrie Chan of Avant Meats Aug 09, 2020

Register for the Cultured Meat Symposium at http://www.cms20.com

Carrie is a seasoned business executive with a passion for the environment, particularly the impact of our food supply on the planet. Her expertise is in general management and project delivery. She managed major real estate developments from ground zero to full operation. At Avant Meats, Carrie provides the vision, guides the strategy and supervises the implementation. The company’s technology platform focus on fish and seafood products tailored for the food culture of consumers in China and in the region.

This episode was recorded in April 2020.

Andrew Stout - New Harvest Fellowship Series Aug 04, 2020

Register for the Cultured Meat Symposium 20 at http://www.CMS20.com

Alex Shirazi interviews industry veteran Andrew Stout on this episode.

Andrew is a 3rd year PhD candidate in Dr. David Kaplan's Biomedical Engineering lab at Tufts University. There, he studies how synthetic biology and metabolic engineering can be applied to cultured meat, with particular focus on nutritional and/or functional enhancement of cultured meat products and bioprocesses.

Before Tufts, Andrew obtained a B.S. in Materials Science from Rice University, was a researcher in the lab of Dr. Mark Post at Maastricht University (where he studied scaffolding materials for cultured meat), and worked as a research associate at Geltor, Inc., in San Leandro, California (where he worked on a team engineering microbial strains for the production of animal free collagen).

Dr. Martina Miotto and Leo Groenewegen of CellulaREvolution Ltd. Jul 25, 2020

Alex Shirazi sits down with Dr. Miotto and Leo Groenewegen to chat about the exciting new developments from CellulaREvolution, based in the UK.

Dr. Martina Miotto and is the co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at CellulaREvolution Ltd. She began her studies at the University of Ferrara (Italy), where she completed a BSc in Biotechnology and a MSc in Biomolecular and Cellular Sciences. Subsequently, she moved to

Newcastle University (UK) where she completed her PhD in corneal tissue engineering and a significant part of this involved the development of the technology underpinning CellulaREvolution. Following her successful PhD, Dr Miotto has focussed firmly on a commercial career pathway. She initially received a Newcastle University Enterprise Scholarship, followed by an ICURe Fellowship to explore further the market and value proposition. Afterwards, she was awarded an Enterprise Fellowship by the Royal Society of Edinburgh to receive mentoring and training in the business sector.

Since the spin-out of CellulaREvolution from the University in July 2019, Martina has led the scientific development of the company.

Leo Groenewegen is co-founder Chief Executive Officer at CellulaREvolution Ltd. Leo has extensive experience in the fields of Biotech and Pharmaceuticals. During his career he has enabled a wide array of firms to out-perform by achieving scientific, financial and commercial excellence. As Chief Executive Officer, Leo ensures that the overall goals of the company are achieved.

Leo Groenewegen has previously held a position as CFO at a Swedish based biotech company, where besides financing he was also responsible for Investor relations, PR/Communications and Business Development. Some of his other experiences included positions at reputable consulting firms such as IMS Health and Deloitte.

Jannis Wollschlaeger - New Harvest Fellowship Series [DE] Jul 14, 2020

Diese Folge ist eine special edition Episode, die von Anita Bröllochs moderiert wird. Die Folge wurde auf Deutsch aufgenommen.

Jannis Wollschlaeger hat seinen Master an der Hochschule Biberach und seinen BS and der Universität Ulm absolviert.

Jannis hat seine Promotion an der Hochschule Reutlingen begonnen und seine Forschung fokussiert sich auf er an der Entwicklung eines definierten, kostengünstigen Co-Kulturmediums, tierfreien Biotinten und einem vereinfachten CAD-Modell der natürlichen Fett- und Muskelgewebe Struktur für den 3D-Druck von Fleisch.

Jannis ist seit Dezember 2019 Teil des New Harvest Fellowship Programms.

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This is a special edition episode hosted by Anita Broellochs. This episode is recorded in German.

Jannis Wollschlaeger completed his Master Thesis at Hochschule Biberach University of Applied Sciences and his BS at Ulm University.

Jannis started his PhD at Reutlingen University and has been focusing his research on the development of a an inexpensive co-culture medium, animal-free bio-inks and a simplified CAD model of the natural fat and muscle tissue structure for 3D Printing Cultured Meat / Meat Bioprinting

Jannis has been part of the New Harvest Fellowship Program since December 2019.

Jordan Jones - New Harvest Fellowship Series Jul 07, 2020

Alex Shirazi interviews Jordan Jones, who is working on exciting new technologies that could lead to tremendous milestones in the world of cultured meat.

Jordan Jones grew up in Memphis, TN. He graduated as Valedictorian from Memphis Academy of Science and Engineering. His interest in biomedical engineering began in high school through an internship at Memphis Bioworks. While there, he was able to study cartilage regeneration using human stem cells. Jordan then began pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). He received several merit scholarships including the Marshall/Chavez/Means award. Jordan was a research assistant in Dr. Glenn Gaudette’s laboratory from 2014 to 2016. He worked on numerous research projects focused on cardiac regeneration, decellularization, and designed bioreactor systems. For his senior thesis, Jordan designed a system that utilized decellularized plant vasculature as a model for medical diagnostics and drug testing.

After graduating from WPI, Jordan worked in the medical device industry from 2016 to 2018. He then returned to WPI to pursue a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. In 2018 Jordan’s research was displayed at The Centre Pompidou in Paris, France, in the exhibit “La Fabrique Du Vivant”. Shortly after returning to WPI, Jordan became a New Harvest research fellow. He is currently working on developing lab-grown meat. Jordan uses decellularized plant tissues to form a vascularized scaffold suitable for 3D bioengineered tissues, including structured meats such as steak.

Dr. James Ryall of Vow Jul 06, 2020

The Cultured Meat Symposium 2020 online event is taking place this October 19-21, 2020. Learn more and register at https://cms20.com.

On this episode, Alex Shirazi chats with Dr. James Ryall, the CSO of Vow, a cultivated meat company based in Australia.

Doctor James Ryall was awarded his PhD in the field of skeletal muscle physiology in 2006 at The University of Melbourne. In 2008 he was awarded a prestigious research fellowship and from 2008-2013 he worked at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD (USA) on a project studying the basic biology of skeletal muscle stem cells and the process of muscle regeneration.

In 2013 Dr Ryall returned to Australia and The University of Melbourne, where he was a leading scientist within the Centre for Muscle Research (CMR). Most recently, Dr Ryall joined Vow in November 2019 as their Chief Scientific Officer and has spent the last seven months building a scientific program around cultured meat and achieving Vow’s goal of creating a cell library for multiple different species.

Sam Peabody - New Harvest Fellowship Series Jun 23, 2020

Established in 2004, New Harvest is the non-profit research institute building the field of cellular agriculture. We're partnering with new Harvest for a multi-part series on the Cultured Meat and Future Food Show.

On this episode, we're excited to have Sam Peabody who sits down (virtually) with Alex Shirazi to discuss new and exciting research in the field of cultivated meat.

Samuel S. Peabody IV is a 1st year Ph.D. student of Animal Science at Texas Tech University. His area of research includes the study of Microbiology and Food Safety. His current studies are examining the safety aspects of cell cultured meat, poultry, and seafood.

Dr. Nina Buffi and Dr. Jan Saam of Ospin.de Jun 19, 2020

This episode is co-hosted with Anita Broellochs.

Nina Buffi obtained her degree of Microengineering in 2009 at the Swiss Institute of Technology Lausanne. After an internship at the University of British Columbia, where she developed a microfluidic chip for impedance cell spectroscopy, she joined the Microsystems Laboratory at EPFL, where she obtained her PhD with a thesis titled "Design and construction of a portable whole-cell living bacterial biosensor for the detection of arsenic in water". In 2014 she moved to Berlin and later she joined OSPIN, a company aiming to establish an open bioprocessing platform as the operating system of modern biotechnology. Since January 2018 she is the OSPIN´s CTO.

Jan studied biophysics and after simulating the complex dynamics of biomolecules on super computers he worked as a product designer in software industry for a while. Later he became an innovation manager at a biomedical think tank in Berlin where he got interested in tissue engineering. In 2014 he founded OSPIN, at the beginning with focus on creating automated bioreator systems for tissue engineering projects. Meanwhile OSPIN's technology has developed into a modular platform for bioprocess automation with many different applications. Of course Jan is excited about cultured meat and the fascinating challenges in bioprocessing it poses.

Natalie Rubio - New Harvest Fellowship Series Jun 02, 2020

We're excited to announce the New Harvest Fellowship Series.

Established in 2004, New Harvest is the non-profit research institute building the field of cellular agriculture. We're partnering with New Harvest for a multi-part series on the Cultured Meat and Future Food Show.

We've had conversations with members of the New Harvest leadership previously on this show. Please see our episode with Executive Director Isha Datar and Research Director Dr. Kate Krueger.

On this episode, we are delighted to have Natalie Rubio, kicking off the New Harvest Fellowship Series.

Natalie is a Ph.D. student at Tufts University in the Biomedical Engineering Department. She works in Dr. David Kaplan's tissue engineering research group.

Her research is primarily focused on growing cultured meat from insect cells and developing edible scaffold systems.

Prior to graduate school, Natalie worked for New Harvest and Perfect Day Foods. Currently, she is a scientific advisor for two cellular agriculture start-up companies (Bond Pet Foods, Matrix Meats).

Liz Marshall - Meat The Future Apr 30, 2020

Alex Shirazi chats with filmmaker Liz Marshall about the upcoming documentary: Meat The Future (2020). Learn more about the film at www.meatthefuture.com

Liz Marshall is an award-winning Canadian filmmaker. Since the 1990s she has written, produced, directed, and filmed diverse international and socially conscious documentaries. Her work has been released theatrically, been broadcast globally, made available digitally, and has screened for hundreds of grassroots communities around the globe. Marshall’s visionary feature-length films explore social justice and environmental themes driven by strong characters.

Marshall’s current feature documentary Meat The Future , chronicles the birth of the “clean” “cultured” “cell-based” "cultivated" meat industry in America through the eyes of pioneer Dr. Uma Valeti. Previous titles include Midian Farm (2018), Water On The Table (2010), the HIV/AIDS trilogy for the Stephen Lewis Foundation (2007), to name a few.

Bruce Friedrich of The Good Food Institute Apr 18, 2020

Bruce Friedrich is co-founder and executive director of The Good Food Institute. With branches in the United States, India, Israel, Brazil, Europe, and Asia Pacific, GFI is accelerating the production of plant-based and cultivated meat in order to bolster the global protein supply while protecting our environment, promoting global health, and preventing food insecurity and animal cruelty. His TED talk from April 2019 has been viewed more than 2.2m times and has been translated into 23 languages.

Shannon Theobald Apr 10, 2020

Shannon is a data-driven creative-at-heart and her mission is to create a better future by changing the way we produce and consume food.

She is a Jack of All Trades that specializes in consumer-backed business strategy, data analysis, marketing, and policy in the food industry. Her endeavors center around alternative protein and Food Tech which reduces harmful climate impacts of food production.

Shannon's Podcast: Big Food Big Future

Shannon's Book: Printing Your Dinner

Gary Schefsky of New Luna Ventures Apr 06, 2020

Gary Schefsky is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of New Luna Ventures. He is also an investor, professor, educational writer and a leading proponent of sustainable impact measurement.

New Luna Ventures is a leading impact venture capital advisor and investor in the food, agriculture, energy, community enrichment, and enabling software industries. they help entrepreneurs build sustainable ventures and connect disruptive ideas with investors and partners.

Mr Schefsky’s experience in impact investing, knowledge, & add-value support resonants with food 2.0 entrepreneurs. His depth of experience with entrepreneurship, emerging market opportunities, and as an investment professional also provide New Luna Ventures with a powerful combination for success.

Tony Hunter - Futurist for food Apr 01, 2020

Tony Hunter is a Global Futurist, Speaker and Foresight Strategy consultant specializing in the Future of Food.

He uses his FutureCUBED™ methodology as a structured way of viewing the food, beverage and ag industry’s long term future in 10+ years while linking it back to current events. This enables a practical, real world approach to the task of using foresight strategy to predict the long term Future of Food.

He is a passionate believer that AgriFood Tech offers massive opportunities to solve the problems of sustainability and feeding the growing global population. Tony travels the world using his distinctive combination of scientific qualifications, business experience and detailed understanding of exponential food technologies to deliver a unique perspective on the Future of Food.

This week, we will be doing something a bit different. I've decided to leave in some of the introductory conversation that I have with guests as I explain the recording process.

Stay safe. Stay indoors. Save lives.

Kevin Cochran, CEO & Founder of Jackie Mays Grill Feb 15, 2020

Contribute to the campaign here:

https://www.ulule.com/jackie-mays-ulule-campaign/

Kevin Cochran makes his full circle return to the restaurant industry in his newest venture, Jackie Mays Burger Grill. Jackie Mays is the culmination of a career spent in the service of customers, whether in retail, e-commerce, business, or sustainability. After ten years of working up the ranks in many restaurants to becoming the first General Manager of Freebirds World Burrito, Kevin gave up the food business two decades ago for the high tech world, and worked the last ten in clean technology. In his previous role as Chief Operations Officer for an emerging energy and sustainability management company, Kevin led programs to track energy and carbon footprints for organizations like HP, Tesla, VMware, and the City of Sacramento.

Trained at top universities in the US and Europe, with an MBA and a certification in Sustainability, he currently serves as a Director on the Board of the Sustainability Management Association. A through-line in Kevin’s career has been a personal passion to combat climate change, of which you can read more on his BLOG at www.sustainabilityX.com. Coming full circle, Kevin’s current venture Jackie Mays, and its climate-friendly and cruelty-free mission, seeks to transform the fast food industry, change the world, and your diet.

Björn Öste of Good Idea Drinks and Oatly Jan 18, 2020

Alex Shirazi chats with Björn Öste about starting a food company, his career in tech, and the success of Oatly through the decades.

Björn Öste is the founder and CEO of Good Idea, Inc and co-founder of Oatly. In the last 21 years, Bjorn has spent traveling the globe building markets and supply chains.

His focus has been on the business development side of things. Identifying industry partners, investor groups, various subject matter experts across multiple fields, and markets and disciplines. He sees virtually endless opportunities in the “high tech” food industry where the incumbents have surrendered product innovation to small, focused and dedicated expert companies like the ones he represents.

He finds it exceptionally rewarding to be able to work with products on a global scale that make a real and meaningful difference in the daily lives of many individuals.

Ira van Eelen Dec 05, 2019

Alex Shirazi and Ira van Eelen sit down in Maastricht, Netherlands to discuss the historic journey of cultured meat through the last few decades.

Ira van Eelen is a Co-founder of KindEarth.Tech and RESPECT.farm

She is a designer with a demonstrated history of working in event design, healthcare ICT, marketing and the think tank industry. The legacy as the daughter of Willem van Eelen and 40 years of Clean/Cultured/Cultivated/JUST/InVitro Meat history is converted into speaking about the potential of- and understanding the urgency of this innovation, so that the audience can embrace the idea. She am proud to be able to work on two passions. Cultured meat as legacy from my father and preventive oral healthcare as gift to her son.

She is one of the organizes of Kind Earth Tech where Next year, KET events will take place in Paris, Singapore, Amsterdam, London and back in San Francisco early 2021.

Food and Artificial Intelligence with Lav Varshney Oct 04, 2019

New Speakers announced! The Cultured Meat Symposium is a conference dedicated to cell-cultured meat or cultivated meat technology. Taking place in San Francisco on November 14 and 15th, check out the speaker line up at www.CMS19.com.

Lav Varshney is an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, computer science, neuroscience, and industrial engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

He is also chief scientist of Ensaras, Inc. On leave, he is currently a principal research scientist at Salesforce Research, Palo Alto, CA, focusing on AI ethics and AI for social good.

He received the B.S. degree from Cornell University in 2004. He received the S.M., E.E., and Ph.D. degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2006, 2008, and 2010, where his theses received the E. A. Guillemin Thesis Award and the J.-A. Kong Award Honorable Mention.

He was a research staff member at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center from 2010 until 2013, where he led the design and development of the Chef Watson computational creativity system.

Dr. Varshney serves on the advisory board of the AI XPRIZE. He received the IBM Faculty Award in 2014 and was a finalist for the Bell Labs Prize in 2014 and 2016.

Ingrid Newkirk, President and Founder of PETA Sep 09, 2019

Ingrid Newkirk is the president and founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. She is the subject of the HBO documentary I Am an Animal and has written eight books about helping animals, including Making Kind Choices and The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights. Her new book AnimalKind is due out in January 2020. Her work for animal rights has made headlines around the world.

Robert Petrarca of Maxine's Heavenly Aug 31, 2019

Robert Petrarca is the co-founder and CEO of Maxine's Heavenly, a line of vegan, gluten-free, oat based cookies with about 1/2 the sugar as leading natural brands of cookies. Maxine's Heavenly cookies are mom's homemade recipe made so much better for you. Founded in 2013 and formally launched in 2016, Maxine's Heavenly has experienced triple digit growth for the last three years, gaining traction through major retailers like Whole Foods Market, Natural Grocers, INFRA/NCG, and Walmart.

Previously, Robert co-founded TTC, a nonprofit cultural arts company that created a unique revenue partnership model with CA State Parks and local food and wine purveyors in the North Bay. TTC was and continues to be a rapid growth organization that scaled revenues over 700% in the first three years.

The Cultured Meat Symposium is taking place on November 14-15 in San Francisco. Register now at www.CMS19.com

Philip Saneski of ReGrained Aug 17, 2019

Philip Saneski is the VP of Product and Commander-in-Chef of ReGrained, a mission-driven brand ingredient platform that connects urban craft breweries to sustainable food systems.

Philip’s culinary background in Michelin-Star and James Beard Award finalist kitchens was succeeded by working with food entrepreneurs' concept to commercialization at a product development consultancy, where he also led the launch of the Research Chefs Association Evolution of Food Waste product development student competition.

His unique food background, involvement with non-profit impact organizations, curiosity about ingredients historically considered “waste,” and passion for formulating delicious products at scale make him a natural fit for ReGrained.

As Commander-in-Chef, he oversees production, innovation, sourcing, culinary operations, food science and every opportunity to do a collaboration dinner popup.

Guy Crims of The Butcher Shop by Niku Steakhouse Aug 03, 2019

Guy Crims, or “Guy the Butcher,” as he’s generally known, is a veteran of the butcher business and a legend in the world of Japanese Wagyu. In 2017 alone, Crims was responsible for bringing 4.3 metric tons of Wagyu beef into the U.S.

Crims, a California native, became fascinated with the butcher business when he was 14 after reading The Jungle, Upton Sinclair’s novel depicting the American meatpacking industry in early 20th century. His first job was at a family-owned butcher shop in Pacifica. Crims followed the original owner to a butchery in San Francisco, where he continued to hone his craft.

In college, Crims studied architecture, not food—although the two passions merged when he worked on a slaughterhouse design project that advocated for the humane treatment of livestock. He continued to blend both roles as a managing partner at Pape Meat Company and most currently, as a managing partner of One Henry Adams, which includes Udon Time, Niku Steakhouse and The Butcher Shop by Niku.

In 2017, Crims was invited to tour Japan with the Japanese Wagyu Beef Committee—the only non-chef included on the tour. There, Crims met Omakase Restaurant Group co-owner Jackson Yu. Chef Yu enthusiastically introduced Crims to his business partner Kash Feng, who was in the early planning stages of a Wagyu-focused butcher shop and restaurant concept slated for a space at One Henry Adams. As plans started to coalesce, Feng tapped Crims as the master butcher for both the restaurant and butcher shop concepts.

Dr. Yuki Hanyu of IntegriCulture Jul 31, 2019

Yuki Hanyu got his Ph.D in chemistry from Oxford University in 2010.

After working as a research scientist in Tohoku University and Toshiba Research and Development Center, he founded the "Shojinmeat Project", the world’s first citizen science community for DIY open-source cell-based meat.

Based on the low-cost cell culture technology developed in Shojinmeat Project, he founded IntegriCulture Inc. in 2015 to commercialize cell-based meat.

The company develops the general-purpose large-scale cell culture system (CulNet System) to scale and commercialize cell-based products such as cosmetics, foie gras and meat, while Shojinmeat Project develops DIY cell-based meat and engage in public communications through art and doujin projects.

He aims to build a Lunar and Martian cell-cultured food production facility to support thousands of colonists there in the future, and develop technologies so that anyone can design and make cell-based meat for fun.

Mike Selden of Finless Foods Jun 14, 2019

Mike Selden is the Co-founder and CEO of Finless Foods, a cellular agriculture company developing future food technology. In this episode, we explore the differences between cultured beef and seafood products, seafood consumption in the Asia pacific region compared to the United States, and Silicon Valley deep tech.

Series Swap: Adam Yee of My Food Job Rocks and Hugh Thomas of Ugly Drinks Jun 07, 2019

This episode will feature another podcast, the My Food Job Rocks podcast!

Adam Yee is the host of the My Food Job Rocks podcast, a podcast about food science and technology. On this episode, he interviews Hugh Thomas, co-founder of Ugly Drinks. The episode title is EP. 105 – The Beauty in Branding Ugly, with Hugh Thomas, CEO and CoFounder at Ugly Drinks.

Thank you Adam and Hugh for a great discussion! You can learn more about Adam's podcast at www.myfoodjobrocks.com

Fabio Ziemssen of NX-Food May 30, 2019

Fabio and Alex chat about the next wave of future foods and the aspects of a successful product on store shelves.

Fabio Ziemssen is the Director of Food Innovation at NX-FOOD a METRO AG subsidiary responsible for concepts in the digital environment of food and food innovation.

As a blogger for the e-Food Blogs he organized meetings throughout Germany for the Food Startups scene such as German Food Startup Meetups, Next Generation Food Think Tank, FoodStartup Market, and more.

Since 2017 Fabio Ziemssen is also Co-Founder of the Coworking Space Super7000 and #FoodNext Initiative.

Dr. Vitor Santo of JUST May 24, 2019

Vitor Espirito Santo is the Director of Cellular Agriculture at JUST focused on the planning and implementation of the clean meat program in the company, from early stage cell line selection and characterization to early bioprocess optimization. He has more than 10 years of experience in the development of cell-based models and therapies (primary cells, cell lines, stem cells) for biotechnology applications

Vitor has a MSc in Biomedical Engineering and PhD degree in Tissue Engineering, Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cells, both obtained at University of Minho in Portugal.

Prior to JUST, Vitor worked briefly at Immunocore (UK) for the development of immunotherapies for cancer research. He also worked for 5 years at iBET (a private biotechnology institute) in Portugal as a Senior Scientist.

Vitor has been an invited lecturer in Master and PhD programs of several Portuguese Universities, lecturing in topics of drug delivery, biomaterial design, stem cells, and cell models for pre-clinical research, among others.

Dr. Kate Krueger of New Harvest Apr 30, 2019

Dr. Kate Krueger chats with Alex Shirazi about her background in the cellular agriculture space and her work as Research Director at New York based New Harvest.

Kate Krueger is Research Director at New Harvest where she leads new initiatives in cellular agriculture. Prior to New Harvest, Kate worked as a scientist at Perfect Day foods (formerly Muufri) a cellular agriculture startup where she contributed to Perfect Day’s cell ag protein patent. Kate holds a PhD in Cell Biology from Yale and is passionate about using tech for the betterment of society.

Dr. Tom Simmons of Stem Apr 15, 2019

Tom is Founder and CEO of Stem! He formerly held fellowships at the University of Cambridge and at the World Economic Forum and has advocated sugar reduction initiatives through Sky News and Channel 4 television appearances.

Laura D’Asaro of Chirps Apr 02, 2019

Laura D’Asaro and Alex Shirazi chat about the marketing behind getting people to “eat bugs” and how the journey to powdered cricket proteins started. Laura D’Asaro is the co-founder/CEO of Chirps, a company that works to normalize insect consumption as a sustainable source of protein. She is a Forbes 30 under 30 social entrepreneur, Shark … Continue reading "Laura D’Asaro of Chirps"

Julia Aumüller and Jens Tuider of ProVeg Mar 13, 2019

Julia Aumüller, studied sociology and specialized in sociology of food. She is working as Executive coordinator at ProVeg, working closely with the CEO, COO and International Director. She is also responsible for the organization of the New Food Conference. Jens Tuider studied philosophy and specialised in animal ethics. He is currently Chief of Staff and … Continue reading "Julia Aumüller and Jens Tuider of ProVeg"

Dr. Can Akcali of Biftek.co Mar 09, 2019

Can Akcali MD PhD, is a full professor of Cellular and Molecular Biology. He received MD from Ankara University and Ph D from University of Cincinnati, Dept.of Molecular Biology and Genetics. Currently he is a faculty member at Ankara University, School of Medicine. He is also vice president in Stem Cell Research Institute at Ankara … Continue reading "Dr. Can Akcali of Biftek.co"

Is cultured meat vegan? – Kenny Torrella – Mercy For Animals Feb 05, 2019

Kenny Torrella serves as Mercy For Animals’ director of communications. Alex Shirazi and Kenny Torella discuss the role of future food technologies, how it relates to animal welfare, and a world without animal traditional agriculture practices. He works with MFA’s team of writers and editors and has garnered media coverage for farmed animals in mainstream … Continue reading "Is cultured meat vegan? – Kenny Torrella – Mercy For Animals"

Tom Ben Arye – Technion – Israel Institute of Technology Jan 06, 2019

Tom is an Israeli Ph.D candidate developing clean meat in the Levenberg lab of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. He finished his B.Sc in molecular biochemistry in the Technion with great honors and his M.Sc in the Levenberg lab. During his Ph.D, he initiated a clean meat project from which the start up … Continue reading "Tom Ben Arye – Technion – Israel Institute of Technology"

Sara M. Oliveira of INL Dec 17, 2018

Sara Oliveira is a biomedical engineer specialized in tissue engineering. Two years after her PhD, she decided to dive in to a new adventure. Sara holds a PhD in Bioengineering Systems from the MIT Portugal Program at the University of Minho and she has strong background in tissue engineering and biomaterials, such as multiscale scaffolds … Continue reading "Sara M. Oliveira of INL"

Keith Zakheim of Antenna Group Nov 27, 2018

As chief executive officer, Keith Zakheim ensures Antenna lives and breathes the firm’s core values — strong ethics that instill trust and impart transparency; respectful, positive, collaborative, mutually beneficial relationships among client-partners, colleagues and those with whom we conduct business; continual education for the highest standards; empowering entrepreneurial passion and a commitment to public service … Continue reading "Keith Zakheim of Antenna Group"

Sandhya Sriram of Shiok Meats Oct 24, 2018

Dr. Sandhya Sriram has extensive experience in the biotechnology space. We discuss her interest in business and the path that led to the cell-based meat startup, Shiok Meats. Learn how the Asia-Pacific region can greatly benefit from cell-based meat technologies and why it’s so important. The Cultured Meat Symposium is taking place on November 1st … Continue reading "Sandhya Sriram of Shiok Meats"

Thomas King of Food Frontier Oct 14, 2018

Thomas King discusses how he started out as an environmental advocate at an early age. This led his work to focus on alternatives to animal agriculture, the cause of many of the problems he was tackling. He founded Food Frontier to focus on ways to bring plant based and cell-based meats to the Asia Pacific. … Continue reading "Thomas King of Food Frontier"

Ali Bouzari of Pilot R&D and Render Foods Oct 10, 2018

In this episode, Alex Shirazi and Ali Bouzari talk about future food technologies and developing food that creates an experience. We chat about the potential of cell-based meat and whether we should dare to explore creations such as “designer meats”. The Cultured Meat Symposium is taking place in San Francisco on November 1st. Learn more … Continue reading "Ali Bouzari of Pilot R&D and Render Foods"

Carrie Kuball of EnviroFlight Oct 07, 2018

Carrie Kuball and Alex Shirazi chat about the future of food technology as it relates to insect proteins and animal feed. Carrie discusses the Black Soldier Fly and the benefits of sustainably farming insects as a protein source for animal feed. CMS18 is taking place on November 1st in San Francisco. Use code CMSPODCAST for … Continue reading "Carrie Kuball of EnviroFlight"

David Benzaquen of Ocean Hugger Foods and PlantBased Solutions Sep 30, 2018

Alex Shirazi and David Benzaquen talk about the increasing rise of popularity for plant based alternatives and food technology startups. David describes the market for new types of foods and how plant based products play a huge role in future food technology. Join us in San Francisco on November 1st at the Cultured Meat Symposium … Continue reading "David Benzaquen of Ocean Hugger Foods and PlantBased Solutions"

Ahmed Khan of CellAgri – Clean Meat Founders Series Sep 19, 2018

We wrap up the Clean Meat Founders Series with Ahmed Khan. Alex and Ahmed discuss the Cellular Agriculture industry, the products that are currently available, and what it takes to be a key player in the space. Ahmed Khan is the founder and editor of CellAgri. A news and media platform that aims to be … Continue reading "Ahmed Khan of CellAgri – Clean Meat Founders Series"

Darren Henry of Seafuture Sustainable Biotech – Clean Meat Founders Series Sep 12, 2018

Learn about the basics of aquaculture and how cell-based fish could change they way we consume seafood. Dr. Darren Henry discusses his company and describes his vision for the path of cell-based meat coming to market. Dr. Darren Henry is the founder of Seafuture Sustainable Biotech, a early stage cellular agriculture company developing the technology … Continue reading "Darren Henry of Seafuture Sustainable Biotech – Clean Meat Founders Series"

Brian Spears of New Age Meats - Clean Meat Founders Series Sep 06, 2018

Brian Spears and Alex Shirazi sit down at the IndieBio HQ in San Francisco to discuss New Age Meats. This episode was recorded live August 5, 2018. Brian Spears is the cofounder and CEO of New Age Meats. After graduating as a chemical engineer, he worked for four years with National Instruments in Austin, TX … Continue reading "Brian Spears of New Age Meats"

Didier Toubia of Aleph Farms - Clean Meat Founders Series Aug 30, 2018

I had the pleasure of speaking with Didier Toubia of Aleph Farms. We discussed the future of clean meat as it relates to antibiotics, coming to market, and the co-existing of animal farmers and cultured meat. Didier Toubia is a Biologist and Food Engineer by education. Aleph Farms is part of the Cellular Agriculture revolution- … Continue reading "Didier Toubia of Aleph Farms"

Stephanie Wallis and Benjamina Bollag of HigherSteaks Aug 15, 2018

Alex talks clean meat with Stephanie Wallis and Benjamina Bollag of HigherSteaks. Based in London, HigherSteaks is creating cultured meat starting with minced products and then moving on to more complex structures. Listen in as we discuss the state of the industry and the exciting journey ahead. Benjamina has a Masters in chemical engineering from … Continue reading "Stephanie Wallis and Benjamina Bollag of HigherSteaks"

Ron Shigeta of Wild Earth – Clean Meat Founders Series Jul 27, 2018

Ron Shigeta PhD is a a co-founder of IndieBio, the world’s premiere accelerator for biotechnology. Ron helped establish a portfolio of 68 innovative consumer and startup biotech companies embraced by tech and industrial investors alike. Food investments include Memphis Meats, Clara Foods, GelTor, New Wave Foods, The Not Company, MiraculeX, and Willow Cup. Currently, Ron … Continue reading "Ron Shigeta of Wild Earth – Clean Meat Founders Series"

Robert Yaman of Kiran – Clean Meat Founders Series Jul 20, 2018

Robert Yaman is the Co founder of Kiran, a clean meat company based in San Francisco. Robert and I chat about the path to creating a clean meat company, the resources available in the industry for early stage founders, and the growth and future of clean meat companies. This episode is part of the Cultured … Continue reading "Robert Yaman of Kiran – Clean Meat Founders Series"

Peter Verstrate of Mosa Meat – Clean Meat Founders Series Jul 14, 2018

Peter Verstrate is the CEO of Mosa Meat, the company known for producing the first Cultured Meat hamburger in 2013. Peter and I chat about the developments in the cellular agriculture industry, the startups in the space, and the exciting direction of future food technology. This episode is part of the Cultured Meat and Future … Continue reading "Peter Verstrate of Mosa Meat – Clean Meat Founders Series"

Episode 08: Erin Kim Jul 07, 2018

I chat with Erin Kim of New Harvest about a realistic approach to cultured meat. We discuss the early days of New Harvest, the transformation of the industry, and have some straight talk about what we are calling the future of meat. Bonus: Cricket Burgers!

Episode 07: David Welch Jun 28, 2018

Clean Meat could change the way we produce food in the future. I had a great discussion Dr. David Welch covering topics related to Clean Meat research, types of stem cells used for cellular agriculture, FBS and clean serums, and ultra running!

Episode 06: Rosie Bosworth Jun 21, 2018

Dr. Rosie Bosworth is making change in the global food system. Alex and Rosie discuss the state of clean meat, vertical farming, and the startups that are making an impact.

Episode 05: Isha Datar May 27, 2018

Cultured Meat or Clean Meat is changing the world in many different ways. Isha Datar of New Harvest talks about the technology behind cellular agriculture and the importance of researching this technology for the future of the global food system.

Episode 04: Lisa Feria May 02, 2018

Cultured Meat or Clean Meat is changing the world in many different ways. Lisa Feria from Stray Dog Capital discusses the cultured meat and plant based meat startup landscape and the opportunities that are available within the space.

Episode 03: Paul Shapiro Apr 08, 2018

Cultured Meat or Clean Meat is changing the world in many different ways. Paul Shapiro is the author of “Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World”. Paul shares his experience eating different types of clean meat and discusses the companies that are making an impact in the industry.

Episode 02: Daan Luining Mar 08, 2018

Cultured Meat or Clean Meat is changing the world in many different ways. Daan Luining discusses the role of Cultured Meat and how it’s made, when we might be seeing it on store shelves, and the next generation of space food.

Episode 01: Brad Barbera Mar 04, 2018

Cultured Meat or Clean Meat is changing the world in many different ways. Brad Barbera, the Director of Innovation at the Good Food Institute (GFI.org), discusses how the clean meat revolution can change the world in terms of health, the environment, animal welfare, and feeding the global population.

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