Eat For The Planet with Nil Zacharias

Latest Episodes:

#149 - Plantega: The Story So Far Oct 12, 2021

Show notes

Plantega is on mission to make plant-based food more accessible and equitable. We partner with innovative brands and provide a turnkey solution that empowers corner stores in urban hubs like New York City to earn revenue selling delicious and affordable plant-based foods.

This interview first appeared on the This or Something Better Podcast.

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#148 - Imperfect Foods: Reimagining Grocery Delivery and Tackling Food Waste Oct 10, 2021

Show notes

Madeline Rotman is the Head of Sustainability for Imperfect Foods where she focuses on reducing waste across the company’s operational practices and the food supply system at large.

Imperfect Foods is reimagining grocery delivery and on a mission to eliminate food waste and build a kinder, less wasteful world. They offer thoughtful eaters sustainable, affordable groceries that make the weekly chore of shopping an effortless and delightful experience. With scheduled weekly deliveries they help their customers save time, money, and the planet.

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#147 - Breakthroughs, Adaptations, and the Future of Food Sep 03, 2021

Show notes

On this episode I share a new model I have been exploring that tries to make sense of current debates and approaches to fixing our food system and how to spot opportunities for growth.

Episode Transcript: https://eftp.co/news/2021/4/1/breakthroughs-adaptations

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#146 - Josh Balk: Can an Animal Protection Lens Create an Equitable and Sustainable Food System? Aug 23, 2021

Show notes

Josh Balk is the vice president of farm animal protection for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). In addition, he is a co-founder of Eat Just, the food technology company that produces the Just Egg and sold the world’s first ever no-kill meat in Singapore.

Topics covered on this podcast

The state of the farm animal protection movement and its intersection with larger food system issues.
Whether the movement to improve the lives of farmed animals strategically compliments or is in conflict with efforts to transform the food system and make it more equitable and sustainable.
How the plant-based foods movement has been influenced and impacted by the the work of the farm animal protection movement and how to strategically build both movements to help achieve the goal of ending factory farming.
The failings of the environmental movement as it relates to addressing the devastating impact of industrial animal agriculture and its contribution to the climate crisis.
Individual responsibility vs. corporate responsibility, the future of factory farming, the impact of big meat companies shifting to plant-proteins, problem solving in the midst of a crisis, taking risks, success and failure, evolving our beliefs and perspectives, and the most pragmatic and effective ways to change the food system.

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#145 - Tyler Mayoras: Crop Diversity and the Future of Plant-Based Food Aug 16, 2021

Show notes

Tyler Mayoras is the Cofounder and CEO of Cool Beans. Tyler has spent more than 20 years in private equity investing and consulting, focused on sustainable food and agriculture. After adopting a plant-based lifestyle and seeing the incredible health benefits, he wanted to continue helping to create a sustainable future of food and worked with partners to create the 100% plant-based taste adventure that is Cool Beans.

Topics covered on this episode:

What is Cool Beans and why Tyler decided to focus on building a food company with beans at its core.
The challenge of building a new category based on the philosophy of using simple ingredients with minimal processing and with no oil and sugar added.
Why taste matters and how Tyler and his team formulated the products to be packed with flavor, without compromising on their efforts to stay minimally processed.
Shifting the mainstream food media narrative from biotech to beans.
The problem with monocultures and why we need more crop diversity in our food system.
Why soil health matters for our health and the environment.
Transforming the conventional American food culture of convenience and burgers to include beans.
Are alternatives proteins just the first wave of plant-based products?
Why Tyler believes healthy, whole plant-food based products is where the market is heading.

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#144 - Isha Datar: A New Narrative for Cellular Agriculture Aug 09, 2021

Show notes

Isha Datar is Executive Director of New Harvest, a nonprofit research institute that funds open, public cultured meat research.

Topics covered on this podcast

What is New Harvest and how Isha got started in the field of cellular agriculture.
The basics of growing food from cells and the interdisciplinary nature of this new scientific field.
Safety concerns around cell-cultured meat and how they are being addressed.
Should we fear the technology of creating meat from cells?
The current state of of the technology and the industry, including progress made so far, as well as current infrastructure gaps.
Importance of establishing systems of transparency and accountability, standards and norms, shared facilities, and training in this new field.
Potential paths to scale for cell-cultured meat (scientifically and as an industry).
Private vs. Public R&D in this field and why it matters.
Lessons cellular agriculture can learn from the history of GMOs and Monsanto.
Why Isha is optimistic about the future of this technology and its potential to create a re-diversified food system.

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#143 - Lasse Bruun: The Complex Global Effort to Tackle Big Meat’s Devastating Impact Aug 01, 2021

Show notes

Lasse Bruun is an advocacy expert in climate, sustainable agriculture and food systems. He leads 50by40, a collective impact organization working towards a fair, healthy and compassionate food system. He has led high-level international dialogues and campaigns in more than 20 countries, the EU Parliament, FAO, UNFCCC and International Whaling Commission.

Topics covered on this episode:

The role of Governments and regulations globally.
Pros and cons of engaging with big meat companies to bring about the change we need.
How all stakeholders, from Corporations to Governments to every day voters can play a role.
Insights from the ongoing UN Food Systems Summit.
Is industrial livestock production getting the spotlight it deserves in the mainstream narrative around climate change and climate action?
Why it’s important for all factions in the food movement to stay committed to working together.

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#142 - Bruce Friedrich: From Alternative Proteins to Alternative Food Systems Jun 10, 2021

Show notes

Bruce Friedrich is founder and president of the Good Food Institute, an international nonprofit that is reimagining meat production. With more than 100 team members across GFI's U.S. team and five affiliate offices, GFI is building a world where alternative proteins are the default choice.

Questions explored on this episode:

What problem(s) connected to the food system is the Good Food Institute trying to solve?
What are the causes of the problems?
Who is responsible/who bears the responsibility?
What are the solutions?
How can technological solutions tackle the problem with industrial animal agriculture without addressing those responsible (a handful of big meat and dairy companies)?
What’s the evidence that alternative proteins are displacing animal proteins? Is it too early to know?
Can alternative proteins have a positive benefit even if nothing changes with corporate consolidation and control over the food system?
Can the movement for alternative proteins coexist with parallel efforts in the good food movement focused on food sovereignty and food justice?
How can we use policy effectively to pave the way for an alternative food system?
What is the potential future of plant based and cell-cultivated meats and what would a just transformation of the current system look like?

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#141 - Michele Simon: Addressing Structural Problems, not Symptoms of an Unjust and Unsustainable Food System May 26, 2021

Show notes

Michele Simon is a public health attorney, food policy expert, author, and thought leader in the plant-based foods industry.

Questions explored on this episode:

Can market-based solutions fix the problems with the food system?
What can we learn from trends in the natural and organic foods industry?
Are plant-based foods displacing animal-based foods?
What's the impact of acquisitions and consolidation in the plant-based foods industry?
Are private label plant-based brands good for the industry?
What are the strategic limitations of current approaches to ending factory farming?
How do we fix the structural problems with the food system?

Show Page: https://eftp.co/michele-simon-2021

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#140 - Gene Baur: Industrial Food, Alternative Proteins, and the Dream of Something Better May 12, 2021

Show notes

Gene Baur is an author, activist and the President and Co-founder of Farm Sanctuary.

Questions explored on this episode. Should we minimize harm within the dominant industrial food model or focus efforts to develop a decentralized, local/regional, community-oriented food system? Can plant-based foods truly be a solution to the problems with our current system, or will they get swept up by a model that thrives on extraction, exploitation, oppression, and appropriation of land? Is big meat getting involved in the plant-based space good or bad?

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