Alex and guests discuss the food (R)evolution, cellular agriculture, novel foods, and an end to factory farming.
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Jeff Tripician is a seasoned leader in the meat industry, now driving innovation as CEO of Meatable, a company making cultivated meat in the Netherlands. With decades of experience in traditional meat production and sustainable agriculture, Tripician understands both the opportunities and challenges facing the $2 trillion global meat industry and the opportunities for cultivated meat to take the weight off. Climate change has placed an urgent spotlight on food production, with conventional meat responsible for nearly 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. As the world’s population grows, demand for meat is expected to rise by 70% by 2050, yet our current system is unsustainable. Tripician sees cultivated meat—real meat grown from animal cells without raising or slaughtering livestock—as the most viable solution. “I think cultivated meat is the only solution on the table,” he says, emphasizing that reducing emissions while meeting global demand requires a fundamental shift. Before joining Meatable, Tripician built a legacy in sustainable and premium meat production, leading brands like Perdue’s Niman Ranch to prominence. His deep understanding of consumer preferences, supply chains, and industry economics makes him a key advocate for cultivated meat as a way to future-proof the protein industry. Under his leadership, Meatable is developing pork and beef products with the same taste and texture as traditional meat, but with a fraction of the environmental footprint. As governments and companies seek climate-friendly food solutions, Tripician’s expertise and Meatable’s technology could be instrumental in transforming how the world produces and consumes meat.
Daisy Lab is a New Zealand-based food tech startup making animal-free dairy proteins through precision fermentation. Founded in 2021, the company produces whey and casein without cows, tackling the environmental impact of traditional dairy farming. Cofounder and CEO Irina Miller talks to Future of Foods Interviews. Daisy Lab has made good progress secured NZD $1.5 million in 2023 seed funding to scale microbial whey protein production. By early 2024, the company successfully produced whey proteins in 10-liter fermenters, moving toward commercial viability. A major breakthrough came in mid-2024 when New Zealand's Environmental Protection Authority approved a 500-fold production scale-up, paving the way for a 1,000-liter pilot plant. Daisy Lab’s precision fermentation uses genetically modified yeast to produce dairy-identical proteins, offering a sustainable alternative with up to 96% lower carbon emissions and 92% less land use than conventional dairy. Listen now to find out more. LIke, comment, and share.
In this episode of Future of Foods Interviews, I talk to Helder Cruz, Chief Scientific Officer of Meatly, a company at the forefront of the cultivated pet food revolution. Meatly is making history by producing cultivated chicken pet food with zero animal involvement, offering a completely slaughter-free, ethical, and sustainable alternative to traditional meat-based pet food. It’s on sale now in the UK. Meatly is scaling up production and expects to reach price parity with conventional chicken within the next 12 months—a milestone that could transform the cultivated meat industry. Their innovative approach doesn’t just promise to reduce the environmental impact of meat production but also ensures a safer, cleaner product free from antibiotics and factory farming concerns. Helder Cruz has been a pioneer in making cultivated meat a reality, working at the cutting edge of biotechnology to turn a once-futuristic idea into an accessible, real-world product. In this conversation, we explore the science behind Meatly’s cultivated chicken, the challenges of scaling up, and what the future holds for lab-grown pet food.
Dominik Grabinski is CEO and Founder of AI Bobby, a Paris-based startup using generative AI to revolutionize alternative proteins through precision fermentation techniques. AI Bobby is tackling some of the biggest challenges in food innovation—enhancing functionality, accelerating development, and reducing costs—all while driving sustainability in the industry. How is AI is shaping the future of food and what does this means for the alternative protein landscape? Dominik thinks AI will make our dreams come true but first we must get used to sharing data.
In this episode of Future of Foods, Alex talks to Andy Shovel, the co-founder of THIS, the plant-based brand that aims to make meat alternatives so realistic you need reminding that it's not the real thing. The 'THIS isn't...' range were responsible for making plant based foods more mainstream. But Andy’s not just shaking up the food industry—he’s now turning his attention to something weirder. His latest venture, A Bit Weird, takes a bold look at the bizarre contradictions in how we treat animals. From gassing pigs while cuddling dogs to culling male chicks by the billions, Andy’s mission is to make us rethink what we consider normal.