In episode 88 of the Disruptors for GOOD podcast, I speak with Paul Shapiro, CEO of The Better Meat Co, on the future of food sustainability through technology and cellular agriculture.
Paul Shapiro is the author of the national bestseller Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World (published by Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books in 2018). He’s also the CEO of The Better Meat Co., a four-time TEDx speaker, the host of the Business for Good Podcast, and a long-time leader in food sustainability.
He’s been interviewed by hundreds of news outlets from CNN to StarTalk Radio with Neil deGrasse Tyson as an authority on food and agriculture sustainability. He’s also published hundreds of articles in publications ranging from daily newspapers like the Washington Post to pop-sci publications like Scientific American to magazines like FORTUNE to academic journals.
Demand for meat is going up, both in the U.S. and globally, posing strains on our ability to feed the planet sustainably. As producing animal protein requires so many more resources than plant protein, blending plants into the meat most consumers enjoy is a great way to reduce the meat products’ footprint.
At the same time, most Americans say they plan to maintain or increase their meat consumption in the next year. And even under the most boldest predictions, by 2029, animal meat will still comprise 90 percent of the meat market.
That’s where blending comes in as a key supplemental strategy to improve food sustainability and public health. Recent consumer research by the meat and grocery industry suggests interest in meat products enhanced with plant protein is on the rise.
Just as we need clean energy to compete with fossil fuels, clean meat is poised to become a competitor of factory farms. Clean meat isn’t an alternative to meat; it’s real, actual meat grown (or brewed!) from animal cells, as well as other clean animal products that ditch animal cells altogether and are simply built from the molecule up.
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