Future of Foods Interviews - Alt Proteins, Cell Agriculture, an End to Factory Farming.

What happens when the daughter of the man who first imagined cultivated meat decides to bring that vision back to the farm? In this conversation, Ira van Eelen, co-founder of RespectFarms and daughter of cultivated meat pioneer Willem van Eelen, shares the story behind one of the most ambitious projects in food innovation today: the world’s first cultivated meat farm. Built in collaboration with t...

On this episode of Future of Foods Interviews , I speak to Thomas Van Duijn , from Cellulaire Agricultuur Nederland , about how the Netherlands is building one of the most ambitious cellular agriculture ecosystems in the world. Backed by €60 million from the Dutch National Growth Fund , this national programme brings together researchers, startups, and industry leaders to accelerate the developmen...

In this Future of Foods interview, Reed McCord, founder of First Bite, reflects on the realities of scaling food brands in the complex foodservice ecosystem. McCord explains how First Bite was built to solve a critical gap he experienced at Impossible Foods—a lack of visibility into customers and purchasing behavior once products move through distributors. Today, First Bite provides manufacturers...

Jasmijn de Boo is Global CEO of ProVeg International. Drawing on more than two decades at the forefront of animal advocacy and food system transformation, she shares how her career has evolved into a pragmatic, globally focused mission to shift diets at scale. From navigating criticism of plant-based claims to unpacking the recent slowdown in alternative protein sales, de Boo brings clarity, reali...

In this episode of Future of Foods Interviews , Alex discovers how cultivated pork fat could transform the future of sausages. Dr. Bianca Lê , is Head of Special Projects and External Affairs at Mission Barns. Mission Barns is developing cultivated pork fat grown directly from animal cells , designed to be combined with plant proteins to recreate the flavour, aroma, and cooking performance of conv...

Giuseppe Scionti, the bioengineer and founder of Novameat, disusses with Future of Foods Interviews the future of meat - and why the next wave may be hybrid. Trained in tissue engineering, Scionti has developed patented technology that restructures plant proteins to recreate the fibrous texture of real meat, enabling products like whole-cut steaks and shredded beef made from ingredients such as pe...

Arjen van der Wijk is the CEO of Cibus Nexum, a company that operates in one of the most challenging parts of the food industry: scaling. It’s the phase after the excitement of product development, when a brand has traction and ambition — but now needs to produce consistently, at volume, without losing quality or control. Through Cibus Nexum, Arjen works with both fast-growing food startups and es...

In this episode of Future of Foods , Glenn Hurowitz, Founder and CEO of Mighty Earth, explains how strategic advocacy is reshaping global agriculture. From deforestation linked to soy and beef supply chains to methane emissions and industrial livestock production, Mighty Earth has built a reputation for turning investigative research into high-impact corporate pressure campaigns. Glenn explains ho...

In this episode of Future of Foods , we dive into one of the most complex—and often misunderstood—parts of food innovation: the U.S. regulatory system. Our guest, Gregory Jaffe, brings clarity to the question every novel food founder eventually asks: How do I actually get this approved? From cultivated meat and precision fermentation to entirely new food categories, innovation is moving fast. Regu...

Future of Foods Interviews' Alex speaks with Lou Cooperhouse , Founder, President, and CEO of BlueNalu , to explore one of the most ambitious ideas in food today: cultivated bluefin tuna. Bluefin tuna is prized for taste and nutrition, yet tied to overfishing, supply volatility, and concerns about mercury and other contaminants common in large, predatory fish. BlueNalu’s approach—growing real seaf...

In this episode of Future of Foods Interviews, Alex is joined by Bruce Friedrich, founder and president of the Good Food Institute (GFI) an organization driving the global transition to a more sustainable, secure, and just food system through alternative proteins. Bruce has long been one of the world’s most compelling voices for rethinking how we produce meat, dairy, and seafood. We discuss the pr...

In this wide-ranging Future of Foods interview, Jim Mellon , co-founder of Agronomics , offers a characteristically candid take on where food, capital, and climate are really headed. Mellon is bullish on precision fermentation , far less convinced by today’s plant-based category, and unapologetically ambitious about what he sees as category-defining bets. He points to Clean Food Group in Liverpool...

In this episode of Future of Foods Interviews , Alex Crisp speaks with Adam Bergman , Managing Director at EcoTech Capital , about the realities of investing in alternative proteins and novel foods in today’s tougher market. Adam shares an investor’s perspective on where the sector stands after years of hype and correction, explaining why capital has become more selective and what that means for f...

In this episode of Future of Foods – Interviews , I speak with Paul Shapiro about one of the most pragmatic paths toward reducing the environmental impact of meat: biomass fungi . Rather than attempting to replace meat outright, Shapiro explains how fungal biomass, grown through fermentation, can supplement conventional meat in ways that dramatically cut cost, emissions, and resource use while pre...

Alex Crisp talks to Alice Millbank , to explore one of the most intriguing ideas in cultivated meat: using mycelium —the fibrous root network of fungi as a natural scaffold for growing meat. One of the biggest challenges in cultivated meat isn’t growing cells, but giving them structure . Muscle cells need something to attach to, align along, and mature on in order to become food with real texture....

Roman Kriz , is CEO of Bene Meat Technologies , an ambitious and perhaps one of the most unconventional players in the cultivated-meat landscape. Bene Meat recently captured attention by using hamster-derived cell lines to produce affordable, scalable cultivated meat for pets - a strategy Roman says is rooted in scientific pragmatism, regulatory clarity, and a relentless focus on cost reduction. R...

Future of Foods Interviews speaks to Nusa Urbancic, CEO of the Changing  Markets  Foundation, where she leads investigations exposing how the meat and dairy industries deploy misleading science, aggressive lobbying and mass-online disinformation campaigns to delay action on climate, health and sustainable food systems. Her team’s landmark report, The New Merchants of Doubt , analysed 22 of the lar...

In this episode of Future of Foods Interviews , host Alex Crisp speaks with Guilhem Jarmin , Category & Portfolio Solutions Director Meat & Dairy Alternatives at Cargill , about the company’s growing role in alternative proteins and the transformation of global food systems. Guilhem shares how one of the world’s largest agribusinesses is investing in plant-based and cultivated protein inno...

In this episode of Future of Foods Interviews , Alex speaks to Dr. Sonja Billerbeck , synthetic biologist and researcher at Imperial College London , whose groundbreaking work is redefining how we produce food at the cellular level. Sonja’s research explores cell cultivation and gas-based precision fermentation , using hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria to convert carbon dioxide into nutritious biomass —...

In this episode of Future of Foods Interviews , Alex speaks to Dr. Sonja Billerbeck , synthetic biologist and researcher at Imperial College London , whose groundbreaking work is redefining how we produce food at the cellular level. Sonja’s research explores cell cultivation and gas-based precision fermentation , using hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria to convert carbon dioxide into nutritious biomass -...

In this episode of Future of Foods Interviews , Alex talks to Caroline Cotto , co-founder of NECTAR , the world’s first sensory intelligence platform for alternative proteins. NECTAR is reshaping how the industry measures success — not by novelty or nutrition alone, but by what truly wins over consumers: taste . Caroline shares insights from NECTAR’s latest Taste of the Industry 2025 report, which...

The Danish government committed one billion kroner to support the development of plant-based foods, a landmark decision that positioned sustainability and innovation at the core of its agricultural future. While the country has long been celebrated for pioneering wind power and building one of the most advanced organic sectors in the world, the push towards plant-based agriculture signals recognit...

In this episode of Future of Foods Interviews , the podcast where we explore the science, policy, and people shaping the future of food, I speak to two leading voices in the field: Dr. Estere Sienkmane and Dr. Alice Esperanza . Together, they give me a crash course in the nuts and bolts of cellular agriculture - how it all works. For those new to the concept, cellular agriculture is the production...

Alex Crisp, host of Future of Foods Interviews, speaks to Madre Brava's CEO, Vicky Bond. Vicky, who is a former vet, thinks a transition to plant based proteins will happen within a decade. Madre Brava is spearheading this, by urging supermarkets and global food corporations to rebalance their offerings toward plant-based proteins. Their research shows that if six major retailers (including Tesco,...

In this episode of Future of Foods Interviews , Alex speaks to Sajeev Mohankumar from FAIRR (Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return) to explore the critical intersections of climate, finance, and the future of food. Sajeev brings deep insight into how large investors are reshaping the global food system by supporting innovations like cultivated meat , regenerative agriculture , and nature-based...