Episode 1 – Josh Tetrick
In the first episode of Green Queen in Conversation: Cultivated Meat Pioneers, Sonalie Figueiras talks to Josh Tetrick, the founder and CEO of Eat Just Inc and GOOD Meat, both based in California. Tetrick set himself a goal to be the first cultivated meat company in the world to gain commercial approval, and achieved it, in a very short amount of time, which changed the game for the entire industry. He talks about being the first cultivated meat company in the world to gain commercial approval and how it felt to make history, why he went for cultivated chicken when he was already doing really well at plant-based eggs, why he chose to debut in Asia and whether the industry has progressed enough.
Episode 2 – Didier Toubier
In the second episode of Green Queen in Conversation: Cultivated Meat Pioneers, Sonalie Figueiras talks to Didier Toubia, co-founder and CEO of Aleph Farms, a cultivated meat company based in Israel. Didier cuts a very unique figure in the space- the conversation was a real eye-opener about his background and how he started working with food and development agencies in Africa and how that informed his worldview about food systems, equity and food Justice, and how in turn that led to starting a cultivated meat company specialized in beef steak, which he believes will help right the wrongs inherent in our food systems.
Episode 3 – Sandhya Sriram
In the third episode of Green Queen in Conversation: Cultivated Meat Pioneers, Sonalie Figueiras talks to Dr. Sandhya Sriram, co-founder and CEO of Singapore-based cultivated seafood company Shiok Meats. Sriram is a pioneer in the space who helped put Singapore on the cultivated meat map and a too-rare female voice of change. She talks about the challenges of scaling cultivated crustacean lines, why we need alternatives to serve the ever-growing demand for shrimps, crabs and lobster amidst the overfishing crisis and the depletion of marine environments and the obstacles she has faced so far on her journey. This episode was recorded as part of a webinar series by the City University of Hong Kong in partnership with Green Queen Media.
Episode 4 – George Peppou
In the fourth episode of Green Queen in Conversation: Cultivated Meat Pioneers, Sonalie Figueiras talks to George Peppou, the CEO of Australian startup Vow. Peppou is one of the most compelling leaders in the cultivated meat space today because his vision for the future of food is so unique. He talks about why Vow is choosing to cultivate exotic animals, how his team approaches branding and marketing (including that mammoth meatball unveil), why he’s dedicated his life to this industry and whether cultivated meat will be a mass product in the coming decades.
Episode 5 – Dr. Mark Post
In the fifth episode of Green Queen in Conversation: Cultivated Meat Pioneers, Sonalie Figueiras talks to arguably the original pioneer of cultivated meat himself, Dr. Mark Post, Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of Mosa Meat, based in the Netherlands. This interview was recorded on the 10th year anniversary of when Dr. Post and his team presented the first-ever cultivated meat beef burger to the world, an event that set the course for the industry and truly changed the future of food and what was deemed possible in terms of how we produce meat. Dr Post remains one of the key voices for the future of the industry and in this conversation, he shares a decade’s worth of insights, learnings and inspiration.
Episode 6 – Uma Valeti
In the sixth and final episode of Green Queen in Conversation – Cultivated Meat Pioneers, Sonalie Figueiras talks to Dr. Uma Valetti, founder & CEO of Upside Foods, based in California. During the recordings for this show, the US government granted the first regulatory approval for cultivated meat to be sold in the country to just 2 companies, one of which was Upside. In this very personal interview, Dr. Valeti talks about starting the first cultivated meat company in the world, his 7-year journey to achieving the regulatory milestone, how he celebrated, and how it felt to watch the first restaurant customer take a bite of the no-slaughter chicken created by him and his team.