Podcast: Future Food

"It's not the demand we need to change, its the supply".  Words spoken by Dr Bianca Le on the Future Food Podcast of July 16, 2021. Dr. Le was talking about meat, and how the environment can be supported, and animals' lives saved, if instead of investing in movements designed to stop people from eating meat, instead we invest in alternative sources of 'meat without the animal'.  I had never thought about the issue in that way, but Dr. Le certainly has. She studied at the University of Monash, Australia and received her bachelor's and PhD there. She became aware of the Effective Altruism movement, a 'philosophy and community focused on maximizing the good you can do through your career, projects, and donations'. She finished her degree just as the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world, and credits that event with her unexpected career path, founding Cell Ag Australia. Cell Ag Australia is an organization working to promote cellular agriculture in Australia. Its efforts are concentrated around three pillars:

1. Building a talent pipeline;

2. Brining groups together, and connecting communities (zoom has really helped with that); and

3. Promoting public awareness of cellular agriculture.

Although Dr. Le had anticipated a more traditional route in the sciences, working in a lab and performing experiments, she thinks her current role as Chair of Cell Ag Australia, serving as a science communicator and facilitator, can effect much broader change in the field. Australia is the second largest global exporter of beef and supplies much of the Asian Pacific. She believes that with the right product, those relationships can be leveraged into a market for cellular agriculture as well. I think that, after listening to her podcast, you will agree!