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

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 as Agronomics’ most successful investment to date, predicting fermentation-derived oils could “own the palm oil—and even olive oil—markets within a decade,” delivering deforestation-free fats with lower saturated fat and no environmental trade-off, at price parity.We discuss Liberation Labs, why the Middle East will be a major growth engine for protein, and the strategic case for licensing IP over building pilot plants. Mellon is emphatic about cultivated meat—citing BlueNalu—and the health dangers attached to conventional seafood. He also reflects frankly on portfolio wins and losses, including Meatable, investment geography, Agronomics’ share price, and why he says every pound he makes goes back into improving animal welfare.Related episodes: Meatly, Liberation Labs, FAIRR, Meatable (with Helder).

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 preserving the sensory experience consumers expect. Drawing on his work at The Better Meat Company, he describes how mycelium, the fast-growing, protein-rich root structure of fungi, can be produced at industrial scale using existing fermentation infrastructure.A key insight from the conversation is that hybridization, not substitution, may be the fastest route to impact. By blending fungal biomass into meat products, producers can reduce reliance on animal protein without asking consumers to change behavior, taste preferences, or cooking habits. Shapiro argues that this approach avoids many of the bottlenecks facing fully plant-based or cultivated meat alternatives, particularly around cost, scale, and manufacturing complexity.The discussion also cuts through common misconceptions about fermentation-based foods. Shapiro emphasizes that biomass fungi are minimally processed, nutritionally dense, and well suited to large-scale production—making them a practical tool rather than a speculative technology. Ultimately, the episode frames biomass fungi not as a futuristic novelty, but as a quietly powerful lever for near-term change in the global food system.

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.Roman breaks down why these specific cells are uniquely suited for industrial-scale production, how the company has navigated early EU regulatory pathways, and why Bene Meat is confident it will be selling cultivated meat in the European Union as early as next year.Bene Meat plans to conduct human tastings in 2026, (not #hamster lines) a bold move that signals confidence not only in safety and functionality, but in the sensory potential of their product.Roman offers transparent and frank look at the scientific decisions, business models, and unexpected breakthroughs that are bringing cultivated meat closer to everyday consumers.Please like and subscribe - you can support the podcast here https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=ABYF9L6UY3A5Y

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 innovation, partnering with startups, and rethinking supply chains to reduce environmental impact. Together, they explore what it takes for major corporations to drive a fair and scalable food transition and why collaboration between industry, science, and policy is essential for the future of sustainable protein.

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 blind-tested over 120 plant-based products with thousands of everyday eaters. The findings??? Before you launch a product make sure it tastes great. The future of food hinges on flavour.We explore how NECTAR’s data-driven approach is helping brands close that “taste gap,” what it means for scaling alternative proteins, and why the next wave of growth depends on sensory science as much as sustainability. Listen to the lastest episode - subscribe and support.

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 of agricultural products directly from cells, whether meat, milk, or other proteins, rather than from slaughtered animals or industrial farming. It promises a way to deliver the foods we love while dramatically reducing land use, greenhouse gas emissions, and animal suffering. The science is complex but the idea is straight forward enough: how do we grow meat from animal cells - at scale, what technical hurdles remain, how much should we worry about GMO. In this conversation, Dr. Sienkmane and Dr. Esperanza share the science - the nuts and bolts of growing meat.

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 climate solutions. We discuss FAIRR’s latest findings on emissions from animal farming, the imbalance between tech and nature-based investment, and what a “just transition” means for farmers and food companies. This episode looks at where capital is flowing, what’s holding alternative proteins back, and how financial frameworks are shifting to better support sustainable and ethical food production.FAIRR is dedicated to highlighting the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities embedded in global food and agricultural systems - it connects 400+ investors, representing over $70–80 trillion in assets under management, providing them with data and frameworks to integrate concerns into investment decisions. Buying me a coffee - donations to https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=ABYF9L6UY3A5Y