About this episode
Tony Martens discusses the journey of Plantible Foods and the science behind rubisco protein from duckweed.
Tony Martens, co-founder of Plantible Foods, joins Neal to walk through the company’s eight-year arc - from a free greenhouse in San Marcos to a commercial-scale rubisco protein facility in West Texas. They get into the science of duckweed and why rubisco is both the most abundant and most bioavailable protein on the planet, the modular “crawl, walk, run” scaling philosophy that kept Plantible from getting buried under capex, and how landing in El Dorado, Texas lifted the surrounding county’s median household income by 62%. Plus: why the Taco Stand in Encinitas remains the most-mentioned spot on the pod. Key Topics * Why our food supply chain hasn’t been updated in 3,000 years * How rubisco from duckweed competes with eggs, dairy, and meat * The “crawl, walk, run” approach to commercial scale-up * Why avian flu volatility is driving bakery and egg-replacement demand * Modular agriculture vs. billion-dollar capex projects * Living on the San Marcos farm in RVs through COVID lockdown * Lifting a West Texas county’s median household income by 62% * Where Plantable products are showing up on shelves today Links & Resources Plantible Foods Connect on LinkedIn Tony Martens Neal Bloom…
People in this episode
Host: Neal Bloom
Guest: Tony Martens
Topics covered
- food supply chain
- rubisco protein
- duckweed
- agriculture
- economic impact
- scaling philosophy
Keywords
- Plantible Foods
- rubisco
- duckweed
- food supply chain
- agriculture
- economic impact
- scaling
- protein
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Plantible Foods
Places: San Marcos, West Texas, El Dorado, Texas, Encinitas, Texas
More episodes of Tacos and Tech Podcast
- Sleep Is the Last Unprotected Hour · June 9, 2026 · 43 min
- SAFEs, Notes, and SPVs · May 26, 2026 · 51 min
- From Operator to Fund Manager · May 19, 2026 · 47 min
- The Operator's Edge: From San Diego Angel Academy · May 13, 2026 · 1h 3m
- This Week in San Diego Tech News - May 2026 · May 11, 2026 · 18 min
- What Two Operators Learned Writing First Checks · May 5, 2026 · 1h 5m
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Tacos and Tech Podcast podcast page.