Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
“Feeding plants to animals then eating the animals is like filtering water through a sewer then drinking it.”
Bruce Friedrich
7.5 billion people currently share this spinning blue planet we call Earth. By 2050, that number will escalate to 9.7 billion. By 2100? 11 billion.
How can we possibly feed 11 billion people sustainably?
To answer that question we must turn our gaze to the industrialization of animal agriculture. On the surface, what we commonly call factory farming appears incredibly efficient, creating massive economies of scale. But peer just below the surface and you’ll discover a vast operation of mass suffering that is irreparably polluting the environment, eviscerating our dwindling natural resources and destroying human health to boot.
Beyond wasteful. Utterly unsustainable. Indefensibly cruel.
Ladies and gentlemen, our food system is in dire need of innovation.
So let’s talk about it. This week I sit down with Bruce Friedrich, a man who has devoted his life to reforming animal agriculture and innovating the future of food and food systems.
Bruce is the executive director of The Good Food Institute and founding partner of New Crop Capital, organizations focused on replacing animal products with plant and culture-based alternatives. He graduated magna cum laude from Georgetown Law and Phi Beta Kappa from Grinnell College, holds additional degrees from Johns Hopkins University and the London School of Economics and was inducted into the United States Animal Rights Hall of Fame in 2004.
A popular speaker on college campuses — including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, and MIT — Bruce has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CNN, Fox News Channel, MSNBC, and Court TV.
As compelling as it gets, this is an extraordinary conversation about animal agriculture, planetary health and human well being. It’s about the politics of agriculture and the subsidies, corporations, representatives and lobbyists that support it.
But mostly, this is an optimistic forecast of food system innovation — how technology, urgency and popular demand are rapidly converging to create healthy, sustainable and compassionate solutions to help solve our current food, health and environmental crises.
Incredibly intelligent, considerate and measured, it was an honor to sit down with Bruce. May our exchange leave you inspired to invest more deeply in where your food comes from and how it impacts the precious world we share.
Peace + Plants,
Listen, Watch & Subscribe
Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts
Join us for our next retreat at Ballyvolane in Ireland, July 24-31, 2017. For more information visit ourplantpowerworld.com
Thanks to this week’s sponsors:
Note: One of the best ways to support the podcast is to support the sponsors. For a complete list of all RRP sponsors and their respective vanity url’s and discount codes, visit my Resources page and click “Sponsors”.
SHOW NOTES
Connect With Bruce
Bruce’s recent publications, presentations, and interviews: SelectedWorks™
Background, Context & Reference
- Meet The Good Food Institute
- Meet New Crop Capital
- The Stanford Daily: Q&A with John Mackey and Bruce Friedrich
- Stanford Law School: Debate | Eating Meat is Neither Ethical Nor Healthy
- Documentary: Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret
- Documentary: What The Health*
- Food and Agriculture Organization of The United Nations Report: “Livestock’s Long Shadow”
- Google search: The End of Antibiotics
- (PAMTA): Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act
- Dr. Bronner’s ALL-ONE Blog: Regenetarians Unite! by David Bronner
- Animal Rights Conference 2014: Bruce Friedrich – How Animals Become Meat, and Why it Matters [VIDEO]
- Waking Up (Podcast) with Sam Harris: Meat Without Misery: A Conversation with Uma Valeti
- Clean meat producers: Memphis Meats
- Plant-based meat producers: Beyond Meat
- Plant-based meat producers: Impossible Foods
- Plant-based foods producer: Hampton Creek
- Upscale vegan eatery in LA: Crossroads Kitchen
- Gatesnotes: The Future of Food by Bill Gates
- Live Science: UN Expert Calls Biofuel ‘Crime Against Humanity’ by Edith M. Lederer
- Book: Diet For A Small Planet* by Frances Moore Lappé
- Book: The Meat Racket: The Secret Takeover of America’s Food Business* by Christopher Leonard
- Independent research and advisory firm on emerging technologies: Lux Research
- VICE Munchies: Why the Meat Factories of the Future Will Look Like Breweries
- FoodTank: Ten Questions with Bruce Friedrich, Executive Director at The Good Food Institute
- Vox: Bruce Friedrich on why you shouldn’t trust humane certifications on eggs
- Quartz: Lab-grown meat is about to go global, and one firm is feverishly paving the way
- Fortune: Mayo Wars: How Big Food Is Getting in on Egg-Free ‘Mayo’ by Beth Kowitt
- LA Times: Listen to the pope: Don’t cause animals to suffer or die needlessly by Bruce Friedrich
- Business Insider: Dairy companies are fighting with soy milk producers over what can be called milk by Leanna Garfield
- VegNews: Beyond Burger To Be Served On Capitol Hill
- ClearlyVeg: The Good Food Institute and What It Means for Animal Agriculture
- East Bay Times: Oakland: ‘Impossible’ meatless burgers ramp up production at new facility by Annie Sciacca
- Gallup: In U.S. More Say Animals Should Have Same Rights as People by Rebecca Riffkin
- Plant-based alternative and “transitional” foods: Tofurkey, Field Roast and Bocca Burgers
- TODAY: ‘Meatless’ meat: Is it the future?
Notable People Discussed
- Kip Anderson & Kegan Kuhn: Filmakers of Cowspiracy* & What The Health*
- Louise M. Slaughter: U.S. representative for New York’s 25th congressional district
- Allan Savory: Ecologist, farmer, environmentalist, president and co-founder of The Savory Institut
- David Bronner: CEO of Dr. Bronner’s products, vegan and grandson of Dr. Emanuel Bronner
- Uma Valeti, MD: Cardiologist, entrepreneur and CEO of Memphis Meats
- Sam Harris: Author, philosopher, neuroscientist and critique of organized religion
- Professor Mark Post, MD, PhD: Professor of Physiology at Maastricht University, Netherlands
- Eric Schmidt: software engineer, businessman and Executive Chairman of Alphabet, Inc
- Bill Gates: Co-founder of the world’s largest PC software company – Microsoft
- Ethan Brown: Founder and CEO of plant-based meat producer: Beyond Meat
- Pat Brown: Former Stanford University biochemistry professor, CEO, founder of Impossible Foods
- Jean Ziegler: Former United Nations Special Rapporteur for the Right to Food
- Frances Moore Lappé: Author of 18 books including the 3 million copy 1971 Diet For A Small Planet*
- Scott Pruitt: 14th Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- John Mackey: CEO of Whole Foods Market
Related Podcasts You Might Enjoy
- RRP #091: Cowspiracy: The Devastating Global Impact Of Industrialized Animal Agriculture On The Health Of Our Planet
- RRP #176: Cowspiracy: How Animal Agriculture Is Destroying The Planet & What You Can Do About It
- RRP# 278: “What The Health” – How Corporate Collusion Is Making Us Sick & Costing Us Trillions“
- RRP #136: Ethan Brown: Reinventing How To Feed The World
- RRP #226: Moby On Transforming Electronic Music Elevating Consciousness & Saving The Planet
- RRP #255: Biz Stone On Conscious Capitalism & The Power Of Technology To Cultivate Global Cooperation
- RRP #240: Dr. Melanie Joy On Going Beyond Carnism: Why We Love Dogs Eat Pigs And Wear Cows
- RRP #138: How To Live More In Alignment With Your Values With Gene Baur
- RRP: #242: Neal Barnard M.D. On The Power Of Nutrition To Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease
Diabetes & Alzheimer’s - RRP #150: Our Misplaced Obsession With Protein: Garth Davis, MD On High Fat, Low Carb Diets, Bad Science & How To Separate Nutritional Fact From Popular Fiction
Thanks to Jason Camiolo for production, audio engineering, show notes and interstitial music; Shawn Patterson for graphics. Theme music by Ana Leimma.
*Disclosure:Books and products denoted with an asterisk are hyperlinked to an affiliate program. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
The Plantpower Way is available at these fine retailers!
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Penguin
Are you a company interested in sponsoring the podcast? Click here to learn more & take our sponsor survey.
HOW CAN I SUPPORT THE PODCAST?
Tell Your Friends & Share Online!
Subscribe & Review: iTunes | Stitcher | Soundcloud | TuneIn
Donate: Check out our Patreon account!
Download Our Free App! Now you can access, stream, download and share the entire RRP catalog in the palm of your hand on any iOS mobile device (iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch) with our mobile app. Never miss an episode, plus special announcements, discounts, giveaways. Already downloaded? Awesome. When you have a minute, and it feels right to you, do us a solid and give the app a review in the iTunes Store.
