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Our current methods of meat production are wreaking havoc on our environment, raising ethical red flags, and posing serious public health risks.
From greenhouse gas emissions to antibiotic resistance, the challenges posed by conventional animal agriculture are mounting at an alarming rate.
Could the answer to our global food crisis be growing meat in labs? It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds—in fact, it’s already happening.
My guest today is Dr. Uma Valeti, founder and CEO of UPSIDE Foods and a pioneer in the nascent field of cultivated meat. Uma is a board-certified cardiologist turned food tech innovator who has established one of the first companies dedicated to growing real meat directly from animal cells. His career has focused on transforming how we produce meat, revealing how biotechnology can address critical environmental and ethical concerns.
Uma’s work illustrates how cultivated meat can be genetically identical to conventional meat, with trillions of cells in bioreactors playing a crucial role in its production without animal slaughter. By revealing how this technology can potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, land use, and water consumption associated with meat production, he provides a science-backed roadmap for revolutionizing our food system.
“We need to start looking at food as a way to prolong life.”
– UMA VALETI, MD
Today, we explore the fascinating science behind cultivated meat and its potential to transform our food ecosystem. Uma explains the intricate process of growing meat from cells, the regulatory hurdles they’ve overcome, and the path to scaling this technology to meet global demand.
We cover a range of thought-provoking topics, including the environmental impact of conventional meat production, the potential health benefits of cultivated meat, and the challenges of winning consumer acceptance. We also discuss the recent FDA approval of UPSIDE’s cultivated chicken, a milestone in the industry’s journey toward mainstream adoption.
In a particularly compelling moment, I step out of my 17-year vegan comfort zone to taste-test UPSIDE’s cultivated chicken products on the show. This experience challenges my own preconceptions and opens up a broader discussion about the future of food production.
This conversation is an invitation to reimagine our relationship with food—to consider how cutting-edge technology could help us maintain our culinary traditions while radically reducing our environmental footprint.
For those who prefer a visual experience, the conversation is available on YouTube. As always, the audio version streams wild and free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Whether you’re a carnivore, a committed vegan, or simply curious about sustainable nutrition, this conversation is a must-listen. The potential for positive change is immense, and the trajectory of our food system may depend on innovations like these.
Enjoy!
Peace + Plants,
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- Connect With Uma Valeti, MD: Instagram | X | Facebook
- Upside Foods: About
- Stanford Medicine: Uma Valeti, MD
- The New York Times: Meat, Freedom and Ron DeSantis
- Change.org: Protect your right to choose what you eat. Tell politicians to stop policing your plate.
- Good Food Institute: Reimagining Protein
- TED: Is Cultivated Meat the Future of Food? | Uma Valeti | TED
- Plos: Carbon opportunity cost increases carbon footprint advantage of grain-finished beef
- Bloomberg: The Biggest Problem With Lab-Grown Chicken Is Growing the Chicken
- Inc: San Francisco Restaurant Bar Crenn Is Now Serving the First Dish of Cultivated Chicken in the U.S.
- Inc: Why This Cardiologist Is Betting That His Lab-Grown Meat Startup Can Solve the Global Food Crisis
- Inc: San Francisco Restaurant Bar Crenn Is Now Serving the First Dish of Cultivated Chicken in the U.S.
- Food Dive: 8 questions with Upside Foods founder & CEO Uma Valeti
- Food Dive: Cultivated meat to enter US market with full USDA approval for Eat Just and Upside Foods
- Eat Forum: The Opposite of a Slaughter House | Dr. Uma Valeti
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Thank The Team: I do not do this alone. Send your love to Jason Camiolo for audio engineering, production, show notes and interstitial music; with additional audio engineering by Cale Curtis and additional music by Moby; Blake Curtis & Dan Drake for video, & editing; graphics by Jessica Miranda & Daniel Solis; portraits by Davy Greenberg, Grayson Wilder & Gizelle Peters; copywriting by Ben Pryor; and theme music by Tyler Piatt, Trapper Piatt & Hari Mathis.
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