Ep. 182. Paul Shapiro: Making the Case for Cell-Based Meats and Plant-Based Proteins

Paul Shapiro is the author of the bestselling book, Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World. He is also CEO of The Better Meat Co., a company that uses fermentation to turn microbes into alternative meat. Paul is a five-time TEDx speaker, the host of the Business for Good Podcast, and a long-time leader in food sustainability.

As an authority on food and agriculture sustainability, Paul has been interviewed by numeorous news outlets—ranging from CNN to StarTalk Radio with Neil deGrasse Tyson. He has also published hundreds of articles in publications like the Washington Post, Scientific American, FORTUNE, and academic journals. In 2023, Paul was named as a Most Admired CEO by the Sacramento Business Journal.

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak with Paul [23:58] about:

• The case for novel alternative proteins—including plant-based meats, cell-cultured meats, and mycoproteins—as sustainable solutions to meeting increasing global protein demand while reducing the environmental impact of traditional animal agriculture
• The Better Meat Co.’s focus on mycoproteins and the advantages they offer in terms of scalability and texture
• How the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversees cell-based meat products, and the current regulatory status of cell-cultured proteins in the U.S.
• The microbial food safety advantages of cell-cultured meat over traditional meat products
• State-level legislative attempts to restrict the sale of cell-based meat, driven by efforts to protect the traditional meat industry; and whether the alternative protein and traditional protein industries can coexist
• The likelihood of American consumers becoming more interested in cell-based meats and how their apprehensions might be addressed
• Nutritional benefits of plant-based meat alternatives not offered by traditional meat products.

News and Resources

McDonald’s and Taylor Farms E. coli Outbreak [4:05]

• McDonald's E. coli Outbreak Grows to 104 Illnesses in 14 States; Testing Has Not Yet Found Outbreak Strain
• FDA Unable to Implicate Grower in E. coli Outbreak Linked to Taylor Farms Onions Served at McDonald's

EPA Approves First Antimicrobial Treatment of Foodborne Pathogens in Preharvest Agricultural Water [11:11]

Study Shows Impact of WGS on Foodborne Illness Outbreak Detection in Canada [13:28]

FDA Publishes Supplement to 2022 Food Code [20:29]

USDA’s Regulatory Framework for Salmonella in Raw Poultry [21:29]

• USDA-FSIS to Hold Two Public Meetings on Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry in December
• Esteban and Eskin: On the Frontlines of the Food Safety Fight Against Salmonella in Poultry

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