Elysabeth Alfano

Plantbased Business Hour

Investing in Food System Transformation with Jason Ingle of Third Nature Investments

Jason W. Ingle, founder and Managing Partner of Third Nature Investments, joins CEO of VegTech Invest and host Elysabeth Alfano on The Plantbased Business Hour to discuss the powerful lever for societal and environmental impact that is investing in food system transformation. Specifically, they discuss: What is systems investing and why are you focused on this? How do you invest in systems transformation, and can you give some examples of companies in which you have invested? Why are you focused on more than Climate Change? Can you elaborate on investing in food system transformation? Do you see others engaging in (or at least comprehending) systems investing? If so, who/which sort of entities? Is it too late? Or do you see progress? If no progress, what …

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Plantbased Business Hour

The Demand for Plant-based, Juicy Steak with Amos Golan of Chunk Foods

Founder and CEO of Chunk Foods, Amos Golan, joins the CEO of VegTech Invest and host Elysabeth Alfano on The Plantbased Business Hour to discuss the demand and success of thick, juicy, plant-based steaks and the global outlook for foodservice today. Specifically, they discussed: Chunk Foods seemed to pop on the scene out of nowhere. Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you started Chunk in Israel? What has the reception been like in the US? Why initially foodservice only, and how big of a push is clean label? While I am sure IP is proprietary, what can you tell us of your fermentation technique and your production techniques to get whole cuts of meat? We speak endlessly of the US …

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Plantbased Business Hour

What is Plant-Rich Meat and is it a Sell-Out or a Way Forward?

Caroline Cotto of NECTAR Research and Tim Dale from Food System Innovations join CEO of VegTech Invest and host Elysabeth Alfano on The Plantbased Business Hour to discuss the results of a recent study around consumer perception of blended (or plant-rich) meat. Do they like it? Do they hate it? Is it a sell-out? Specifically, they discuss, 1. What is Food System Innovations, and what is its mission? 2. What is NECTAR, and why is it needed? 3. What is plant-rich meat? 4. What are the early indications regarding consumer acceptance of this category? 5. What are some challenges for the overall plant-based and diversified proteins sector moving forward? Below is a highlight clip and transcription from their long-form conversation. Full podcast here. Elysabeth: I want to bring in from Food System Innovations, Tim …

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Image courtesy of VegTech Invest
Plantbased Business Hour

What Impact Will the Election Result Have on US Food Policy?

In the recent episode of The Plantbased Business Hour, CEO of VegTech Invest and host Elysabeth Alfano discusses whether or not the 2024 presidential election result could change U.S. food policy. You can listen to the podcast here, and below is a transcription of the podcast. Elysabeth: Here’s today’s Plantbased Business Hour. Hey everyone, it’s great to come to you from the jungle. I thought I would see what it would be like to really be remote and working remotely, and I am indeed doing that from the jungle in Mexico. I’m enjoying it a lot and thought I would get away from election news. So speaking of the election, a lot of people ask me, “What do you think the election will do to …

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Plantbased Business Hour

Make It or Break It: Scaling Food Manufacturing with David Ziskind

Founder of Mach Global Advisors, David Ziskind, joins CEO of VegTech Invest and host Elysabeth Alfano on The Plantbased Business Hour, and discusses the pros and cons of building out food manufacturing or going with a co-manufacturer, and how to keep it all sustainable. Specifically, they discuss: What are some of the challenges faced in food manufacturing? How do you scale manufacturing, particularly with smaller budgets? How do you right-size a manufacturing facility? Does contract manufacturing play a role in bridging the gap? In this capital-constrained environment, how can you prepare for future growth? How do you make do with what you have and do more with less? Below is a highlight clip and transcription from their long-form conversation. Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/make-it-or-break-it-scaling-food-manufacturing-with/id1512473843?i=1000673442530 Display “David Ziskind Discusses …

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Plantbased Business Hour

Building a Resilient Food System Supply Chain with Jamie Valenti-Jordan

The founder of Catapult Commercialization Services, Jamie Valenti-Jordan, joins CEO of VegTech Invest and host Elysabeth Alfano on The Plantbased Business Hour to discuss bringing resiliency to the diversified protein supply chain. Specifically, they discuss: Catapult Commercialization Services and Jamie’s long history in food science and manufacturing. What shifts Elysabeth and Jamie see in the sector, both positive and negative? Jamie and Elysabeth’s perspective on the slump of the sector: is it the valley of death or rebirth? What needs to happen for revitalization? Jamie’s predictions for the next 3 years? Below is a highlight clip and transcription from their long-form conversation. Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/building-a-resilient-food-system-supply-chain-with/id1512473843?i=1000672510116 Display “Jamie Valenti-Jordan Shares What Gen Alpha and Gen Z are Looking for in Products” from YouTube Click here to display content from …

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Plantbased Business Hour

What is the State of Plant-based Chicken in the US? With CEO of Daring Chicken, Jeff Gendelman

2021 was supposed to be the year of plant-based chicken: nuggets, strips, patties were all the rage. CEO and Founder of Daring Chicken, Jeff Gendelman, joins CEO of VegTech Invest and host Elysabeth Alfano on The Plantbased Business Hour to take us through the highs and lows of the plant-based chicken trajectory and the chances for success of the category. Specifically, they discussed: Europe is having much more success with this category than the US. Let’s take a trip around the world to discuss how plant-based, specifically chicken, is doing in Europe, Asia and then the US. Are you seeing any signs of things changing in the US? If so, where? Nuggets? Patties? Strips? Meals? Breaded? How much of the change is driven by the …

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PDIE panel summit

Image courtesy of Elysabeth Alfano
Fairs & Events

Insights From New York Climate Week

CEO of VegTech Invest and host of The Plantbased Business Hour, Elysabeth Alfano, recaps her time at NYC Climate Week 2024. She shares the popular topics of discussion and her excitement about food being a focal point in the food systems transformation discussions. Podcast link here, transcript as follows. Elysabeth: Hey everyone, after a couple days of decompressing from New York Climate Week, oh my gosh, I just thought I’d give a recap of how that went. You know, I’ve been saying since COP28 in December that food is now considered one of the three pillars for impact in climate change. So that would be electric vehicles, otherwise known as transportation, novel energy, getting rid of fossil fuels, and food innovation and ag innovation. A lot of …

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Plantbased Business Hour

What is the State of the American Farmer? Deputy Under Secretary of the USDA, Sanah Baig, Explains

What is the state of the American Farmer? Is food insecurity in the U.S. on the rise? What initiatives are upcoming to address feeding more people with fewer resources? What does the USDA science data tell us? Deputy Under Secretary of the USDA, Sanah Baig, joins CEO of VegTech Invest and host Elysabeth Alfano on The Plantbased Business Hour for the big knowledge drop just months before the Farm Bill drop. Specifically, they discuss: As we turn the corner into 2025, what is the USDA working on, given the need to feed a growing global population with fewer resources? How is the USDA prioritizing food systems transformation and the plight of the American farmer? What level of money is being spent on the future of agriculture, and what kind of …

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plant-based business hour
Plantbased Business Hour

Is 2025 the Year for Financing Food Fast? Ambassador Ertharin Cousin Weighs In

Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture and Executive Director of The Food Systems for the Future, Ertharin Cousin, joins CEO of VegTech Invest, Elysabeth Alfano, on The Plantbased Business Hour to discuss the pivotal year of 2025 for food and other systems shifts. Specifically, they discuss: What is the Food Systems for the Future Institute? Given your long tenure as the Ambassador to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture and as Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme, how have you seen the landscape around global nutrition and food insecurity change? At COP28, the World Bank declared that Food Tech is Climate Tech. There is a growing understanding of the overlap of food systems and energy use, and food’s impact on …

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Plantbased Business Hour

Friends of the Earth Discuss Who Funds the Most Environmentally Damaging Sectors

Monique Mikhail, Senior Program Manager, Climate and Agriculture Finance Program, and Kelly McNamara, Senior Research and Policy Analyst, at Friends of the Earth join CEO of VegTech Invest, Elysabeth Alfano, on The Plantbased Business Hour to reveal some shocking environmental statistics from the banking industry’s funding of animal agriculture. Specifically, they discuss: What prompted the Bull in the Climate Shop report? How was the study conducted? What were the results? Why would the banks put themselves at this kind of risk? What has been done with the results? Has there been any reaction from the banking industry? From a societal perspective, can the banks stop funding this industry? Is there any kind of mandate to continue to fund them? What are the next steps? Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/friends-of-the-earth-discuss-who-funds/id1512473843?i=1000664723594  Below is a highlight clip …

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Plantbased Business Hour

What Can AI do for Food Innovation? Meet LEO, Mattson Co’s New AI Agent, to Find Out

What can AI do for food innovation? Meet LEO, Mattson’s AI Agent and find out! On this episode of The Plantbased Business Hour, Chief AI Officer at Mattson, Steve Gundrum, joins CEO of VegTech Invest, Elysabeth Alfano, to take LEO out for a spin and show us the future of food. Specifically, they discuss: What is Mattson Co. and what do you focus on? Times are changing, and you now have LEO, the AI Agent, and advanced AI tools: what are they and what do they do specifically that couldn’t be done before? How has this changed your business and how will this change the future of food? Below is a highlight clip and transcription from their long-form conversation, including their conversation with LEO and …

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Plantbased Business Hour

How Do We Fight for the Planet? George Monbiot Weighs In

George Monbiot, author, journalist, and environmental activist, joins The Plantbased Business Hour with host and CEO of VegTech Invest, Elysabeth Alfano, to discuss how to best fight for the planet and how to take no prisoners when it comes to taking on the meat industry and its lobby. He goes for the jugular and this is a do-not-miss interview. Specifically, they discuss How does the big meat misinformation campaign differ from big tobacco and fossil fuels’ misinformation campaigns? What do we do against the misinformation campaign, especially if it is protected by certain government organizations? Is there a strategy for impact when we are woefully outspent? What is it going to take to move the needle? For people to be outraged? A health crisis? Another …

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Plantbased Business Hour

The ‘All In’ Podcast’s Sultan of Science, David Friedberg, on the Diversified Proteins Sector

In advance of the All In Summit this September in Los Angeles and as one of the best Plant-Based Business Hour podcasts of 2023, we are here re-running the All-In Podcast’s Sultan of Science: David Friedberg, CEO of The Production Board on The Plantbased Business Hour. David and Elysabeth Alfano discuss how AI can impact the plant-based innovation sector (plant-based foods and alternative proteins) as well as what the sector can do to scale up production and reduce costs. Specifically, they discuss: How the sector can scale to price parity or better and the innovations that will advance the sector, The power of bioengineering and the opportunities that can come from land, water, and forest availability provided by more efficient ways of making protein, Plant-based …

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Plantbased Business Hour

Bezos Earth Fund Recipient: North Carolina State University’s William Aimutis and Rohan Shirwaiker

On The Plantbased Business Hour, Rohan Shirwaiker and Bill Aimutis, co-directors of the Bezos Earth Fund Bezos Center for Sustainable Proteins at North Carolina State University join host and CEO of VegTech Invest Elysabeth Alfano, to share the news about the new $30M grant for the center and its true and fast/slow approach to partnership, marrying food and science and addressing problems like food insecurity, planetary health and human health. It’s a true game changer and market signal. Specifically, they discuss: What is the intention of the first Bezos Center for Sustainable Proteins hosted at North Carolina State University? What are the 3 points of focus for the award? What kind of time frame are we looking at for this to be executed? What partners are …

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Plantbased Business Hour

Bloomberg Analysts Believe the Energy Transition Will Lead to the Food System Transition

Robert Barnett, Bloomberg Intelligence Energy Analyst, and Robert Du Boff, Bloomberg Intelligence ESG Analyst, join CEO of VegTech Invest, Elysabeth Alfano, on The Plantbased Business Hour to discuss the overlap of energy use and food systems and how shifting one can shift another. Specifically, they discuss: What were the outcomes of the Looking Back on Dubai (COP28), Looking Ahead to Baku (COP29) Bloomberg Intelligence summit, and specifically what were the outcomes of the panel on climate, nature and biodiversity? Given the agricultural food system’s large environmental footprint (30% of the world’s GhGE according to the UNEP) why are there not more discussions on food systems as a solution to 2030 goals? Let’s discuss the food/energy overlap and how changing food systems impacts changing energy use. …

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Plantbased Business Hour

Will 90% of Everything Be Made Through Precision Fermentation? Maria Cho, CEO of Triplebar, on The Plantbased Business Hour

Maria Cho, CEO of Triplebar is a guest on The Plantbased Business Hour. She and Elysabeth Alfano discuss the protein supply chain benefits provided by precision fermentation and when scaling will take place. Specifically, they discussed What is Triplebar, and precision fermentation? Why is this a critical pillar in the shift of global food systems transformation? What efficiencies does it allow? What kind of innovation will we see beyond the science? What applications in food will we see? When will this scale and see adoption? What impact will it have on lowering (or raising) the price of protein? We saw precision fermentation having a moment in 2019 with Perfect Day and The Every Company. Is this more advanced, differentiated in some manner? Is this considered clean …

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Plantbased Business Hour

Why Institutional and Philanthropic Investors Are Focusing on Food – the Milken Institute on the Plant Based Business Hour

Caitlin MacLean, Senior Director of Innovative Finance at the Milken Institute, and Holly Freishtat, Senior Director at Feeding Change, join Elysabeth Alfano on The Plantbased Business Hour to discuss blended capital and why institutional and philanthropic investors are using this approach to focus on food. Specifically, they discuss: What is the Milken Institute’s Feeding Change initiative? What does it aim to accomplish? Holly, what were your takeaways from COP28, and have you seen this play out in the finance community thus far? Is investing in food systems transformation considered innovative finance? If so, why? When do we think Wall Street capital, a major component of blended capital, will come into play? How will this transpire? No one knows the future, but if we had to …

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Plantbased Business Hour

What Is Stakeholder Engagement and is it Important for Food Systems Shift?

Chief Investment Officer of VegTech Invest, Dr. Sasha Goodman, discusses the firm’s recent white paper, in conjunction with Harvard University students, on Stakeholder Engagement for Plant-based Innovation & Diversified Proteins. Along with host of The Plantbased Business Hour, Elysabeth Alfano, the two discuss the top 5 findings of the white paper and the impact on the diversified proteins sector. Specifically, they discussed What is the new white paper between VegTech™ Invest and Harvard’s Great Food Systems Transformation Course students? What prompted the White Paper on Best Practices for Stakeholder Engagement for Plant-based Innovation and Protein Diversification? Why is Stakeholder Engagement in Plant-based Innovation and Protein Diversification important? Of the 6 case studies in the paper, is there one that particularly stands out for you? What …

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Future of Protein Production panel

Image courtesy of Nick Bradley
Plantbased Business Hour

Future of Protein Production 2024 on the Plant based Business Hour

Host of The Plantbased Business Hour and CEO of VegTech Invest, Elysabeth Alfano, was recently on a panel at the Future of Protein Production conference in Chicago. Elysabeth was on the panel discussing investing in food systems transformation with Aleh Manchuliantsau, Founder and CEO of Planetarians, Fengru Lin, CEO and co-founder of TurtleTree, and Alex Shirazi, co-founder and director of the Cultivated Meat Symposium. At the links below you can listen to their panel discussion. Audio clip: https://x.com/ElysabethAlfano/status/1787871566950195407 Podcast link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/future-of-protein-production-2024/id1512473843?i=1000654300710 Below is a transcript of an audio clip from the episode. Alex Shirazi: There have been a lot of discussions about the downturn in investment in 2024, so that’s what we’re going to jump into. You know, have we seen different types of investment come into …

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