The highly anticipated Good Food Conference in Berkeley, California was an amazing experience filled with bright guest speakers, powerful content, and of course, great plant-based food.
As the tip of the spear when it comes to discussing alternative meats, the conference was chock-full of valuable information that makes me excited for the future of food.
Though it was difficult staying for all of the panels (as the best part about conferences is meeting and making connections), there were many topics that threaded the discussion, namely what should it be called, what do we still have to solve, and when will it arrive.
Because this is such a new industry, there are no clear answers to this, but in the conference, consensus happened.
The Power of Wording
One of the biggest trending topics in the conference was the naming of lab-grown/cultured/clean/craft/not-corpse/fermented/etc meat. Naming is a huge deal in this industry, as recent findings show that naming things right is very important.
A big example that was brought up was the data when people hear the word “vegan” versus “plant-based”. Due to the baggage associated with “vegan”, it gives us a negative connotation on the meaning of the word. This is as opposed to plant-based, a new, hip and trendy word that has a much more positive response to consumers.
In fact, the Better Meat Co is finely tuning the way we perceive our product as well, and after much debate, we’ve focused on the fact that our product is a plant based protein meat enhancer. Of course, more testing should be done.
What I liked best about the conference was the ability for every CEO of every clean meat company in the world, to get together in one roof and talk about the next big steps. Like a secret illuminati of cellular scientists, history was made today as two things were created:
The change from clean meat to cell-based meat
The creation of a cell-based trade association.
There is tons of debate going on in this word cell-based, but even at the conference, a recurring theme was the negative connations of the word, “clean meat”.
Cell-based makes sense right now as a scientific and regulatory word. Its naming is based on origins rather than idea and it’s much easier to say plant-based and cell-based in the same sentence.
Will it stick? Clean Meat lasted one year or so before the wording was changed, so who knows.
The Wheat from the Chaff
With only 600 attendees, the conference sold out months before the event.
For now, it was a good call for the GFI to make the conference premium as it gives them room to evaluate. The people at the conference were clearly passionate about the conference and I was actually quite surprised how many students were there. I met students from Stanford, Laval, Harvard, Yale, and Berkeley. It was really cool how the students wanted to get involved and now are trying to find ways to create clubs for these types of things.
I had a great talk with some of my heroes that I thought I’d never meet in person. I had a great discussion with Bruce Fredrich, the head honcho of the GFI, but also Tom Mastrobuoni, Elaine Watson, and Ezra Klein. I find it extremely rewarding to have people I’ve read online to have a chance to talk with them.
Of course, the next GFI Conference will be bigger and better. The more people exposed to this network, the better we have a chance to succeed. If you’re reading this, I highly suggest the next time you get an opportunity to buy a ticket for the conference, take it. It might change your life.
A Long Road Ahead
Definitive deadlines kill most scientists and it was an awkward topic on the topic of cell-based agriculture.
Of course, definitive deadlines create killer headlines.
Two big definitive deadlines was the fact that JUST will be selling a premium clean meat at the end of the year, and Impossible Foods will end the consumption of animals in 2035.
Even if their predictions are off, I don’t think it will matter. It’s a good goal to have, and it spurs competition. However, it does cause a sort of stressful environment for everyone involved.
Whether or not clean meat becomes available this year or the next decade, there are plenty of opportunities to get into this space that anyone who is reading this right now, can quit their job, do some scrappy research, and become a scientist at this emerging technology. Even if cell-based meat does get produced, scaling this has a huge number of factors that are begging to be solved, solved by people like you. We discuss several opportunities in our GFI series, where we interview the staff at GFI on topics such as this.
An Optimistic Topic in a Pessimistic World
Some big shots from DC were at the conference and I heard some reporters enthusiastically say in the hallway that this space is great because it’s an optimistic solution in a world where everything sucks. For the people in Washington DC, this is probably true.
Overall, exciting times in the world of food and it’s enlightening, meeting with people who really want to make a difference in the world. I’m excited to go back next year.
