The Future of Food Processing

#sxsw #foodtech

Food is hardware. The ways in which it is typically made currently are wasteful and unnecessary. We should embrace food technology such as nutritional biochemistry, food processing, and biotechnology to improve our food products over their natural forms. This will have a massive impact on the health and quality of life of the typical consumer, as well as help alleviate food insecurity around the world.

Presenters

Andras Forgacs

An entrepreneur in tissue engineering, Andras Forgacs is the co-founder and CEO of Modern Meadow, a company developing fundamentally new ways to grow meat and leather with better properties, no need for animal slaughter and much lower inputs of land, water, energy and chemicals. Modern Meadow has been recognized among the 100 most brilliant companies of 2013 by Entrepreneur Magazine.
Previously, Andras co-founded Organovo (NYSE: ONVO), which uses 3D bioprinting to create human tissues for pharmaceutical research and medical applications. Organovo’s bioprinting technology was recognized as one of TIME magazine’s inventions of the year in 2010 and by MIT Technology Review on its TR50 list of most innovative companies for 2012. Earlier, Andras had served as a consultant with McKinsey and developed award winning financial technology products with Citigroup.

Ethan Brown

CEO & Founder

Beyond Meat

Ethan Brown, CEO and co-founder of Beyond Meat—a company focused on perfectly replacing animal protein with plant protein—grew up with a deep appreciation for animals and the planet. Ethan’s passions shaped the direction of his adult life; with the intent of helping to create a better world, he embarked on a successful career in clean energy.
Yet, Ethan felt a need to make a bigger impact. As a committed vegan he often wondered if the staggering amount of animal protein consumed could be reduced if a perfect, plant-based meat replication existed. Pursuit of this goal led to the creation of Beyond Meat, a company with noteworthy investors including Bill Gates and the founders of Twitter. Ethan has an MBA from Columbia University and an MPP from the University of Maryland. His vision will change the future of “meat”.

Josh Tetrick

CEO

Hampton Creek Foods

Josh Tetrick is an American social entrepreneur, speaker, and writer. He is currently the CEO of Hampton Creek Foods, a food technology start-up based in San Francisco, CA. Prior to founding Hampton Creek Foods, Tetrick ran 33needs, a crowdfunding platform that connected social entrepreneurs to investors. Tetrick has been involved with a variety of social causes that include a United Nations initiative in Kenya and teaching street children in multiple African countries as a Fulbright Scholar. Tetrick earned his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and his JD from the University of Michigan Law School.

Robert Rhinehart

CEO

Rosa Labs

Rob Rhinehart is a 25 year old entrepreneur from Atlanta, GA. He studied electrical engineering and computer science at the Georgia Institute of Technology. In 2012 he founded a Y Combinator backed wireless communications company, Level RF. Since May of 2013 he has served as the CEO of Soylent, which designs and manufactures nutritious processed foods. He resides in Los Angeles, CA.