#11 Meatless Momentum

Flashy start-ups, big fast food chains and the meat industry are finding their way into the world of plant-based products. Time to celebrate, or should we be more wary?

Show Notes

Slowly but surely, meat and dairy are on the decline in some parts of Europe. Some of us have by now figured out we need to drastically reduce our consumption of foods that contribute considerably to the deterioration of the environment. And then there’s the animal suffering, not to mention the health issues. Whereas the world of plant-based products once used to be relegated to treehuggers and stuffy cornershops, now snazzy start-ups, big fast food chains, and the meat and dairy industry are jumping on board. Is the introduction of big money something we should be suspicious about, or is every step forward a good step?

Topics include: vegan, oatly, plantbased, sustainability, meatfree, veggie, oatmilk, jackfruit, veganism, vegetarianism, sustainable

Guests on this episode:

Anna Åhnberg - Sustainability Specialist at Oatly
Malmö, 🇸🇪 Sweden

When Swedish scientists were looking for an alternative to cow’s milk for people suffering from lactose intolerance in the early 90’s, they eventually stumbled upon oats. Oatly, the company they founded is still very much alive and kicking today, and a poster child for hip plant-based foods. We gave Anna a call, their sustainability specialist, to talk about their story, challenges and opportunities.

Tobias Leenaert - Vegan strategist
🇧🇪 Belgium

A man with quite a career in the plant-based world, Tobias first founded EVA, the Belgian vegetarian organisation many years ago. Nicknamed the Vegan Stragegist, he is now a meta-activist, coaching and training others on how to create a vegan world. That’s also the title to his book, but his pragmatic approach also has some opponents…

Kaline van Halder - Co-founder Meet Jack
Amsterdam, 🇳🇱 Netherlands

Born in the Philippines, Kaline had a jackfruit tree in her backyard. Little did she know that she would one day run a company on the other side of the world, called Meet Jack, that makes meat alternatives based on the tropical fruit. Hear how that works, and how they’re building bridges between the plant-based world and the meat industry.

For pictures, additional links, credits and full transcript, visit: https://tomorrowpeople.today/meatless-momentum

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A show about building a better tomorrow, today. We want to invite you on a journey throughout Europe, in search of people who work tirelessly for a better, sustainable future. In search of tomorrow people. We’ll cover topics like the environment, mobility and energy of course, but also health, food, politics, gender, economics, language and much more.