event in January featured food and agriculture trailblazers who are pioneering sustainable methods that not only redefine the way we produce food but also address pressing global issues that include climate change and resource scarcity. From disrupting traditional farming practices to redefining meat, Irving Fain, Peter McGuinness, and Seth Goldman are changing the landscape of food production through innovation and sustainability.
Fain quoted Roman philosopher Seneca when he stated, “Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.” He recommends taking a very thoughtful approach to scaling your business, saying “Your job as a founder is to look at the problem you’re trying to solve, then determine your areas of strength, where there are gaps, and how you can solve them.” Fain started small, iterated and optimized, got larger, iterated and optimized, and continued.
The focus remains on taste and texture, ensuring that plant-based alternatives are not seen as compromises but as delicious, healthier options. In addition to taste, the environmental impact is paramount, with staggering statistics like the 1300 gallons of water required for just one pound of beef underscoring the urgency for change.
Goldman is passionate about the urgent need to shift towards plant-based foods and was an early investor in Beyond Meat in 2012, where he has served as executive chair since 2015. “The environmental footprint of animal protein is unsustainable. At Beyond Meat, we make our products with 97% fewer resources than animal protein. As a society, we don’t have a choice, we need to move to more plant-based food,” Goldman said.