Gaia Foods is Singapore's first cell-based company targeting mammalian cell production to achieve 3D structured meat. LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/gaiafoods/ Big Idea Ventures is solving the world’s greatest challenges by supporting the world’s best entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers. We combine capital and partnership to support and grow the world’s most ambitious startups to solve global challenges. To get more information check our : LinkedIn : https://www.linkedin.com/company/bigideaventures/posts/?feedView=all Website : https://bigideaventures.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigideaventures_/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bigideaventures Big Idea Food Podcast Host Andrew D. Ive, Big Idea Ventures Founder Andrew is the founder of Big Idea Ventures. BIV’s purpose is to solve the world’s greatest challenges by supporting the world’s best entrepreneurs. Our first fund + accelerator (NY, Singapore, and Paris) invests in plant-based foods and ingredients to impact climate change, animal welfare, and personal health. Investors include Tyson Foods & Temasek. Our second fund is focused on reducing CO2, plastics, waste, and water in the food industry. Friedman School Entrepreneurship Advisor. Harvard Business School graduate, Procter & Gamble brand management trained. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewive/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andrewive/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefundingguru © Big Idea Ventures LLC 2021

If you consume meat, would you consider having an alternate sustainable meat if we say that no animals were killed or harmed while making it? What if we told you that this meat has the exact same taste, texture and nutritional value of regular meat? What if we told you that this alternate meat would have 90% less carbon emissions and 40% less water consumption than regular meat? If this made you wonder how this impossible feat is possible, do watch this conversation between Dr Vinayaka Rao, Co-founder & CTO of Gaia Foods which is producing alternate protein, with ICB President Arjun Vasudev.

In this episode, Armen Harutyunyan our Senior Advisor spoke with Dr Matthew Zhao, Food Scientist at Big Idea Ventures, and Dr Vinayaka Srinivas, Founder of Gaia Foods, about the rising trend of alternative proteins, which types tend to have greater potential to commercialise, and what is its future in the agrifood sector. 00:42 Introduction 02:10 Matthew talks about what types of alternative proteins Big Idea Ventures is exploring 04:00 Vinayaka shares more about Gaia Foods and how they're making cultured meat 07:01 Vinayaka discusses the issue of genetic modification and the safety concerns of cultured meat 10:06 Matthew shares his perspective on which types of alternative protein has the most commercialisation potential and what it takes to enter the market 12:27 The importance of flavours and taste in alternative protein innovations 15:15 The nutritional aspects of alternative proteins: Matthew talks about the challenge of catering to consumer demands 17:39 The cost of alternative proteins: Vinayaka brings his perspective as a producer of cultured meats, including what contributes to the high cost of alternative proteins and what's needed to bring down its costs 21:02 How long it will take for alternative protein products to be affordable to everyone 22:38 Why alternative proteins would be attractive to consumers: what would be their selling point? 26:22 The cost of alternative proteins: Matthew raises the importance of demand and infrastructure in driving the costs of plant-based proteins 29:47 Matthew discusses alternative protein trends: insects and 3D printing 34:44 Vinayaka talks about the rising trend of alternative eggs or plant-based eggs, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic 37:21 What should governments do to support the alternative protein industry 40:31 The potential for alternative proteins in the future of food: how will it change the food industry by 2050? 44:10 Conclusion This episode is also available as an audio-only podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1qGJoq9LfcVzaJA7wYGQsI?si=N1bKeygEQ_uKtKgbtpBoIw The Digital Feed 🌱, in partnership with SGInnovate, is a multi-episode series which will feature developments and trends across various stages of food value chains — from food production and supply to consumption and food science. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to be updated on the latest episodes.