After Animals Podcast

We're back after a summer break with our first ever "Sibling Special!" This episode features interviews with two incredible changemaker CEOs… who happen to be sisters: Nikita Michelson of Pearlita Foods, the world’s first cell-cultured mollusk company, and her sister Stephanie Michelson, a Forbes 30 under 30 winner, who heads up Jellatech, the world's first cell-based collagen and gelatin ingredient company.

This episode features impact investor and entrepreneur Claire Smith. Claire is a well-known figure in the conscious capitalism space, who created the humane investment platform Beyond Investing. In 2019, Claire and her team launched what the media has dubbed the world’s first vegan-themed ETF (VEGN). An ETF is an investment product that consists of a bundle of securities that you can buy or sell on a stock exchange just like stocks...

For our final episode of the year, we're sharing a roundup of top 10 animal-free food news from 2021! Sharanya and Ulara dive into some of the biggest breakthroughs and exciting updates from the cutting-edge food technology companies they’ve featured on the podcast so far.  Note: May drool while listening. Don't say we didn't warn you! 

Some episode highlights include: 

• Super protein made from fungi harve...

Can tiny, lab-made replicas of the human brain FINALLY lead us to cure devastating illnesses such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and brain cancer? NETRI is a fast-rising French biotech startup that believes they absolutely can... while also eliminating costly, often inaccurate animal experiments along the way. Founded in 2018, NETRI has already grown to 30 staff globally, boasting a handful of organ-on-a-chip technology pat...

German biotechnology pioneer TissUse is making mini human bodies in the lab. Sounds creepy? It's not. Here's why: TissUse has developed a unique, patent-protected "human-on-a-chip" platform. Since 2012, this revolutionary technology has been replacing animal testing for pharmaceutical drug development, cosmetics, consumer products, chemicals, and food safety. TissUse's "human-on-a-chip" consists o...

TARA Biosystems has raised $21.3 million to date and is the world’s only company that generates human cardiac tissue—outside of the human body. Instead of testing on animals, researchers will be able to test drugs right on actual human tissue and the industry will be able to save time, money and unnecessary animal suffering throughout the drug development process.

In this episode, we feature an eye-opening interview with ...

In this episode, we revisit our Season 1 conversation with Dr. Sandhya Sriram, CEO and Co-Founder of cultured seafood maker Shiok Meats. In December 2020, Singapore became the first country to approve cultured cell-based meat for human consumption. So for this replay, we’ve included a special segment to discuss how diners are reacting to trying cultured meat (chicken) in the real world, for the first time! We then go back to our or...

California-based startup MeliBio is creating real honey that replicates AND actually improves upon bee-made honey—without ever exploiting or harming bees. In this eye-opening episode, CEO Darko Mandich tells us how MeliBio is creating vegan, bee-less honey that is based on the molecular composition of commercially available honey. MeliBio also plans to take their honey a step further and customize it to be better than the bee-made ...

Let's face it. Zoos and aquariums suck for animals. In this episode, we hear from two companies that are creating encounters with wildlife without ever harming or disturbing animals. Some of their top projects include life-size realistic animatronic dolphins who can communicate with us and 3D cameras that enable us to see the world through the eyes of an elephant on the African savannah. In this episode, Roger Holzberg of Edge...

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has noted that a staggering 95% of all drugs shown to be safe and effective in animal tests FAIL in human trials because they don't work or are dangerous. This is just one sobering data point from a growing body of evidence that animal-based research doesn't translate to human health. Dr. Aysha Akhtar is the CEO and President of the Center for Contemporary Sciences (CCS). She a...

TurtleTree Labs—a Singapore-based startup—has set its sights on disrupting the baby formula industry, which is projected to grow to US$103 Billion by 2026. Co-founders Fengru Lin and Max Rye explain how they are using donated human stem cells to create mammary cells in the lab that lactate real human breast milk! Their first-of-its-kind biotech approach is getting a lot of support—from investors and from the Singaporean government—...

From making leather out of mushrooms to growing silk in a lab, innovative textile startups around the world are reinventing how we make and consume materials. Nicole Rawling is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Material Innovation Initiative. Her organization is working to bring together scientists, entrepreneurs, retailers, and consumers—to accelerate the global trend towards a new era of animal-free fashion, automotive...

Prime Roots' co-founder & CEO Kimberlie Le and her team are working to bring a new more affordable, ethical, nutritious, and sustainable protein to the world. How? The Berkeley, California-based startup is creating high protein meats and seafood—including their landmark bacon product—from a revolutionary whole food superprotein: Koji. And, they are growing, packing, and distributing it from their facilities, which drives d...

Yuki Hanyu is the CEO of Integriculture, a rising Japanese biotech startup that recently raised $7.4 million to take cell-based protein production to the next level, globally. He’s also the founder of the Shojinmeat Project, a community of home-made cultured meat growers and enthusiasts. In this interview, Yuki shares with us what space travel, Japanese manga (and anime) and lab-grown meat have in common for him.

Integriculture’s we...

Pembient is a company making big chunks of realistic fake rhino horn in the lab. Its goal is to flood the market with high-quality, "can't-tell-the-difference" replica products, driving down demand for the real stuff—thereby ultimately helping combat poaching and the illegal wildlife trade. In this episode, Pembient's CEO and Co-Founder Matthew Markus talks about the potential he sees in the niche biofabricated ...

NovaMeat’s Founder and CEO Dr. Giuseppe Scionti quit his job as a Biomedicine and Bioengineering professor to create a plant-based 3D printed steak that has the appearance and texture of animal-based meat. Dr. Scionti was listed as one of “Nine Innovators to Watch in 2019” by Smithsonian Magazine. In this episode, he talks about the technology and opportunities in 3D printed food—and how we can all row towards a brighter future for...

Phaedra Randolph is the founder and CEO of Spero Foods. She gave up a lucrative career in tech engineering to start her own mission-driven food startup. In this inspiring and informative episode, Phaedra tells us how she took an unexpected ingredient and turned it into a delicious, super healthy plant-based cheese that’s better for you, animals and the planet.  (She also shares some of the secrets behind her successful career chang...