Food as Medicine: Promise, Pitfalls, and the Politics of the Plate

👩‍🔬👨‍⚕️ Hosts:

Na-Ri Oh & Ian Wendt

🎧 Guest:

Dr. Ron Shigeta – Biotech visionary, co-founder of IndieBio, and food innovation expert.

🧬 Episode Summary:

In this deeply insightful and refreshingly candid episode, Ian and Nari welcome back biotech veteran Dr. Ron Shigeta to explore the evolving landscape where food, health, and biotech collide. From the collapse of the lab-grown meat hype cycle to the challenges of democratizing access to functional food, Ron brings hard truths, historical context, and cautious optimism to the table.

As the U.S. federal government embraces its Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda—reforming food policy to prioritize public health—the conversation asks: 👉 Can we finally treat food as medicine, and make it scalable, credible, and affordable? 👉 What went wrong with cultured meat—and what comes next? 👉 Why does Ron really hate the term “food tech”?

If you’ve ever wondered whether the future of wellness lies in your fridge, your pharmacy, or your feed, this one’s for you.

🔑 Key Topics Covered:

• MAHA & Food Policy Shifts: What the government’s new approach to food says about public health—and why it matters.

• Cultured Meat's Cautionary Tale: Why the dream of lab-grown meat stumbled—and how the next wave of companies might succeed.

• Ultra-Processed vs. Ultra-Useful: A frank conversation on consumer trust, marketing blunders, and what “processed” really means.

• Food as Preventative Medicine: From diabetes to GLP-1s to micronutrients—why we’re ignoring the obvious.

• Pharma’s Cost Spiral & Innovation Trap: $2M gene therapies, $500K cancer cures, and why food might be the only scalable solution left.

• The Neuroscience of Eating: Food isn’t just fuel—it’s identity, emotion, and the deepest form of human behavior.

• Why “Food Tech” is Bad Branding: Ron’s passionate take on why the tech world misunderstands how people eat.

🧠 Memorable Quotes:

“Technology for the public will always win—because once people use it, they can’t let it go.” – Ron Shigeta

“We’ve invented healthcare Americans can’t afford.” – Ron Shigeta

“Nobody buys food because it’s high-tech. Nobody. That’s not how trust is built.” – Ron Shigeta

📚 Mentioned in This Episode:

• MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) policy initiative

• GLP-1s and the rise of preventative obesity drugs

• Blue zones and the elusive science of longevity

• Golden rice and biotech’s public trust problem

• OneSkin and peptide-based functional cosmetics

• Ron’s upcoming book on food, neuroscience, and the future of health