February 10, 2025 • 34 mins
Humanity is grappling with the effects of climate change, and one urgent challenge is ensuring a stable and sustainable supply of protein for human consumption and agricultural use. That's where molecular farming, an innovative technology that uses the power of plants to produce high-quality proteins, may present a unique solution. Tune into Sustainability In Your Ear for a conversation with Maya Sapir-Mir, co-founder and CEO of PoLoPo, to explore how molecular farming could transform food production, and make potato chips better for us.
We’ll discuss the science behind PoLoPo's approach, the potential for reducing the environmental footprint of protein production, and what this means for the future of global food security. Genetic modification remains a subject of debate. While extensive studies confirm its safety for human consumption, concerns about its impact on biodiversity persist. Simply replacing one monoculture with another would not address biodiversity loss or solve global food production's more profound systemic challenges. One thing is sure: how we eat in the future will be different. Just as a meal today looks nothing like one from 1960, 1900, or 1770, the food landscape of 2040 will evolve—likely toward a more plant-centric, sustainable plate. However we get there, it will shape not just our diets but the future of our planet. Learn more about PoLoPo at https://polopo.tech
We’ll discuss the science behind PoLoPo's approach, the potential for reducing the environmental footprint of protein production, and what this means for the future of global food security. Genetic modification remains a subject of debate. While extensive studies confirm its safety for human consumption, concerns about its impact on biodiversity persist. Simply replacing one monoculture with another would not address biodiversity loss or solve global food production's more profound systemic challenges. One thing is sure: how we eat in the future will be different. Just as a meal today looks nothing like one from 1960, 1900, or 1770, the food landscape of 2040 will evolve—likely toward a more plant-centric, sustainable plate. However we get there, it will shape not just our diets but the future of our planet. Learn more about PoLoPo at https://polopo.tech
- Subscribe to Sustainability in Your Ear on iTunes and Apple Podcasts.
- Follow Sustainability in Your Ear on Spreaker, iHeartRadio, or YouTube
- Earth911 Podcast: Alter Eco Foods CEO Keith Bearden Is All-In On Regenerative Chocolate Farming
- Best of Earth911 Podcast: Re:Dish CEO Caroline Vanderlip on Creating a Circular Food Service System
- Earth911 Podcast: Safe Catch CEO Sean Wittenberg on Making Seafood Sustainable
- Best of Earth911 Podcast: Wild Planet Founder & CEO Bill Carvalho on Making Seafood Sustainable
- Earth911 Podcast: Farmstead’s Pradeep Elankumaran on Building Sustainable Food Delivery
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hello, good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, wherever you
are on this beautiful planet of ours. Welcome to Sustainability
in your Ear. This is the podcast conversation about accelerating
the transition to a sustainable carbon neutral society, and I'm
your host, Met Ratcliffe. Thanks for joining the conversation. Today,
humans face pressing challenges in a warming climate, and one
(00:28):
of the most urgent issues we're confronted with is the
delivery of sufficient protein for human and agricultural use. With
global temperatures rising, traditional protein sources, especially from animals, are
becoming increasingly unsustainable both environmentally and economically. The agricultural sector
is struggling to maintain reliable production due to shifting weather patterns,
(00:50):
crop failures, and the disruption of supply chains due to
climate change. This is where molecular farming might come in,
offering a potential solution that could be revolutionary. And today
we're joined by Maya sapir Mir, the co founder and
CEO of Polopo, a company pioneering a new frontier in
protein production using plant based molecular farming. What they're doing
(01:13):
is using genetically modified potatoes to produce high quality proteins
such as an egg protein called ovobumin. And this is
Polopo's response to growing food security and sustainability to challenges.
Because if we can make these proteins at scale, we
don't need as many facilities to for instance, grow and
house chickens. It's an interesting opportunity for us to change
(01:33):
the way we source and produce our food. So we'll
talk with Maya about how this technology is not only
reimagining the way we produce protein, but also could contribute
to a more sustainable and resilient future for food production.
You can learn more about Maya and Polopo at Polopo
dot Tech. Polopo is po l o po all one word,
(01:54):
no space, no dash, Polopo dot Tech. We're going to
get to the conversation right after a quick commerce break.
Welcome to the show, Maya, how are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Thank you, Thank you so much. It's great to be
here and everything is good.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Thank you for taking the time to talk with us.
And I wanted to start off by you know you're
turning potato plants into micro biofactories. Can you explain how
that technology works?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
So first we elevate the protein content inside the potato tuber,
and we are aiming the expression of the egg protein
only toward to the tube. The rest of the plant
grows regularly, same yield, same protocols, same everything, but only
the tuber is expressing the egg protein. Then we can
(02:45):
extract the egg protein and use it just like as
we use egg protein in the food industry. Our final product
is a functional protein powder. It can almost seamlessly integrate
into the same egg based product that we eat.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
I'm curious if I were to eat a genetically modified potato,
would it taste like egg in some way?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
So I think that in those percentage you won't to
feel the taste. You just will get the same nutritious
value as you get from egg proteins, which are very
very high nutritious in this sense. So you will have
the nutritious value, but I guess that you won't feel
any different taste than potatoes.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Sorry for the very basic question, but you know, I
wanted to set the state because the idea that we
can program nature to start to produce things that we
need from novel sources egg protein from a potato, for instance,
is really an intriguing change and represents an opportunity for
humanity to rethink the way we source food. How did
(03:48):
you get involved in this and how did Polo pos start?
Speaker 2 (03:53):
So? I have a PhD in plant sciences and I
met during my PhD and Harpy, my co founder and
great friend and colleague, doctor Ohyah Libermanaloni. She is the
city of the company, and we're expert in metabolic engineering
of plants. This is what I did for almost twenty years,
(04:13):
and we know also the classic breeding methods and we
got up to this point where we achieved a great
solution through breeding. But now we need to change the
way we eat. We need to feed the growing population.
And this opportunity, with our expertise in elevating protein contents,
(04:35):
in expressing animal proteins in side plants, specifically in potatoes,
but in general in plants, gives us the opportunity first
to change the way we eat, to feed the growing
population and save this planet because now how we are
using it, we won't be able to use it for
(04:56):
many years more. And this is the opportunity that we
bring with Polopo and of course other solutions to get there.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
And can you talk about the origin of the company.
You're in Israel? Why Israel seems to be a hotbed
for this kind of innovation. Why is that so?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I think that first, yes, Israel is many specifically in
foot tech, in biotech, you see many many startups. I
think few reasons. First, most of us have this route
where we all go to university. It's something that you do.
It's almost not a consideration. So many people are educated.
(05:38):
And then and Israel is not an easy place to
live in, so we also need to be very innovative
to I don't know, to invent things and invent ourselves.
But I think the most important thing and the strong
thing that we bring is the community. We see in
(05:59):
any echoes system, very close communities of startups and founders
and CEOs and CEOs that are working together for solutions
and in food tech, it's just amazing. And it's a
small country, so all the startups are almost the same area,
or even if they are far, it's just a few
(06:20):
hours away. We meet each other, we collaborate, we exchange thoughts,
and I think this drives many many of the good
innovations that we see today coming out from Israel.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Now you mentioned, of course it's kind of difficult to
grow a lot of food in Israel because of the climate.
You're moving from greenhouse production to field cultivation now, and
that's a big step up for you. What's been the
most significant challenge in scaling to field level production?
Speaker 2 (06:52):
First, we are aiming all our operation to the US
is well, we're doing the R and D here, All
of varieties are here. We are doing even the field
trials in Israel, but our production will be in the
US first because it's huge, lots of potatoes are growing,
and of course the market is there and other regulatory processes.
(07:14):
But for us in this stage first moving into field trials,
we are doing it in steps. So we got our
varieties put them in the field. It's quite easy. The
most I don't know, time consuming thing is to propagate
enough plants in order to plant them or to build
the old propagation tubers. It's the seed that you plant
(07:36):
in ground. This takes time. Of course, that when we
will be in commercial stage, we will work with a
propagation tube manufacturer and it will make our seeds to plant. Now,
between working in a greenhouse and moving to field trials,
our team worked so hard and they are just amazing.
(07:59):
Our R and D T how they achieved the ability
to plant in time in this season in ground our
potatoes for screening.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
I've been involved in some biomanufacturing projects, so I know
one of the big challenges is when you move from
small scale large scale is controlling the quality and the
character of the protein that you're producing. You know, when
you put those plants into the natural environment where wind
could carry pollen from another plant to it, how do
you control the quality and output of the material that
(08:33):
you're trying to produce.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
So this is the amazing thing with potatoes. In regular
growth of potatoes, they don't pollinate and they don't seed.
It's all underground. And actually it's even we get better
yields and better results when planting them in soil because
those are potatoes in pots there it's like it's a
(08:57):
small area for them to grow and to propagate. We
see now in our field trials, big plants, lots of
potatoes coming out. So one of the great things about
potatoes is that when you plant them in soil, you
get better results. And as for pollination in seed, no
risk there. And it's also making our life a bit
(09:20):
easier with the regulatory processes. Because everything is underground. We
need only to control what we are growing underground, and
we don't need to worry about the rest of the plant.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Does that make potatoes sort of the ideal plan for
this kind of a biomanufacturing strategy or do you imagine
a wide range of plants being reprogrammed in the future.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
First, there are a wide range of plants that are
being used for those technologies. Of course, I believe that
potatoes are the best, but it's not really fair. But
we are expert in this field, and before we started
we examined many many plant models to work in, and
(10:07):
when we got to potatoes, it was like everything fell
into place scientifically, commercially in any aspect. A very cheap
crop to grow all over the world, big organ to
accumulate the proteins, and this infrastructure is already there. We
are already processing potatoes, so it's all the downstream processes,
(10:30):
and all the processes are cheaper than we see in
other technologies. And of course what I said that everything
is underground, nothing can be spread around. Yes, I truly
believe that. Even three years after we started, I still
believe that it was the best choice we did to
work with potatoes.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Have you established us partnerships you know, I lived in
the most potato growing region in the country, which by
the way, is not the state of Idaho, but Washington.
Are you working with farmers in the United States or
farm companies in the United Day.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Thank you for this question. I just got back from
Potato expot It was an amazing experience. We saw that
this huge industry is relatively really small. Everyone knows everyone.
It was mind blowing. First it was so much fun.
But other than that, we got many connections. We saw
(11:27):
that growers and seed manufacturers are much more innovative than
what we thought they will be there. I'm not afraid
of growing GMO. The small growers are keen to work
with us. They were very excited about rich protein potatoes.
So I can't say yet that we partnered with someone,
(11:50):
but yes, definitely, this is the direction that we are
working toward. We have connection already with the propagation tuba
manufacturer and with small growers because it's more than enough
for us to work with a small grower. So it's very,
very exciting. Now we are very confident that we will
be able to start our operations soon in the US.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
I'm curious why did you start with all human is
that and where might that be used in place of
egg product in products that we would consume in the stage.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
So for us, we started alguming with the egg protein
almost as a POC first, because we know that we
will probably want me to separate with the rest of
the potato proteins because potato proteins have similar functionalities as
egg protein. So it will be a cheaper a downstream
(12:47):
process when you don't need to separate the protein from protein.
But the main thing is this huge market. It's a
huge market opportunity. It's going to reach sixty billion by
twenty thirty one, and the food industry is looking to
replace eggs today. It's not just sustainability. It suffers from
instability in the supply chain. It causes the prices to
(13:10):
go up all the time. I'm hearing now on shortage
in eggs in the US and it's sold due to
bird flu outbursts and it's getting worse. So the food
industry is already looking for solution. Not in the future,
but today.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
I'm curious, can you ramp up production or ramp down
production in response to changing availability, for instance, of eggs
in this case, more than one hundred million laying hands
then put down as a result of bird fluw. But
can you respond quickly enough to fill the gap? I
think that's one of the new challenges we have to
think about, is planning and preparation for the unexpected in
(13:50):
the food supply.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
True, so of course it will take a bit time
until we will be fully commercial or fully scaled up.
And our product is powder, is functional protein powder, so
shelf life is really long. So we believe that we
will work probably at least in two different areas, that
(14:14):
we will be able to grow more than one time
or two times a year in different environments, and then
a whole field will be collected. We know how to
storage potatoes, so we don't need to do it at once.
The extraction, we can keep those potatoes another reason to
choose potatoes, and then those powders also can be stored.
(14:38):
They have a long shelf life, so we hope that
we won't need to respond quickly. We will have our
supply all the time. But of course this is a
huge market. We won't be able to supply all the
egg proteins that the market need.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Is the potato genome susceptible to producing almost any protein
or are there limits to what might.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Be used for There are always limits. You can't produce
everything all the time. It's not it doesn't make sense
in any plant or other model. But potatoes are quite
complex organisms, so they are able to produce a complex protein.
(15:21):
And this organ that we can it's it's called a
sink organ It can accumulate metabolites in general, mainly also
protein starches. And because it's full of water, we can shift,
we can lower the water down and accumulate other metabolites
or proteins. So it makes it a really robust protein
(15:45):
production system when you use the tuber itself.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
What are a couple of examples of other types of proteins?
Could you do milk proteins for instance with.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
This definitely, as we are always looking on other proteins
that the food industry is looking for to replace animal
based proteins for met alternative for example, texture taste, those
kinds of proteins. The early grail of the industry is
because of course we are looking also on those directions.
(16:14):
But all the time we look and we hope that
we will partner, our partners will enable us, all will
lead us to what we are going to manufactures according
to their need.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Now that you're waiting for USDA approval to plant and
use these potatoes in the United States, what are the
milestones you're watching for over the next few months. And
I'm curious whether some of the Trump administration decisions have
derailed some of your expectations.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
So we don't know yet what will be the result
of that. Now we're starting to work to on setting
our production in the US totally on the potato expos
So this is one of the most important thing is
to start operation to partner there. We are also working
on our sample production. There are many companies that are
(17:10):
already looking for our samples in order to do formulation
application and of course in the future to sign commercial agreements.
So this is what our team is aiming on, and
of course always elevating more the protein content in the potatoes.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Well, this is a fascinating story. I want to take
a quick commercial break, but we're going to be right
back to continue the conversation. Now, let's get back to
the discussion with Maya Sapir Mir. She is the co
founder and CEO of Polo Po, which is developing food
protein by reprogramming the DNA of potatoes to pioneer plant
(17:48):
based molecular farming Maya. What's the origin of the name
po lopo?
Speaker 2 (17:56):
So in Hebrew, po is here, okay is not here,
So the protein is here, but it's not originally from here.
And it's also a play of the worlds with the
potato and protein. We just love it.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
That's an interesting One of the things you've been doing
is working with growers in the astral region of Israel.
How do partnerships with farmers contribute to their income compared
to their growing traditional crops? Can they make more money? So?
Speaker 2 (18:28):
First, of course, we believe that the farmers will want
to work with us because our potatoes have higher value.
We saw the great reaction we received from small growers
the Potato Expo. The growers are keen on innovation and
diversifying their varieties, not just on better economics, and they
(18:49):
are really excited about our technology. We believe that in
our agriculture, and it's important that the farmers will have
better income working with us. So yes, definitely, we are
aiming for that.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Do you have a sense of how much more valuable
a biomanufacturing potato is than a traditional russet potato that
I would bake.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
I don't have a number for that. And then our
proteins are not for a fresh potato consumed yet, but
for extraction, so it's it's totally different.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
But do you have a sense of when you speak
to a farmer and they ask, okay, so I get
thirty dollars a bushel picking a number out of the air,
can you say, oh, you'll get sixty or we expect
you'll get forty five?
Speaker 2 (19:37):
How much?
Speaker 1 (19:38):
What percentage left in value do they do? You tell
them they might.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Achieve So we're not talking yet in percentages, or we
are talking but they I can't say that. But of
course you have to understand it. In our business model,
the grow path is so small in what we need
to invest. Seat's a dancing process, so we still have
(20:02):
you know, every every cent that we add to that
is doing nothing for the model, but it's very important
for the growers. So yes, we will be able to
bring them a better price.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
So that raises another question is how many of the
production facilities to convert the potato into the target protein
are you going to need to build over the course
of the next decade, say in the United States, in
order to serve the demand by food producers.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
So of course we are a small company and we
want to be able to supply all the egg proteins
that the North America needs. But we are aiming to
start in small and grow in years. We are not
looking to build huge facilities at start and invest huge
(20:52):
copex in metal or in buildings. We will probably start
with a small grower with a small CMO so that
we'll be able to do our process and in the future,
once we will have enough revenues to build our own facility,
maybe in one location, two locations, but we will see
(21:12):
how it will go around the world.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Now, one of the challenges that we face is we
talk about the availability of arable land globally to produce
both human food and to use for various forms of biomanufacturing.
Do you think we have sufficient arable land in order
to do that or do we have to resort to
more indoor growing and the like in order to get there.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
So seventy percent of the land that is used for
agriculture goes to feed This is enormous drop that and
do agriculture for food to feed the real people. We
have no problems with land at all leave that once
(22:01):
we will take we won't need to grow hands for eggs.
We will be able and we will have enough land
in order to use potatoes. And again, potatoes are very
efficient crop. They use relatively a low amount of land
and even in water that are very very efficient.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
So I think that's a really important point to highlight,
is that, so if we don't have to grow grain
to feed chickens to get egg proteins, we actually free
up land that can be used more productively to produce
those proteins and leave some additional land left over for
other uses.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
That's such an important actly, Exactly, instead of producing proteins
to feed animals and then eat them, let's produce the
proteins and eat them directly.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Well, so what other proteins are you think thinking about
in the near term? You know, for instance, if we
could we mentioned milk proteins earlier, eliminate concentrated animal feeding operations,
which are incredibly polluting as well as consuming all that
grain that you have to feed to the cattle. What
kinds of what do you think about replacing when you're
(23:19):
daydreaming about the future.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
So first we need to separate it for functional proteins
that the food industry needs in order to emulsify or
weep or glue or all the things that we are
doing with those functional protein that we are extracting those cousins,
egg proteins, and et cetera. And the other side is nutritious,
(23:42):
high nutritious value protein that we sometimes get only from
animal consuming, but we can eat them directly in our food.
For example, our rich protein potatoes. We believe that we
will consume them in the future as they are high
nutritious value. You have the carbohydrate, but you also will
(24:07):
have the proteins in them, so it's a whole it's
almost the whole meal.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Well, okay, now you're you're kind of blowing my mind here.
I just realized that, So you're gonna have ash browns
that also did other beneficial nutritional things for your.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Body, exactly protein chips.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
I have. So have you have you talked to chefs
or food innovators about how they might use that aspect
of the genetically modified potato.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Yes, definitely, I think I think it's it's an amazing
and I'm a huge believer in GMO. I think that
there's no food security without GMOs and I'm sure that
we will be there. Our our potatoes at the moment
have the same taste as the as regular potatoes, so
you can do almost anything with them. We are even
(24:58):
lowering the water accumulation inside the tubers, so it really
fits French fries and other products that we see in
the market.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Okay, so we might have protein fries at McDonald's in
the future. Okay. It just opened an entirely niverstive interesting
opportunities here. Other than potatoes, What types of plants are
you thinking would be attractive targets for additional development.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
We see in this first we see leaves that are
being used for a production of proteins, and we see
also seeds. I think that also we'll see maybe in
roots like sweet potatoes, cassava that are very very interesting.
(25:50):
I think it also depends if you want to extract
the protein or to consume the plants. Is there are
many many plants that we can think of to enriched
with proteins or other metabolites and to consume them as
they are. We can almost make any any plant as
(26:10):
super food.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
There's so many paths to bio manufacturing, such as using
microorganisms to produce proteins from CO two. How do you
see this industry evolving? I know you're a potato expo,
but I assume you talk to other people about genetically
modified everything. What will the food supply look like in
a decade or two.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
I truly believe that it will change the way we eat.
I'm confident that we soon will see those products becoming commercial.
It's a long ur and Dee, it's hard for the
food deck, but I'm sure that we will be there.
I'm a huge believer in the power of plants and
the ability of plants to diversify the food system, and
(26:57):
of course using a modify fight plants. And again, if
we want to feed the growing population, save the world,
we have no choice but to change the way we eat.
Use GMOs, even microorganisms, plants. I think there are so
many opportunities with plants that we will see many many
(27:22):
technologies evolve and getting to be commercial.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
When you imagine that that food scape in the future.
We talked about protein chips, for instance, can you imagine
a salad that also gives us all the protein we need.
Can you describe what a plate at someone's home might
look like in ten or twenty years and what will
the impact be on the environment be of that plate
(27:48):
compared to what it is today.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
So first, I really hope that we will see less
processed products in our plate, that our plate will be
color full with the purple tomatoes that you already have
in the US, that you can eat GMO, with potatoes
that are rich with proteins, with the leaves that are
(28:12):
gives you I don't know iron and all the metabolites
we need to consume, and sometimes today we get them
only from from meat or dairy. I am thinking of
a huge plate of salad that is so colorful only
with the vegetables and fruits that we will get everything from.
(28:36):
I think that once we will lower down the consumption
of meat, we will have enough land to change the
way we eat. I think that we also will bring
more efficient crop. Part of those GMOs is to be
able to grow our food in different environments, in changing environments.
(28:58):
In climate is hotter that in land that is the
salter we see those those technologies that are out there
with the ARTTEC. So I think that mainly I hope
that it will be less processed food and more vegetables
(29:19):
and colors in our plate.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
That's a. That's a really interesting vision and I hope
that we get there. I would love to have that
dinner that you just described. What's next for Polopo? What
should people be watching out for it to understand your
progress and how can they follow along the story?
Speaker 2 (29:38):
So first, we are publishing all our achievements on our
website and it's also a really nice one, so go
ahead and look it up. And and of course we're
on LinkedIn. You can also even reach out to me
(29:58):
growers anyone that is want to or network or to
collaborate with us. And as mentioned, we are now working
very hard on our sample capability and also to start
the operation in the US. So I'm guessing this year
will be the year that I will be back and
(30:19):
forth from Israel to the US until we will have
a base there.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Are you ready for Potato Expo twenty five?
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Definitely, definitely, already thinking of the tickets, already checked. It's
in the Texas. I think.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Thank you so much for spending time with us. It's
really it's a fascinating story and I'm looking forward to
following it as it continues to develop.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Thank you, Mitch, it was great speaking with you.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
You've been listening to a conversation with Maya supiir Mirror.
She's the co founder and CEO of Polo Po. The
Israeli company has developed a genetically modified potato that produces
egg protein oval bumin specifically, and they plan to bring
it to the United States for cultivation in the next
couple of years. You can learn more about Polopo at
Polopo dot tech. Polopo is Po, l o Po no spaces,
(31:15):
no dashes, Polopo dot tech. Genetic modification of plants has
remained a controversial topic, though extensive study has shown that
they are safe for human consumption. However, there are differences
of opinion remaining about their impact on biodiversity, and certainly
replacing one monoculture crop with another would represent absolutely no
(31:36):
progress in biodiversity preservation. But for argument's sake, let's take
Maya's comment that there will be no food security without
GMO at faced value. We do understand that the change
in climate imperils food supplies already, and we urgently need
to be prepared to respond with crops that can feed
people in a warming world, and those crops must also
(31:57):
win in the market, starting with farmers who choose plants
that make them the most money while preserving their land's
productivity over time. The moral hazard here lies in the
potential competition from bio fuel and industrial materials production for
the limited amount of land available for human food cultivation.
The really intriguing protein potato chip that maya described earlier
(32:20):
will compete for farmer's land with plants that can be
used to make sustainable aviation fuel, glue, and other materials.
So we need to balance human needs with profit opportunity.
The economics of GMO are far from plate out already,
and unlike the industrial era, perhaps this time round we
can learn the lesson that we must recognize the limits
and impacts of our technology. One thing is certain, the
(32:43):
way that people will eat will be different than today
justice today's typical meal is different than one served in
nineteen sixty, and in nineteen hundred, and in eighteen forty
and in eighteen seventy. A more colorful, plant centric plate
in twenty forty will be a better plate for the planet. However,
we get there. So we'll keep you apprized as the
world changes, and I hope you'll return the favor by
(33:05):
taking a look at any of them more than five
hundred episodes of Sustainability in Your Ear that we've shared before.
Writing review on your favorite podcast platform, folks will help
people find us and you can be the amplifier that
spreads more ideas to create less waste. So please tell
your friends, your family, your coworkers, the people you meet
on the street that they can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Audible,
(33:28):
or whatever purveyor of podcast goodness they prefer. Thank you,
folks for your support. I'm Mitchrackcliffe. This is Sustainability in
Your Ear and we will be back with another innovator
interview soon. In the meantime, take care of yourself, take
care of one another, and let's all take care of
this beautiful planet of ours. Have a green day.
Hello, good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, wherever you
are on this beautiful planet of ours. Welcome to Sustainability
in your Ear. This is the podcast conversation about accelerating
the transition to a sustainable carbon neutral society, and I'm
your host, Met Ratcliffe. Thanks for joining the conversation. Today,
humans face pressing challenges in a warming climate, and one
(00:28):
of the most urgent issues we're confronted with is the
delivery of sufficient protein for human and agricultural use. With
global temperatures rising, traditional protein sources, especially from animals, are
becoming increasingly unsustainable both environmentally and economically. The agricultural sector
is struggling to maintain reliable production due to shifting weather patterns,
(00:50):
crop failures, and the disruption of supply chains due to
climate change. This is where molecular farming might come in,
offering a potential solution that could be revolutionary. And today
we're joined by Maya sapir Mir, the co founder and
CEO of Polopo, a company pioneering a new frontier in
protein production using plant based molecular farming. What they're doing
(01:13):
is using genetically modified potatoes to produce high quality proteins
such as an egg protein called ovobumin. And this is
Polopo's response to growing food security and sustainability to challenges.
Because if we can make these proteins at scale, we
don't need as many facilities to for instance, grow and
house chickens. It's an interesting opportunity for us to change
(01:33):
the way we source and produce our food. So we'll
talk with Maya about how this technology is not only
reimagining the way we produce protein, but also could contribute
to a more sustainable and resilient future for food production.
You can learn more about Maya and Polopo at Polopo
dot Tech. Polopo is po l o po all one word,
(01:54):
no space, no dash, Polopo dot Tech. We're going to
get to the conversation right after a quick commerce break.
Welcome to the show, Maya, how are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Thank you, Thank you so much. It's great to be
here and everything is good.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Thank you for taking the time to talk with us.
And I wanted to start off by you know you're
turning potato plants into micro biofactories. Can you explain how
that technology works?
Speaker 2 (02:25):
So first we elevate the protein content inside the potato tuber,
and we are aiming the expression of the egg protein
only toward to the tube. The rest of the plant
grows regularly, same yield, same protocols, same everything, but only
the tuber is expressing the egg protein. Then we can
(02:45):
extract the egg protein and use it just like as
we use egg protein in the food industry. Our final product
is a functional protein powder. It can almost seamlessly integrate
into the same egg based product that we eat.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
I'm curious if I were to eat a genetically modified potato,
would it taste like egg in some way?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
So I think that in those percentage you won't to
feel the taste. You just will get the same nutritious
value as you get from egg proteins, which are very
very high nutritious in this sense. So you will have
the nutritious value, but I guess that you won't feel
any different taste than potatoes.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Sorry for the very basic question, but you know, I
wanted to set the state because the idea that we
can program nature to start to produce things that we
need from novel sources egg protein from a potato, for instance,
is really an intriguing change and represents an opportunity for
humanity to rethink the way we source food. How did
(03:48):
you get involved in this and how did Polo pos start?
Speaker 2 (03:53):
So? I have a PhD in plant sciences and I
met during my PhD and Harpy, my co founder and
great friend and colleague, doctor Ohyah Libermanaloni. She is the
city of the company, and we're expert in metabolic engineering
of plants. This is what I did for almost twenty years,
(04:13):
and we know also the classic breeding methods and we
got up to this point where we achieved a great
solution through breeding. But now we need to change the
way we eat. We need to feed the growing population.
And this opportunity, with our expertise in elevating protein contents,
(04:35):
in expressing animal proteins in side plants, specifically in potatoes,
but in general in plants, gives us the opportunity first
to change the way we eat, to feed the growing
population and save this planet because now how we are
using it, we won't be able to use it for
(04:56):
many years more. And this is the opportunity that we
bring with Polopo and of course other solutions to get there.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
And can you talk about the origin of the company.
You're in Israel? Why Israel seems to be a hotbed
for this kind of innovation. Why is that so?
Speaker 2 (05:15):
I think that first, yes, Israel is many specifically in
foot tech, in biotech, you see many many startups. I
think few reasons. First, most of us have this route
where we all go to university. It's something that you do.
It's almost not a consideration. So many people are educated.
(05:38):
And then and Israel is not an easy place to
live in, so we also need to be very innovative
to I don't know, to invent things and invent ourselves.
But I think the most important thing and the strong
thing that we bring is the community. We see in
(05:59):
any echoes system, very close communities of startups and founders
and CEOs and CEOs that are working together for solutions
and in food tech, it's just amazing. And it's a
small country, so all the startups are almost the same area,
or even if they are far, it's just a few
(06:20):
hours away. We meet each other, we collaborate, we exchange thoughts,
and I think this drives many many of the good
innovations that we see today coming out from Israel.
Speaker 1 (06:35):
Now you mentioned, of course it's kind of difficult to
grow a lot of food in Israel because of the climate.
You're moving from greenhouse production to field cultivation now, and
that's a big step up for you. What's been the
most significant challenge in scaling to field level production?
Speaker 2 (06:52):
First, we are aiming all our operation to the US
is well, we're doing the R and D here, All
of varieties are here. We are doing even the field
trials in Israel, but our production will be in the
US first because it's huge, lots of potatoes are growing,
and of course the market is there and other regulatory processes.
(07:14):
But for us in this stage first moving into field trials,
we are doing it in steps. So we got our
varieties put them in the field. It's quite easy. The
most I don't know, time consuming thing is to propagate
enough plants in order to plant them or to build
the old propagation tubers. It's the seed that you plant
(07:36):
in ground. This takes time. Of course, that when we
will be in commercial stage, we will work with a
propagation tube manufacturer and it will make our seeds to plant. Now,
between working in a greenhouse and moving to field trials,
our team worked so hard and they are just amazing.
(07:59):
Our R and D T how they achieved the ability
to plant in time in this season in ground our
potatoes for screening.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
I've been involved in some biomanufacturing projects, so I know
one of the big challenges is when you move from
small scale large scale is controlling the quality and the
character of the protein that you're producing. You know, when
you put those plants into the natural environment where wind
could carry pollen from another plant to it, how do
you control the quality and output of the material that
(08:33):
you're trying to produce.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
So this is the amazing thing with potatoes. In regular
growth of potatoes, they don't pollinate and they don't seed.
It's all underground. And actually it's even we get better
yields and better results when planting them in soil because
those are potatoes in pots there it's like it's a
(08:57):
small area for them to grow and to propagate. We
see now in our field trials, big plants, lots of
potatoes coming out. So one of the great things about
potatoes is that when you plant them in soil, you
get better results. And as for pollination in seed, no
risk there. And it's also making our life a bit
(09:20):
easier with the regulatory processes. Because everything is underground. We
need only to control what we are growing underground, and
we don't need to worry about the rest of the plant.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
Does that make potatoes sort of the ideal plan for
this kind of a biomanufacturing strategy or do you imagine
a wide range of plants being reprogrammed in the future.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
First, there are a wide range of plants that are
being used for those technologies. Of course, I believe that
potatoes are the best, but it's not really fair. But
we are expert in this field, and before we started
we examined many many plant models to work in, and
(10:07):
when we got to potatoes, it was like everything fell
into place scientifically, commercially in any aspect. A very cheap
crop to grow all over the world, big organ to
accumulate the proteins, and this infrastructure is already there. We
are already processing potatoes, so it's all the downstream processes,
(10:30):
and all the processes are cheaper than we see in
other technologies. And of course what I said that everything
is underground, nothing can be spread around. Yes, I truly
believe that. Even three years after we started, I still
believe that it was the best choice we did to
work with potatoes.
Speaker 1 (10:50):
Have you established us partnerships you know, I lived in
the most potato growing region in the country, which by
the way, is not the state of Idaho, but Washington.
Are you working with farmers in the United States or
farm companies in the United Day.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Thank you for this question. I just got back from
Potato expot It was an amazing experience. We saw that
this huge industry is relatively really small. Everyone knows everyone.
It was mind blowing. First it was so much fun.
But other than that, we got many connections. We saw
(11:27):
that growers and seed manufacturers are much more innovative than
what we thought they will be there. I'm not afraid
of growing GMO. The small growers are keen to work
with us. They were very excited about rich protein potatoes.
So I can't say yet that we partnered with someone,
(11:50):
but yes, definitely, this is the direction that we are
working toward. We have connection already with the propagation tuba
manufacturer and with small growers because it's more than enough
for us to work with a small grower. So it's very,
very exciting. Now we are very confident that we will
be able to start our operations soon in the US.
Speaker 1 (12:14):
I'm curious why did you start with all human is
that and where might that be used in place of
egg product in products that we would consume in the stage.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
So for us, we started alguming with the egg protein
almost as a POC first, because we know that we
will probably want me to separate with the rest of
the potato proteins because potato proteins have similar functionalities as
egg protein. So it will be a cheaper a downstream
(12:47):
process when you don't need to separate the protein from protein.
But the main thing is this huge market. It's a
huge market opportunity. It's going to reach sixty billion by
twenty thirty one, and the food industry is looking to
replace eggs today. It's not just sustainability. It suffers from
instability in the supply chain. It causes the prices to
(13:10):
go up all the time. I'm hearing now on shortage
in eggs in the US and it's sold due to
bird flu outbursts and it's getting worse. So the food
industry is already looking for solution. Not in the future,
but today.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
I'm curious, can you ramp up production or ramp down
production in response to changing availability, for instance, of eggs
in this case, more than one hundred million laying hands
then put down as a result of bird fluw. But
can you respond quickly enough to fill the gap? I
think that's one of the new challenges we have to
think about, is planning and preparation for the unexpected in
(13:50):
the food supply.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
True, so of course it will take a bit time
until we will be fully commercial or fully scaled up.
And our product is powder, is functional protein powder, so
shelf life is really long. So we believe that we
will work probably at least in two different areas, that
(14:14):
we will be able to grow more than one time
or two times a year in different environments, and then
a whole field will be collected. We know how to
storage potatoes, so we don't need to do it at once.
The extraction, we can keep those potatoes another reason to
choose potatoes, and then those powders also can be stored.
(14:38):
They have a long shelf life, so we hope that
we won't need to respond quickly. We will have our
supply all the time. But of course this is a
huge market. We won't be able to supply all the
egg proteins that the market need.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
Is the potato genome susceptible to producing almost any protein
or are there limits to what might.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Be used for There are always limits. You can't produce
everything all the time. It's not it doesn't make sense
in any plant or other model. But potatoes are quite
complex organisms, so they are able to produce a complex protein.
(15:21):
And this organ that we can it's it's called a
sink organ It can accumulate metabolites in general, mainly also
protein starches. And because it's full of water, we can shift,
we can lower the water down and accumulate other metabolites
or proteins. So it makes it a really robust protein
(15:45):
production system when you use the tuber itself.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
What are a couple of examples of other types of proteins?
Could you do milk proteins for instance with.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
This definitely, as we are always looking on other proteins
that the food industry is looking for to replace animal
based proteins for met alternative for example, texture taste, those
kinds of proteins. The early grail of the industry is
because of course we are looking also on those directions.
(16:14):
But all the time we look and we hope that
we will partner, our partners will enable us, all will
lead us to what we are going to manufactures according
to their need.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
Now that you're waiting for USDA approval to plant and
use these potatoes in the United States, what are the
milestones you're watching for over the next few months. And
I'm curious whether some of the Trump administration decisions have
derailed some of your expectations.
Speaker 2 (16:47):
So we don't know yet what will be the result
of that. Now we're starting to work to on setting
our production in the US totally on the potato expos
So this is one of the most important thing is
to start operation to partner there. We are also working
on our sample production. There are many companies that are
(17:10):
already looking for our samples in order to do formulation
application and of course in the future to sign commercial agreements.
So this is what our team is aiming on, and
of course always elevating more the protein content in the potatoes.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Well, this is a fascinating story. I want to take
a quick commercial break, but we're going to be right
back to continue the conversation. Now, let's get back to
the discussion with Maya Sapir Mir. She is the co
founder and CEO of Polo Po, which is developing food
protein by reprogramming the DNA of potatoes to pioneer plant
(17:48):
based molecular farming Maya. What's the origin of the name
po lopo?
Speaker 2 (17:56):
So in Hebrew, po is here, okay is not here,
So the protein is here, but it's not originally from here.
And it's also a play of the worlds with the
potato and protein. We just love it.
Speaker 1 (18:11):
That's an interesting One of the things you've been doing
is working with growers in the astral region of Israel.
How do partnerships with farmers contribute to their income compared
to their growing traditional crops? Can they make more money? So?
Speaker 2 (18:28):
First, of course, we believe that the farmers will want
to work with us because our potatoes have higher value.
We saw the great reaction we received from small growers
the Potato Expo. The growers are keen on innovation and
diversifying their varieties, not just on better economics, and they
(18:49):
are really excited about our technology. We believe that in
our agriculture, and it's important that the farmers will have
better income working with us. So yes, definitely, we are
aiming for that.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
Do you have a sense of how much more valuable
a biomanufacturing potato is than a traditional russet potato that
I would bake.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
I don't have a number for that. And then our
proteins are not for a fresh potato consumed yet, but
for extraction, so it's it's totally different.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
But do you have a sense of when you speak
to a farmer and they ask, okay, so I get
thirty dollars a bushel picking a number out of the air,
can you say, oh, you'll get sixty or we expect
you'll get forty five?
Speaker 2 (19:37):
How much?
Speaker 1 (19:38):
What percentage left in value do they do? You tell
them they might.
Speaker 2 (19:41):
Achieve So we're not talking yet in percentages, or we
are talking but they I can't say that. But of
course you have to understand it. In our business model,
the grow path is so small in what we need
to invest. Seat's a dancing process, so we still have
(20:02):
you know, every every cent that we add to that
is doing nothing for the model, but it's very important
for the growers. So yes, we will be able to
bring them a better price.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
So that raises another question is how many of the
production facilities to convert the potato into the target protein
are you going to need to build over the course
of the next decade, say in the United States, in
order to serve the demand by food producers.
Speaker 2 (20:30):
So of course we are a small company and we
want to be able to supply all the egg proteins
that the North America needs. But we are aiming to
start in small and grow in years. We are not
looking to build huge facilities at start and invest huge
(20:52):
copex in metal or in buildings. We will probably start
with a small grower with a small CMO so that
we'll be able to do our process and in the future,
once we will have enough revenues to build our own facility,
maybe in one location, two locations, but we will see
(21:12):
how it will go around the world.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Now, one of the challenges that we face is we
talk about the availability of arable land globally to produce
both human food and to use for various forms of biomanufacturing.
Do you think we have sufficient arable land in order
to do that or do we have to resort to
more indoor growing and the like in order to get there.
Speaker 2 (21:38):
So seventy percent of the land that is used for
agriculture goes to feed This is enormous drop that and
do agriculture for food to feed the real people. We
have no problems with land at all leave that once
(22:01):
we will take we won't need to grow hands for eggs.
We will be able and we will have enough land
in order to use potatoes. And again, potatoes are very
efficient crop. They use relatively a low amount of land
and even in water that are very very efficient.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
So I think that's a really important point to highlight,
is that, so if we don't have to grow grain
to feed chickens to get egg proteins, we actually free
up land that can be used more productively to produce
those proteins and leave some additional land left over for
other uses.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
That's such an important actly, Exactly, instead of producing proteins
to feed animals and then eat them, let's produce the
proteins and eat them directly.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Well, so what other proteins are you think thinking about
in the near term? You know, for instance, if we
could we mentioned milk proteins earlier, eliminate concentrated animal feeding operations,
which are incredibly polluting as well as consuming all that
grain that you have to feed to the cattle. What
kinds of what do you think about replacing when you're
(23:19):
daydreaming about the future.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
So first we need to separate it for functional proteins
that the food industry needs in order to emulsify or
weep or glue or all the things that we are
doing with those functional protein that we are extracting those cousins,
egg proteins, and et cetera. And the other side is nutritious,
(23:42):
high nutritious value protein that we sometimes get only from
animal consuming, but we can eat them directly in our food.
For example, our rich protein potatoes. We believe that we
will consume them in the future as they are high
nutritious value. You have the carbohydrate, but you also will
(24:07):
have the proteins in them, so it's a whole it's
almost the whole meal.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
Well, okay, now you're you're kind of blowing my mind here.
I just realized that, So you're gonna have ash browns
that also did other beneficial nutritional things for your.
Speaker 2 (24:21):
Body, exactly protein chips.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
I have. So have you have you talked to chefs
or food innovators about how they might use that aspect
of the genetically modified potato.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Yes, definitely, I think I think it's it's an amazing
and I'm a huge believer in GMO. I think that
there's no food security without GMOs and I'm sure that
we will be there. Our our potatoes at the moment
have the same taste as the as regular potatoes, so
you can do almost anything with them. We are even
(24:58):
lowering the water accumulation inside the tubers, so it really
fits French fries and other products that we see in
the market.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
Okay, so we might have protein fries at McDonald's in
the future. Okay. It just opened an entirely niverstive interesting
opportunities here. Other than potatoes, What types of plants are
you thinking would be attractive targets for additional development.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
We see in this first we see leaves that are
being used for a production of proteins, and we see
also seeds. I think that also we'll see maybe in
roots like sweet potatoes, cassava that are very very interesting.
(25:50):
I think it also depends if you want to extract
the protein or to consume the plants. Is there are
many many plants that we can think of to enriched
with proteins or other metabolites and to consume them as
they are. We can almost make any any plant as
(26:10):
super food.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
There's so many paths to bio manufacturing, such as using
microorganisms to produce proteins from CO two. How do you
see this industry evolving? I know you're a potato expo,
but I assume you talk to other people about genetically
modified everything. What will the food supply look like in
a decade or two.
Speaker 2 (26:32):
I truly believe that it will change the way we eat.
I'm confident that we soon will see those products becoming commercial.
It's a long ur and Dee, it's hard for the
food deck, but I'm sure that we will be there.
I'm a huge believer in the power of plants and
the ability of plants to diversify the food system, and
(26:57):
of course using a modify fight plants. And again, if
we want to feed the growing population, save the world,
we have no choice but to change the way we eat.
Use GMOs, even microorganisms, plants. I think there are so
many opportunities with plants that we will see many many
(27:22):
technologies evolve and getting to be commercial.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
When you imagine that that food scape in the future.
We talked about protein chips, for instance, can you imagine
a salad that also gives us all the protein we need.
Can you describe what a plate at someone's home might
look like in ten or twenty years and what will
the impact be on the environment be of that plate
(27:48):
compared to what it is today.
Speaker 2 (27:51):
So first, I really hope that we will see less
processed products in our plate, that our plate will be
color full with the purple tomatoes that you already have
in the US, that you can eat GMO, with potatoes
that are rich with proteins, with the leaves that are
(28:12):
gives you I don't know iron and all the metabolites
we need to consume, and sometimes today we get them
only from from meat or dairy. I am thinking of
a huge plate of salad that is so colorful only
with the vegetables and fruits that we will get everything from.
(28:36):
I think that once we will lower down the consumption
of meat, we will have enough land to change the
way we eat. I think that we also will bring
more efficient crop. Part of those GMOs is to be
able to grow our food in different environments, in changing environments.
(28:58):
In climate is hotter that in land that is the
salter we see those those technologies that are out there
with the ARTTEC. So I think that mainly I hope
that it will be less processed food and more vegetables
(29:19):
and colors in our plate.
Speaker 1 (29:22):
That's a. That's a really interesting vision and I hope
that we get there. I would love to have that
dinner that you just described. What's next for Polopo? What
should people be watching out for it to understand your
progress and how can they follow along the story?
Speaker 2 (29:38):
So first, we are publishing all our achievements on our
website and it's also a really nice one, so go
ahead and look it up. And and of course we're
on LinkedIn. You can also even reach out to me
(29:58):
growers anyone that is want to or network or to
collaborate with us. And as mentioned, we are now working
very hard on our sample capability and also to start
the operation in the US. So I'm guessing this year
will be the year that I will be back and
(30:19):
forth from Israel to the US until we will have
a base there.
Speaker 1 (30:24):
Are you ready for Potato Expo twenty five?
Speaker 2 (30:27):
Definitely, definitely, already thinking of the tickets, already checked. It's
in the Texas. I think.
Speaker 1 (30:35):
Thank you so much for spending time with us. It's
really it's a fascinating story and I'm looking forward to
following it as it continues to develop.
Speaker 2 (30:42):
Thank you, Mitch, it was great speaking with you.
Speaker 1 (30:50):
You've been listening to a conversation with Maya supiir Mirror.
She's the co founder and CEO of Polo Po. The
Israeli company has developed a genetically modified potato that produces
egg protein oval bumin specifically, and they plan to bring
it to the United States for cultivation in the next
couple of years. You can learn more about Polopo at
Polopo dot tech. Polopo is Po, l o Po no spaces,
(31:15):
no dashes, Polopo dot tech. Genetic modification of plants has
remained a controversial topic, though extensive study has shown that
they are safe for human consumption. However, there are differences
of opinion remaining about their impact on biodiversity, and certainly
replacing one monoculture crop with another would represent absolutely no
(31:36):
progress in biodiversity preservation. But for argument's sake, let's take
Maya's comment that there will be no food security without
GMO at faced value. We do understand that the change
in climate imperils food supplies already, and we urgently need
to be prepared to respond with crops that can feed
people in a warming world, and those crops must also
(31:57):
win in the market, starting with farmers who choose plants
that make them the most money while preserving their land's
productivity over time. The moral hazard here lies in the
potential competition from bio fuel and industrial materials production for
the limited amount of land available for human food cultivation.
The really intriguing protein potato chip that maya described earlier
(32:20):
will compete for farmer's land with plants that can be
used to make sustainable aviation fuel, glue, and other materials.
So we need to balance human needs with profit opportunity.
The economics of GMO are far from plate out already,
and unlike the industrial era, perhaps this time round we
can learn the lesson that we must recognize the limits
and impacts of our technology. One thing is certain, the
(32:43):
way that people will eat will be different than today
justice today's typical meal is different than one served in
nineteen sixty, and in nineteen hundred, and in eighteen forty
and in eighteen seventy. A more colorful, plant centric plate
in twenty forty will be a better plate for the planet. However,
we get there. So we'll keep you apprized as the
world changes, and I hope you'll return the favor by
(33:05):
taking a look at any of them more than five
hundred episodes of Sustainability in Your Ear that we've shared before.
Writing review on your favorite podcast platform, folks will help
people find us and you can be the amplifier that
spreads more ideas to create less waste. So please tell
your friends, your family, your coworkers, the people you meet
on the street that they can find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Audible,
(33:28):
or whatever purveyor of podcast goodness they prefer. Thank you,
folks for your support. I'm Mitchrackcliffe. This is Sustainability in
Your Ear and we will be back with another innovator
interview soon. In the meantime, take care of yourself, take
care of one another, and let's all take care of
this beautiful planet of ours. Have a green day.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!