🌍Today we’re grabbing a drink with Brett Thompson, co-founder and CEO of Mzansi Meat, the African continent’s first cellular agriculture startup. Brett has deep roots in 🦁animal advocacy and has worked in alternative protein for over a decade in 🇿🇦South Africa and 🇩🇪Germany, focusing on using innovation to drive better food systems, specifically by cultivating quality meat without harming animals.
Brett Thompson, co-founder and CEO of Mzansi Meat, on effective solutions in food systems:
“I think there needs to be a bouquet of solutions. I don’t think plant-based is the only solution; I don’t think unprocessed, regenerative farming, any of those things alone are solutions - rather I think you need to add a hell of a lot of things to it. And I think cultivated meat adds to that, because there’s not one silver bullet. People want to eat meat, and this provides an opportunity… It’s about how we innovate and improve that process.”
Brett and co-founder Tasneem Karodia started the cultivated meat industry in Africa by establishing the first company of its kind on the continent. They introduce a more efficient, sustainable and ethical means of creating animal protein products, and have started with beef. Their methods contribute to long-term food security for many, and their harm-free, biology-driven approach is already inspiring other companies to venture into production in the region, sparking a needed industry, and a climate-friendly change.
Find Brett on Twitter and Instagram: @BrettVThompson
Find Mzansi on twitter: @MzansiMeatCo
… and on LinkedIn
🥃 What we drank during the episode: Diemersdal Estate Red Pinotage (Brett), and Kahlua with Coffee (Matt)
Enjoy the show!