New Food Order

Designing Better Plant-Based and Alternative Proteins with Sonalie Figueiras

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Episode notes

How might we design plant-based, cultivated meat, and precision fermented alternative proteins in the most people and planet friendly ways?

In our second design episode, we speak with Sonalie Figueiras, a Hong Kong-based social entrepreneur and founder and the Editor in Chief of Green Queen, a sustainability and impact media platform that educates millions of readers on the connection between health, sustainability and the environment and showcases future solutions from Asia and across the globe. She is also the co-founder and CEO of organic sourcing platform Ekowarehouse and climate tech SaaS Source Green, which helps consumer brands quit plastic packaging thanks to proprietary plastic reduction software. And she’s an advisor to multiple mission-driven startups and NGOs, and a venture partner to several VC funds.

In this episode, we discuss:

The complexity of designing people and planet friendly products
Sonalie’s 5 product design principles
The good and the bad of plant-based products
Sonalie’s take on slowing plant-based sales
Why plant-based companies need to focus on the human ethics of their supply chain
How biotech companies might think about designing people and planet friendly products
Why governments need to invest in cultivated meat and precision fermentation technology

Show Notes

Green Queen: https://www.greenqueen.com.hk/
Source Green: www.sourcegreen.co
Design Episode with Julia Collins
Natural Fiber Welding: https://www.naturalfiberwelding.com/
Ellen MacArthur Foundation (EMF) Circular Economy & Big Food Redesign: https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/topics/food/overview
UNLIMEAT: https://unlimeat.co/
What Questions Should We Be Asking About Cell-Based Meats? https://www.forbes.com/sites/errolschweizer/2021/05/06/what-questions-should-we-be-asking-about-cell-based-meats/
What Consumers Should Ask About Precision Fermentation: https://www.forbes.com/sites/errolschweizer/2022/03/02/what-should-consumers-be-asking-about-precision-fermentation/
Asia Pacific Cultivated Protein Alliance: https://www.apac-sca.org/

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This series is sponsored by Foodshot Global & New Hope Network

And a huge thank you to everyone who helped us bring this podcast to life:

Production: Cam Gray, Cofruition, Anna de Wolff Evans

Audio Editing: Tevin Sudi

Original Music: Rodrigo Barbera

Art: Lola Nankin

Project Management: Patrick Carter