Ep. 130 - [The Good Food Institute Series] How to be a Clean Meat Scientist with Marie Gibbons, Clean Meat Fellow at the GFI

If you are still a high school or college student and you want to get into this industry, I hope this podcast will open up the pandora’s box of opportunities we’ll be laying out before you. But even if you are maybe a bit further along in your career, there is always time to jump in.

Marie Gibbons is probably the most famous clean meat scientist for multiple reasons. She is funded by the Good Food Insitute, she is currently doing her research in Harvard, and she’s really passionate in what she does.

Marie’s passion and kindness resonate in this interview. She is an extremely authentic and transparent scientist who explains the process of clean meat in simple yet dense detail.

Do note, some of the experiences Marie has being a farm animal veterinarian are quite graphic, of course, to prove a point. We only talk about it in the beginning, but just be forewarned.

Otherwise, I’m glad that Marie has a sense of humor so enjoy a bunch of smart alec scientists talk about clean meat among other things.

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Show Notes

On the shownotes, I did something special and labeled Opportunities that are available in the industry.

Clean Meat by Paul Shapiro 80,000 hours podcast – effective altruism podcast Zak Weston Harvard medical school Gym Meats When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you usually tell someone in a sentence or less?: I grow animal cells for meat. Dr. George Church How did you get to work with Dr. George Church?: I met him at an Effective Altruism conference and I contacted him after the show. We got to talking and here I am! How do you get funding for Clean Meat?: You have to write a grant or a giant lab report. When did you find interest in Clean Meat?: It came from when I was 12 years old and my dad gave me two pet snakes. I had to feed them mice. In order for snakes to live, they have to kill and then I thought of clean meat. Then I became a veterinarian and became a farm animal vet. And I realized farm animals aren’t treated the same way as other animals. I had to do a lot of really gruesome stuff as a farm animal veterinarian. If they get a disease, we have to find painful ways to remove it. How do you get in the foot in the door for Clean Meat?: Just like the food industry, there are so many avenues to help with clean meat. How is clean meat made? Opportunity: If you want to get into the science, focus on 3D modeling to prepare for baby back ribs and t bone steak. I can grow a nugget for $400 dollars Opportunity: Replace Fetal Bovine Serum to make plant-based growth media Opportunity: Somatic Cell Technology:Use pluripotency and turn them back into Stem Cells. Media components: Gatorade and Protein Powder. The standard Protein Powder has Fetal Bovine Serum Fetal Bovine Serum is quite a painful process by stabbing unborn baby cows in the heart to extract the fluid The growth factors have to be part of the serum which is the hard part because they have to tell the cell to grow. Opportunity: You can create growth factors with Recombinant DNA technology. You can get bacteria to create growth factor Algae Soylent Green Opportunity: Cut out the middle man to get the cells to automatically grow their own growth factor How do you change cells?: DNA, RNA, gene editing, environmental media etc. Induced Plurry Potent Opportunity: Scaling up Clean Meat. Regulatory, what is it going to be called? Opportunity: Induced Immortalization. To get cells to continuously grow until we said no. We just need to tell them to grown certain cells. Embryonic Stem Cells should be immortal. Telomerase Telomeres – serve as a buffer for our chromosomes to create DNA. What kind of resources do you use to find out about Clean Meat?: Sometimes, it’s literature based, sometimes it’s the feedback from professors and industry folks. Opportunity: Though there isn’t a lot of clean meat research, there is a ton of research in regenerative agriculture. Pigs are so physiologically similar to humans, which is why there is tons of research on pigs. We still need a lot of hands to sift through the research My Food Job Rocks: I get to study how life works. And not only that, but I have a chance to help animals and end animal suffering What would be your dream job title?: Clean Meat Scientist. I am funded by the Good Food Institute Harvard is generally interested in clean meat. Clean Meat and Plant-based meat actually has a lot of overlap. What companies are doing a great job in Clean Meat? Memphis Meats Mosa Meats JUST Foods Finless Foods What’s your favorite quote book or kitchen item: Blender and George Foreman Grill. I can make BLAT. Vegan bacon. If you’re trying to go more plant-based, you need to start with products with a lot of things going on and eliminate meat. A vegan food you really like: Tofu Scramble with Salad Greens and Asian spices Kimchi and lactic acid Smoothies – vegan chocolate protein powder, blueberries, greens Soylent Drinks Necter Soylent Rice and beans, and Indian food Do you have any advice to be a clean meat scientist?: Get familiar with cellular biology. All of these companies are looking for people and if you want to get into this, reach out and apply. It doesn’t hurt to reach out. If you want to reach out, you can go to the GFI and contact them. What should colleges teach you about to prepare you for life?: Taxes haha. Business course. There is a lot of common sense in business. A mandatory class on how to grow food. Where can we find you for advice?: My email is on the Harvard website, also on facebook, linkedin, or Instagram. I’m kind of bad for getting on emails but be patient.

 

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