Grow Everything Biotech Podcast 157. (Thanksgiving Replay) Meat the Future: How Paul Shapiro is Brewing Superfoods at Better Meat Co.
Nov 28, 2025
Paul Shapiro, co-founder and CEO of Better Meat Co., shares his journey from animal welfare activist to mycoprotein entrepreneur. He discusses how fungi fermentation can create meat-like textures sustainably and highlights the potential of mycoprotein as food for space travelers. Paul emphasizes the need for government investment in biomanufacturing to support alternative proteins and tackles the challenges of scaling production. He also touches on the economics of feedstocks and the role of Better Meat Co. in shaping the future of sustainable protein.
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From High School Activist To Founder
- Paul Shapiro recounts starting Compassion Over Killing in high school after seeing factory farm footage and never fully trusting awareness alone to solve animal cruelty.
- He transitioned from advocacy to writing Clean Meat and then to founding Better Meat Co. to drive technological solutions directly.
Capital Is The Real Rate-Limiter
- Cultivated meat progressed fast in interest but slow in commercialization due to massive capital and infrastructure needs.
- Paul argues this sector will require public-scale financing like clean energy to reach meaningful commercial scale.
Push For Public Biomanufacturing Support
- Advocate for government investment and biomanufacturing incentives to avoid offshoring future food production and to build domestic capacity.
- Treat clean-protein infrastructure like clean-energy infrastructure with targeted loans and subsidies.
