Ep. 129 - [The Good Food Institute Series] The Big Sustainability Picture with Isaac Emery, Senor Environmental Scientist at the GFI

We talk a ton about sustainability on the podcast, being one of the most important topics food industry professionals are interested in solving.

Isaac is the perfect person to talk about environmental impact. Having been in multiple disciplines, he’s been researching the sustainability from biofuels to chicken coops.

We get to talk about the cool sustainability tools I never heard about. One topic, in particular, is lifecycle assessment, a complete analysis of any product in the world’s environmental impact.

I hope that this interview gives you the tools necessary to save the world.

I also notice that Isaac and I have very similar ways of cooking. For example, we love stir-frying in our favorite cast iron skillets. What does that mean? I have no idea.

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Show Notes

When someone asks what you do for a living, what do you tell them in a sentence or less?: I’m an environmental scientist and my focus is comparing the effects of food and environmental effects in food. Why did you decide to join the GFI?: The mission is really exciting. I’ve worked on sustainability for a number of different angles, human health also. The technology like clean meat and plant-based meat can really change the world. What do you do at the GFI?: I’ll read a lot of academic papers, and clean meat articles, and everything, and then connect the dots and share it with people What is one fact about what you’ve found out?: Animals are generally not very efficient in producing meat. Clean Meat will reduce a ton of landmass. Not only animals but the corn and soybeans to livestock. 15-35 x more average land mass Clean Meat Some land is made for animals, a lot of arguments about land usage Though that may be true, half of all land on earth is from agriculture. As the earth becomes more populous and prosperous, the pressure for land is tremendous. Talk to Isaac about environmental impacts on clean meatLetter to the editor to the National Academy of Sciences on switching to plant-based diet might not be environmentally friendly. White Paper critiquing the flawed analysis on animal agriculture If someone were to get more information on alternative meats, where can they go?: Unfortunately a lot of these papers are very technical. We at GFI hope to break them down. World Resources Institute Steps it took to get to where you are today: Whitman College Walla Walla Washington, biochemistry and molecular science. I still took classes in environmental issues Purdue, Ph.D. in biofuels. Learned a ton about the environmental aspects of biofuels. After that, I started to get interested in food. Most important skills you need for your job: Big picture thinking How do you get better at big picture thinking?: Everyone is different. Some people are naturally inclined to think big, others like detail. However, to solve big problems, you need to talk to people. Coffee Causes Cancer in California Wework Impact Hub in Seattle PeasOnMoss What would be your dream job title?: I’m pretty happy with my job title now! Someday, I’ll have my own department of scientists but now, I love my title. What would you do with a team of environmental scientists?: Sustainability is a big problem so we need more experts. Lifecycle Assessment: A new scientific tool that has a lot of potential. Not the lifecycle of a cow or chicken, but rather, the lifecycle of a hamburger or a car. What About Protein Isolation? Ricardo at UC Berkeley Land use might be the most important environmental factors for animal farming What kind of research papers are you working on right now? Poultry farming and manure pasteurization How do you take in research?: I learn a lot by writing. Writing things to summarize and then I think about what other people say. I synthesize different viewpoints and different resources. What’s your favorite thing to cook?: I tend not to do recipes. Stirfry and stews. Some day, I want to use clean meat to make my family’s traditional chicken pot pie. Favorite Spice: Cumin, Rosemary and Thyme especially for potatoes and stews. Turmeric is good, but it stains. Adam’s Favorite Spice: Chipotle. The peppers in a  jar Favorite Kitchen item: Cast Iron Skillet Favorite Book: Cadillac Desert by Mark Briesner. About land and agriculture Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to go into your industry?: You can use your passion and skills on anything in the food industry. There are a lot of different ways you can apply your skills in food. What should colleges teach people more of?: The things that are really important are being reflective, being willing to admit your assumptions are wrong. Reflective thinking. The ability to write, the ability of have conversations on really important topics. Where can we find you for advice? The GFI website. Twitter: @doctordendrite

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