Chef Jun Sog works with WildType’s cultivated salmon.
Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Empowering our capacity for Compassion and Change
How do we reduce animal suffering, protect the planet, and feed 7.9 billion people? We know that the current status quo cannot be sustained, so what are the solutions?
We Animals recently returned from the US west coast, a part of the world that’s incubating big ideas and new technologies on how to help people transition away from animal proteins and feed the world. Here are just a few of the exciting advancements in plant based food and cellular agriculture that are tackling the challenges of the 21st century head on.
WildType: Reinventing Seafood
Wildtype is a food company based in the United States that is pioneering efforts in creating cellular-based salmon. Jo-Anne McArthur spent a morning photographing Wildtype’s product in the capable hands of a Michelin star chef.
“Demand for seafood and other animal protein has never been greater, while wild sources continue to dwindle. At the same time, our global population is on track to reach nearly 10 billion by the middle of this century. With so much new demand on our food supply, we need to create new tools to sustainably meet the environmental and food security challenges of our 21st century.” ― WildType
Chef Jun Sog works with WildType's cultivated salmon. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Chef Jun Sog works with WildType's cultivated salmon. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
WildType founders Arye Elfenbein and Justin Kolbeck in their office and laboratory in San Francisco. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
A display of fresh ingredients with cultivated salmon, made by WildType, a pioneer in cellular agriculture. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Cultivated salmon, created by WildType, in a hand roll made by Chef Jun Sog. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Chef Jun Sog slices a piece of cultivated salmon in Wildtype's test kitchen. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
A display of fresh ingredients with cultivated salmon, made by WildType, a pioneer in cellular agriculture. Jo-Anne McArthur
Chef Jun Sog holds a sushi roll at Wildtype's test kitchen, a company that grows cell-cultivated salmon. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Chef jun Sog carefully prepares Wildtype's cultivated salmon and other beautiful ingredients in their test kitchen in San Francisco. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Chef Jun Sog works with WildType's cultivated salmon. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
USA, 2021.
Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
“I ate salmon. Real salmon, grown from cells in a lab. No animals were harmed. It’s really exciting to be able to help promote the future of food through photography. We want to help show how innovation and technology, as well as plant-based agriculture and delicious cooking, are changing the way we eat. How we eat will either help destroy or save the world.” ― Jo-Anne McArthur
Miyoko’s Creamery: Transforming the future of dairy
Miyoko Schinner is the founder of Rancho Compasión and Miyoko’s Creamery. A vegetarian since the age of twelve, and now a vegan, Schinner has dedicated her life to advocating for animals. One of the ways she does this is through her multi-million dollar company Miyoko’s Creamery, which creates plant-based cheeses and butter. Schinner’s company continues to attract millions of dollars in capital investments and recently won a lawsuit to maintain the right to refer to its products as “butter.”
Miyoko Schinner, founder of Miyoko's Creamery, creates a buttery tofu and vegetable recipe in the test kitchen at their headquarters. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Miyoko Schinner, founder of Miyoko's Creamery, creates a buttery tofu and vegetable recipe in the test kitchen at their headquarters. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Racks of plant-based cheese at Miyoko's Creamery. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Racks of cultured, organic, cashew milk artisan cheese wheels at Miyoko's Creamery. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Miyoko Schinner, founder of Miyoko's Creamery, spends time with two resident rescued pigs at her sanctuary, Rancho Compasión. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
A worker at Miyoko's Creamery examines freshly packaged cultured vegan butter as it moves through the production process. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Staff at Miyoko's Creamery coat a cheese in ash to make their Aged Black Ash Cashew Milk cheese. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Miyoko Schinner, founder of Miyoko's Creamery, proudly shows off her "Phenomenally vegan" tattoo at her sanctuary, Rancho CompasiÛn. Schinner got the tattoo on her 60th birthday. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Miyoko's Creamery founder Miyoko Schinner poses in a refrigerated room full of aging cashew cheeses. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
USA, 2021.
Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
“From our humble beginnings with four employees in Miyoko’s home kitchen, to a 30,000 sq ft. state-of-the-art facility in Sonoma, we’re leading the way in transforming the future of the creamery. We’re changing perceptions of vegan food, to inspire people from all walks of life to enjoy a phenomenally vegan lifestyle.” ― Miyoko’s
Find out more about Miyoko and her plant-based empire in this short film for our Unbound Project.
The Better Meat Co.: Harnessing the power of fermentation
As part of the We Animals “Future of Food” series, we spent an afternoon touring The Better Meat Co.’s (TBMC) fermentation facility and photographing the process of turning rhiza proteins – which are from fungi – into a healthful, nutrient-packed and tasty food.
“At The Better Meat Co., we harness the amazing power of fermentation to make delicious, versatile mycoprotein ingredients for food companies to use as the basis of their blended and fully animal-free meats.” ― The Better Meat Co.
Marc Morgan, a team member at The Better Meat Company, monitors a fermenter where microbes are turned into animal-free meats from Rhiza mycoproteins. The Better Meat Company grows and sell these healthful fermented proteins to companies to use as blended or fully animal-free meats. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
A rhiza mycoprotein steak with an arugula salad, for taste-testing and showing off at The Better Meat Company (it was delicious!). Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
A detailed look at a sterilization vessel for the media tanks, which are the vessels that prepare feedstock for the microbes which will culminate in tasty rhiza mycoproteins. The Better Meat Company grows and sell these healthful fermented proteins to companies to use as blended or fully animal-free meats. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
The media tanks which are the vessels that prepare feedstock for the microbes which will culminate in tasty rhiza mycoproteins. The Better Meat Company grows and sell these healthful fermented proteins to companies to use as blended or fully animal-free meats. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Prachi Jha empties a flask of mycelium into a jar for testing purposes. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
A detailed look at the pressure gauges for high tech media tanks, which are the vessels that prepare feedstock for the microbes which will culminate in tasty rhiza mycoproteins. The Better Meat Company grows and sell these healthful fermented proteins to companies to use as blended or fully animal-free meats. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Shaker flasks run as part of an experiment to determine optimal myceliual growth conditions. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
A detailed look at the high tech media tanks which are the vessels that prepare feedstock for the microbes which will culminate in tasty rhiza mycoproteins. The Better Meat Company grows and sell these healthful fermented proteins to companies to use as blended or fully animal-free meats. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
USA, 2021.
Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
TBMC provides a controlled, indoor farming process that maximizes efficiency while allowing nature to unfold. Producing the rhiza takes less than a day and uses far less land and water than animal proteins do. There is also less processing involved than other plant protein isolates typically used in plant-based meats.
TurtleTree: Where nutrition meets humanity
TurtleTree is an innovative and rapidly growing biotech company that uses proprietary, cell-based technology to create sustainable, nutritious and competitively priced meat and dairy products. By collecting cells from animals to then grow in laboratory settings, TurtleTree is able to create these foods without breeding, confining and killing animals.
As part of We Animals’ Future of Food series, Jo-Anne McArthur visited TurtleTree’s US team at their California lab, where she photographed them working on these projects and other exciting endeavors in the foodtech space.
A Petri dish containing TurtleTree's growing microbial colonies. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
TurtleTree's Scientific Affairs Liaison, Vanessa Castagna, looks through a microscope while Head of Product, Ignacio Vargas, works in the background. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
TurtleTree's Vanessa Castagna and Ignacio Vargas examining a tray of cell cultures. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
TurtleTree team members examining cell cultures and slides at their laboratory. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Petri dishes containing TurtleTree's growing microbial colonies. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
TurtleTree's Ignacio Vargas and Vanessa Castagna examine Petri dishes containing growing microbial colonies. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
TurtleTree's Scientific Affairs Liaison, Vanessa Castagna, examines a tray of cell cultures using an inverted microscope. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
TurtleTree's Amanda Fischer, Vanessa Castagna, and Ignacio Vargas examining Petri dishes at the company's research lab. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
TurtleTree scientist Vanessa Castagna working alongside the team's Head of Product, Ignacio Vargas. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
USA, 2021.
Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
“We envision a world where people, animals, and the planet no longer have to pay the price for the meals on our tables — a brighter future made possible by sustainable nutrition.” ― TurtleTree
Tofurky: America’s pioneering meat-free alternative
Tofurky was founded in 1980 by the teacher, naturalist, and self-described hippie, Seth Tibbott. It is a US-based company that pioneered the mass production of tempeh and then plant-based alternatives to animal proteins. We spent a day touring and filming the Tofurky facilities with Seth in Hood River, Oregon. The Tofurky building is LEED Platinum certified, making it one of the “greenest” buildings in the USA.
Tofurky plant-based ham style roasts roll through machines and along converyor belts to be packaged and shipped worldwide. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Just-cooked Tofurky sausages will be skinned, weighed, packaged, labelled and shipped worldwide. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Tofurky turkey slices are weighed and packaged before being shipped worldwide. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Tofurky founder Seth Tibbott and rescued turkeys enjoy a meal and each other's company at Wildwood Farm Sanctuary & Preserve. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Tofurky plant-based ham style roasts roll through machines and along converyor belts to be packaged and shipped worldwide. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Cooked Tofurky deli meats are next sliced, weighed, and packaged to be shipped worldwide. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
A Tofurky worker monitors measurements on a computer screen at the plant. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Masses of plant-based ingredients are mixed and rendered into ham at the Tofurky plant. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
Just-cooked Tofurky sausages will be skinned, weighed, packaged, labelled and shipped worldwide. Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
USA, 2021.
Jo-Anne McArthur / We Animals
“Our products strike a cultural chord with a nation hungry for a tastier meat-free Thanksgiving. We’re so inspired by a world that is waking up to the benefits of tasty veg food.” ― Tofurky
Tofurky sells its products in 25 countries and remains a family-run business offering an alternative to the approximately 223 million Turkeys slaughtered for food each year.
Innovative food tech companies like these can provide a piece of the puzzle when it comes to tackling today’s food supply and demand challenges. In concert with other forms of advocacy, these solutions-focused initiatives are working to improve the food system for animals, people and the planet.
Help tell the stories of the future of food. Visit our Future of Food gallery for more visuals like these.