In Episode #169 I sit down with Paul Shapiro, author of Clean Meat and the CEO and Co-Founder of The Better Meat Co, to chat about the future of food.

Walk inside Better Meat Co.’s 12,500 sqft production facility in West Sacramento, CA and you’ll quickly be greeted by a large mural that paints a utopian future retrospective on the history of meat.

Paul Shapiro, CEO of The Better Meat Co, believes that mycoprotein fermentation will give the plant-based seafood sector a whole host of ingredients for their edible offerings, while making the global food system more sustainable.

Watch our exciting recent feature on Good Day Sacramento, the CBS morning show.

Paul Shapiro wears lots of hats – CEO, founder, advisor, podcaster, author – but the one constant through in all those roles is that of evangelist.

Today’s plant-based food companies are clear on the fact that they’ll need to win over flexitarians to succeed rather than just appealing to the tiny percentage of the population that’s already vegetarian or vegan.

Perhaps no company understands that reality better than The Better Meat Co.

The Better Meat Co. has opened a fermentation plant that will produce Rhiza, a new mycoprotein ingredient that may be used to enhance or replace meat in a variety of applications.

The Better Meat Co. is celebrating the grand opening of its renovated research lab and headquarters, which includes a production facility for the next generation of the company's plant-based meat additives.

The Better Meat Co. has opened a fermentation plant that will produce Rhiza, a new mycoprotein ingredient that may be used to enhance or replace meat in a variety of applications.

The Better Meat Co. Announces Completion of Fermentation Plant to Produce Mycoprotein Superfood
New sustainable protein ingredient is minimally processed, can be used in ground and whole cut meat applications, and is cheaper than beef.

During the past three years, the company has been secretly developing a 13,000-square-foot plant where it can produce thousands of pounds each month of the meat substitute protein.

The Better Meat Co – a startup best-known for providing plant-based meat enhancers – has completed construction of a “substantial mycoprotein fermentation facility” in Sacramento that will produce fungi-based meat alternatives that “work phenomenally both in ground meat form and whole muscle form.”

In 2021, Food Business News declared The Better Meat Co. to be a startup changing the food system.

The Better Meat Co. is growing! Check out the Sacramento Business Journal’s coverage of our expansion.

Comstock's featured our work to build a more sustainable food system in its December 2020 issue.

Musings profiled The Better Meat Co.'s groundbreaking work.

"The Better Meat Co. wants to reduce consumption of animal products. But rather than coming at the problem with an all or nothing approach, the company instead has pinned its hopes to incremental change on the part of both large meat producers and consumers alike."

"This positioning poises the startup for massive expansion as more companies experiment in the plant-based space."

Idea Mensch interviewed one of our cofounders in 2018 about early-stage entrepreneurship and how we’re helping to build a more sustainable food system.

The Beyond Capital Podcast did an episode about The Better Meat Co.'s work to improve food sustainability.

‍The Better Meat Co., a Sacramento-based sustainable food tech start-up founded in 2018, announced today the close of its $8.1 million seed round. Including the $1.6 million it raised during its pre-seed round in 2018.

In 2020, Meat & Poultry interviewed our CEO Paul Shapiro for its podcast. Hear all about how we're helping meat companies improve sustainability!

Industry publication Intrafish writes: “The next evolution in plant-based seafood is making its debut and it could have significant implications for pollock and crab producers. The Better Meat Company is working with seafood firms to test hybrid pollock and crab items that include a blend of plant-based protein and seafood.”

“Perdue, in partnership with The Better Meat Co., recently released a line of chicken products specifically to meet the needs of flexitarian families. Titled, ‘Chicken Plus,’ these items are blended with cauliflower, chickpeas, and other plant proteins, and are now available in 7,100 supermarkets across the country, including Walmart.”

AgFunder ran a nice profile and interview about The Better Meat Co.’s work.

"The fact that a company as big as Perdue has chosen to work with The Better Meat Co. on its first 'hybrid' products rather than going directly to plant-based protein suppliers suggests that The Better Meat Co. has some value to add."

The Grocer profiled our work, calling The Better Meat Co. an "exciting startup to have on your radar" that's "racing to rewrite the rules of the alternative protein market."

"While Better Meat Co.’s technology is more Prius than Tesla, the company still serves an important role by acting as a bridge to help big CPGs transition over time."