Chef José Andrés Joins the Board of Eat Just’s Cultured Meat Division
Plant food giant Eat Just, makers of JUST Egg, is doubling down on development for its cultivated meat division, GOOD Meat. The California-based company announced that it appointed chef and humanitarian José Andrés to the GOOD Meat Board of Directors. The company aims to gain insight into the development and production of its cultivated meat selection. The esteemed chef will join the company’s effort to expand distribution following regulatory approval, revealing that he will feature the GOOD Meat cultivated chicken at one of his restaurants.
Andrés will work closely with GOOD Meat to create a tasty, sustainable alternative to traditional animal-derived meat. The cell-based chicken will offer a sustainable alternative to the global meat industry. The chef will help improve the food-tech company’s cultivated meat production, helping the lab-grown meat better replicate its market counterpart without any animal slaughter.
The renowned restauranteur intends to connect GOOD Meat to local, high-quality farms to source the best cells for sustainable meat production. Working to improve the quality of the cultivated meat, Andrés will also work in the culinary counsel to help chefs and scientists improve taste, texture, and versatility.
“The future of the world depends on how we feed ourselves, as the great food thinker Brillat-Savarin wrote almost 200 years ago,” Andrés said. “We need to innovate to adapt our food to a planet in crisis. We need to create meals that feed the people at the same time as we sustain our communities and environment. I’m proud to join the GOOD Meat team in that mission, as a board member, and as a cook.”
Eat Just invited José Andrés to join the GOOD Meat team to prepare for wider distribution as countries including Qatar and the United States inch closer to regulatory approval. Andrés – who currently owns the ThinkFoodGroup that operates more than 30 restaurants – frequently works with food to nourish communities that face food insecurity and economic crisis. By joining Eat Just’s GOOD Meat division, Andrés will work to promote sustainability within the food industry.
“José has fed millions of guests at his award-winning restaurants and nourished entire communities through his visionary social impact work,” Co-Founder and CEO of Eat Just Josh Tetrick said. "He has used food as a way to connect and to bring a bit more fairness and compassion to our world and I am honored to welcome this culinary icon and hero to so many, including me, to GOOD Meat's Board of Directors. His relentlessly innovative approach to food and his dedication to pushing everyone around him to do more good in every moment will be of enormous benefit to our team and our mission.”
The announcement coincides with GOOD Meat’s one-year anniversary of obtaining the world’s first regulatory approval for cultivated meat in Singapore. The company became the first brand to commercially sell cultivated meat. Throughout Singapore, consumers have enjoyed the innovative and sustainable meat alternative. Now, the company is gearing up to increase both production and distribution.
Alongside the announcement, Eat Just revealed that Singapore just approved its production of new cultivated chicken products including a cell-based chicken breast. The new approval closely follows the company latest investment round that raised $97 million, bringing the company’s current valuation to $267 million. The investment package made GOOD Meat the highest funded cell-based meat company in the world.
“A lot has changed in our world over the last year, but one thing has stayed the same: Singapore continues to lead the global transformation to a smarter, more sustainable food system,” Tetrick said. “We’re proud to celebrate our one-year anniversary of the first-ever sale of cultivated meat with this important regulatory and product announcement that’s again taking place in Singapore.”
GOOD Meat’s expansion is helping fuel the worldwide cultivated meat industry. The cultivated meat market is projected to reach $2.7 billion by 2030, according to a recent report from ResearchandMarkets.com. The rapid growth is motivated by increasing concerns regarding environmental damages and health issues.
“Cultivated meat gives consumers everything they love about meat, but produced in a more sustainable and humane way, where animals are removed from the process entirely,” The Good Food Institute Executive Director Bruce Friedrich told vegconomist. “This means there is no contribution to pandemic risk or antibiotic resistance, and a fraction of the adverse climate impact.”
Chef Andrés will join another Michelin star chef in introducing cultivated meat to his menus. Renowned chef Dominique Crenn joined the food tech company UPSIDE Foods earlier this year, working as a culinary advisor for its signature cell-based chicken. Crenn announced that she will add the company’s cell-based chicken to her Atelier Crenn menu pending US regulatory approval, indicating the rising acceptance of cultivated meat among both consumers and chefs worldwide.
Sandra Oh and 20 Others It Might Surprise You to Learn Are Plant-Based
1. Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney is no stranger to a meat-free life as he's been vegetarian for 45 years. He initially went vegetarian in 1975 with his first wife Linda McCartney and began his advocacy for animal rights.
2. Sia
If you find yourself constantly singing along to the song The Greatest, then you're already a Sia fan. Sia tweeted that she is "fully vegan now" back in 2014 and stays true to her word
3. Sandra Oh
Way back at the start of Grey's Anatomy, Sandra Oh took the cast out for a plant-based lunch at Truly Vegan in Hollywood. In her effort to inspire contemporaries to eat vegan, the TV star is known to invite her friends for vegan meals that are delicious. She adopted the vegan lifestyle years ago and continues to quietly live a cruelty-free life.
4. Gisele Bündchen
Giselle revealed that when she was at the peak of her modeling career, her diet consisted of "cigarettes, wine, and mocha Frappuccinos," according to an interview in People Magazine. Now 39 and the mother of two children, Gisele eats a "mostly" plant-based diet to nourish her body and stay fueled.
5. Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin has made a bigger commitment to plant-based eating since he was first told by doctors that he was pre-diabetic and needed to change his diet. That was decades ago. But, over the last few years, he's been vocal about the benefits not only to his health but also the impact plant-based eating has on the environment.
7. Pamela Anderson
We all remember Pamela Anderson as the curvaceous blonde in the hit series Baywatch as she played Casey Jean in the red one-piece swimsuit that brought her world-class fame. She is a life-long active animal rights advocate and teamed up with PETA to join the Animal Protection Organization.
8. Kristen Stewart
"We shouldn't eat as much meat guys," Kristen Stewart told GQ in an interview in January. The Twilight star has made a full 180 from vampire to vegan. When she appeared on the game show "Hot Ones" she chose to skip the wings and instead compete by eating increasing spicier sauce on vegan cauliflower wings.
9. Jared Leto
This award-winning actor eats a high-protein diet consisting of only plants. Leto, who has been plant-based for 20 years, says it keeps him "shredded" in an interview. Now, 48, Leto looks half his age.
10. Jaden Smith
Jaden Smith switched up his diet from vegan to vegetarian, meaning that he doesn't eat meat but does eat dairy from time to time. In a recent article by Plant Based News, Smith admits he skipped meals and was not getting the proper nutrition when he was vegan, but this hasn't stopped him from espousing the plant-based life.
11. Meghan Markle
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex has never admitted to being fully vegan, but sources say, she eats a plant-based diet most days during the week. She is teaching Prince Harry vegan cooking and in a Plant-Based News article, Markle explained how she hopes to raise baby Archie on a mostly vegan diet.
12. Serena Williams
As a professional athlete, fueling the body is a key factor to Willaim's successes. In a Bon Appetite article, she explained that she adopted a plant-based diet back in 2012, she was eating a lot "healthier" for her sister, Venus, who eats a strict vegan diet for health reasons.
13. John Mackey
The popular grocery store, Whole Foods Market sells vegan products and nonvegan products which arises black lash from ethical vegans as CEO John Mackey follows a strict vegan diet. The successful businessman grew up in Houston Texas and told Business Insider that he would traditionally eat processed foods for dinner while watching TV with his family. Now, Mackey steers clear from the processed isle and eats a clean vegan diet and feels amazing at the age of 65.
14. Jason Mraz
Jason Mraz, singer of the popular song, I'm Yours, committed to a vegan diet to support his friend diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Mraz says he eats mostly raw food and told magazine sources his favorite vegan dish is "Chocomole, a mixture of avocados, dates, cacao, agave nectar, and coconut oil."
15. Leona Lewis
Long time vegan, Leona Lewis grew up in a vegan household and continues to eat a plant-based diet. Lewis first adopted the diet at 12 when she learned about the health risks of eating animal products but told Women's Health Magazine she occasionally eats an omelet. She also mentioned her 2:30 lunch is normally a kale salad topped with dried cranberries and she loves a veggie stir-fry for dinner.
16. Hannah Teter
Hannah Teter changed her diet after watching the documentary, Earthlings when she discovered how "horrible" factory farming is. After a strict vegetarian diet, Teter liked the way she performed as an athlete and believes that her diet helped her win gold at the 2006 games.
17. Maggie Q,
You may recognize Maggie Q as the star of the Nikita series, but in the plant-based world, she's well-known for her heroic activism. Maggie Q has followed a strict vegan diet for 19 years, making her a true veteran of the lifestyle. She made the plant-based diet transition because she felt sluggish and had low energy, she has said. The famous actress keeps in shape by eating veggies and plant-based protein and working out with a passion.
18. Madelaine Petsch,
Winner of the first Masterchef vegan cook-off with Gordon Ramsay, Madelaine Petsch was raised vegetarian and went completely vegan at age 14. She claims that she started this diet before it was "trendy" and shot a campaign for PETA last year wearing a dress made of bok choy. Petsch says her vegan diet allows her to feel "healthier" and not "lethargic."
19. Millie Bobbi Brown
After doing a little sleuthing on her social media platforms we think Millie Bobbi Brown qualifies as plant-based. Whether or not she is actually skipping all meat and dairy, one thing is for sure: She eats mostly salads, vegetables and grains and lives a predominantly plant-based lifestyle full of healthy foods.
20. Chloe and Halle Bailey
The grammy-nominated sisters went vegan for a week with their mom but liked it so much they decided to stick with it. For one thing, it helps keep their "voices in shape" by eating a vegan diet and they emphasize the fact that dairy helps to limit extra mucus build-up, according to a PETA interview.
21. Hilary Duff
Best known for her role as Lizzie Mcguire in the long-running series, Hilary Duff is a recent vegan advocate and entrepreneur. She recently launched the vegan and cruelty-free eyeshadow palette, "Day Dreamer" and changed her diet to plant-based last fall.