Pat Brown, 12 years ago and at the age of 60, set out to find an idea that would solve one of the largest problems facing Planet Earth. Fast forward to today, and he has created a successful, multibillion dollar company which is doing just that; Impossible Foods (and has allegedly knocked back a takeover offer from Google).
Pat was already highly successful and had the right attributes to create the ‘impossible’. He is a long time vegetarian, a successful biochemist professor at Stanford University, and has created a globally recognised not-for-profit organisation for the science industry called the Public Library of Science (PLOS).
Leaving this all behind, he set out to find a way to recreate all the characteristics of meat (taste, texture, flavour, smell, etc) without using meat. His driving force was the knowledge that the livestock industry is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions as well as the opportunity cost of the land on which the livestock industry depends to operate. He also wanted his creation to taste better than the traditional alternatives.
This podcast gives you a great understanding of his thinking and ambitious plans for Impossible Foods. Nowadays there are just a handful of companies creating meat like alternatives, similar to Impossible Foods. You can find these in the form of burgers on the menu at numerous fast food chains in Australia. They are definitely worth a try!