Beyond Eggs - Science and Passion Is Set To Crack The Egg..And Replace It….With Plants!

Are the egg's days numbered?

There is a company that may very well be set to totally revolutionise the food manufacturing industry: come to the aid of the environment and improve our health. 
I met with the founder of Hampton Creek Foods, Josh Tetrick at his start-up company in the Soma district of San Francisco. He looks far younger than his 33 years with clean cut with all-American good looks.  'I'm from Birmingham, Alabama', he tells me. His accent lilting and distinct. He exudes the confidence of someone who is comfortable in his own skin. He reminded me of a young Tom Cruise,  boyish and vibrant, sans the aviator shades.  One can’t help but be a bit doe-eyed as he welcomes me into the Beyond Egg hub. He makes you feel like he has all the time in the world to share, and right now it is all for you.  I admit to loosing my thread more than once as my brain floated off, all female and flustered, as Josh showed me around and introduced me to his team.  

Josh is the man behind the team that is fervently working to dislodge and displace the egg industry.  He has an impressive background, having set up a UN business initiative in Kenya, worked for a time for President Clinton, he also won a prestigious Fulbright grant to teach in Nigeria and South Africa. Hampton Creek Foods is his debut venture into the world of food.  His compassion was sparked during his time in Africa, working on environmental projects. He felt moved enough to know he wanted to make a huge positive impact.  He chose the egg industry as his target.  Which methods are currently, in his words..'barbaric'.

He hits me with some statistics..
'79 billion eggs laid in US every year.  95% of them are laid by hens in battery cages so small they can hardly move. They are pumped with antibiotics'. 1/2 billions eggs recalled because of food poisoning in 2011 in the US. What about eggs impact on human health? 

The NewYork Times published a report by Dr. Stanley Hazen of Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute.  that eggs may provoke bacteria that increases the risk of heart disease.  University Of Western Ontario likened the consumption of eggs to that of the effects of smoking cigarettes. 

You'll agree it's an area in need of change.

Beyond Eggs is gaining some notable interest. Articles have appeared in Bon Appetit & Food & Wine. Countless  articles are dotted around the internet, even Tony Blair, ex-Prime MInister of that thumbnail sized island,GB.   Bill Gates has taken a shine to the companies ideas. On his blog The Gates Notes, where he highlights his concern for the impact on the environment and how we can feed a population that is expected to hit 18 billion by 2050, Gates listed Hampton Creek Foods as one of the 3 companies that are shaping the future of food.  He says, 

''By 2030, the world will need millions of tonnes more meat than it does today. But meeting that demand with animal products isn't sustainable. The meat market is ripe for reinvention.' 

Bill Gates took the taste test, cookie challenge and couldn't tell the difference between the cookies with egg and the cookies with Beyond Egg's egg substitute. 

The building is open to the street, open to each department and one another. The office dog and company mascot, Jake, lolls in the sun in the greeting area.  Their state of the art laboratory is a field of stainless steel.  On one wall a row of ovens.  Behind vast doors are shelves stacked with jars of creamy mayonnaise, trials and tests.   The food scientists and biologists work diligently, and with admirable dedication to emulate the properties of the egg.  Which is, after all, all that is going on.  The egg served a purpose. The effect doesn't have to come from an egg.  They have worked out just how the proteins molecules give rise in cakes and bakes, aerate, bind and thicken,  and emulsify our dressings.  Beyond Eggs have a product that can do all of these things. Eggs may have been a cheap source of protein but they are full of harmful cholesterol.  Josh and his team have cracked the code to do what the egg did by using pea, potatoes, sunflower lecithin, rapeseed, and natural gums extracted from tree sap. They offer it 18% cheaper (which will no doubt interest the large food manufactures), with reduced storage costs and longer shelf life, and it's sustainable and kinder to boot.
  

    The strength of the team is all apparent.  I half expected the theme tune to the A-Team to kick in as Josh introduced me.  All looked under 30, with that special California glow.   
Chris Jones a chef and molecular gastronomist was poached from Chicago's award winning restaurant, Moto.. 

He was sporting a bandana and standing over something whirring in the corner. It must be the largest stick blender/food mixer in the world, and it was busy creating a swirling vortex of snow white mayonnaise.  I asked him why he came to work for the company, he gave an impassioned reply.  Noting, he wants his family to have a future.  Chris said of his work, 'The egg was the first thing.  This is the next thing'.  He showed me his floor to ceiling wall of experiments. His job to is work with different components and proteins.  Testing for shelf life.  Stability.  They regularly enlist the help of employees from Yelp & Google, as taste testers.    

Director of Bakery Innovation is Shweta Rao.  She was positively charged with self motivated enthusiasm for Beyond Egg and the concept of what it will achieve.  Shweta and her colleague Megan both told me they have a sense that what they are doing goes beyond cookies and cake and stretches into making a big difference in the world.  They are fulled by this.  They'd wanted to fuel me, with cookies.  They'd baked some for me to try.  Two neat rows of blond and chocolate chip cookies sat waiting for me on a platter.  They were left untouched.  Damn my bloody intolerance for gluten!

A team of scientists work full time, surrounded by a wall of purple gloves, test tubes, machines spinning ingredients in centrifuge, and other wizardly gadgets and gizmos.  I've not the faintest idea what they were for. But they excited me nonetheless.  The team  are currently working on replicating the egg white and working with gluten free flours so products can be produced that are free of the main allergens and suitable for celiac sufferers.

At this point I really start to see what impact this company will have.  As did Khosla Ventures. Venture Capitalists, based in Palo Alto, California,  who's tagline is ' We care about genuine issues: a healthy environment. Sustainable power'.  They back Josh's vision, and made an investment of a cool $3 million in Hampton Creek Foods.   

Josh Tetrick

'In seven years we will be the ‘egg’ industry'.  

The team at Hampton Creek Foods

Beyond Eggs.   The name of the product says it all and is where Josh Tetrik wants the world to be in 7 years.  It seems a bit fantastical to imagine it could happen in what is really a blink of an eye in the time space continuum. but if anyone can do it I believe Josh can.

Want to know more?  

Watch A short video tour from Techcrunch.  

Read this article in Popular Science

Look out for Shweta Rao, she is speaking Ted X.  June 15th in Edmonton.  

  

What do you think of the future of our foods?  Leave your comments and views below.  Just click on the comments tab.

Animal Lovers. People Lovers. Planet Lovers. How to get ACTIVE.

My recent (and still current) trip to California has been an eye opener.  It seems my scope is broadening.  Timing is playing it's soulful tune!
I've been afraid before, to look at the issues surrounding mal practice in the meat/dairy industry.  Afraid that I'd have to tie myself to a tree or lie in front of a animal shipment truck or have to share my apartment with a pig I rescued from a farm in the dead of night. I wasn't ready for all that. To be honest, I am also afraid of the enormity of it all. It looks to me like such a vile and unimpenetrable mess that it overwhelms me. Movies like Vegucated Earthlings Food Inc. to name a few just had me mortified.  I wasn't ready for it and I'm still not sure I am ready to step up fully, but I am now ready to step into the fray and take a better, more in-depth look.  
But I see you don't have to do that to make a difference. If each one of us did a little bit, collectively we can be powerful and change will come. I see these organisations are happy for you to help by volunteering, donating or just helping spread the word, should you wish, without having to stop washing or have my hair fall into unruly dreadlocks.  A stereotype of the activist that really doesn't hold up anymore.  I am meeting more and more people who are adopting a meatless diet because of the atrocities of meat and dairy industry. 

What can you do to help?
We can make a difference simply by going to a nice and clean supermarket like Whole Foods, Sainsbury's or Superama (or whatever your local store is called), and shop consciously.  That in itself is more powerful that you can imagine.  In a consumer world, currency casts votes.  Currency changes worlds. You can make a positive change, countless times EVERY DAY.

If you want to do more.  As I now do.  Then there are organisations you can join with.  Normal people who just care about the environment and animals.  Do what feels right for YOU.

The following organisations are in the US. They are some of the amazing people that I met recently.  There are many, all over the world.  This is by no means a comprehensive list.  Thankfully, the world is full of passionate people making positive change.   Also, this isn't just about animals but people who have to be exposed to pesticides and horrific animal practices to earn a living who probably have little clue on the effect it is reeking.

I was at Berkeley Vegan Earth Day and met with author and activist Sarah Stone..  A fascinating woman who has volunteered with the Jane Goodall Institute in Africa and was offering information about various animal and farming issues to anyone who asked. 

Factory Farming Awareness Coalition. “The Factory Farming Awareness Coalition is an educational non-profit committed to empowering people to save the environment, animals, and our own health through our daily food choices.” It’s an all-volunteer organization, founded and led by Katie Cantrell. FFAC has an informative, engaging (and free) power-point presentation that brings together the issues of animals, the environment, and worker’s rights. In addition to trainings in the Bay Area, FFAC has recently had tours in the Northwest and on the East Coast and is partnering on the current Justice Without Boundaries tour, a new collaborative effort uniting activists from the United States and Mexico, with 40 presentations in 14 cities, including speaker training and vegan cooking demonstrations.

FFAC is always looking for new members, places (schools, colleges, organizations, etc.) to give the presentation, and new speakers (FFAC provides trainings and materials). And right now there’s a Blue Sky contest on BART. Anyone who votes is entered for the chance to win a $500 Clipper card. If people vote for FFAC, they can help get out crucial information about factory farming to everyone who rides BART. I’m including the details and link below.

If you want to know more than the websites show, you can reach Katie directly at Factory Farming Awareness Coalition (info@FFACoalition.org). And meanwhile, here are the links and the Blue Sky info.

Here’s the FFAC website:

Factory Farming Awareness Coalition

And the website for the Justice Without Boundaries tour.

http://justicewithoutboundaries.com/

The blog has pictures from recent tours:

http://ffacoalition.org/blog-2/

And you can see Katie giving a version of the presentation online:

http://ffacoalition.org/media/

Here’s the Blue Sky info:

www.bart.gov/guide/bluesky/contest.aspx

Vote for your favorite Blue Sky partner for a chance to win a $500 Clipper card

There are so many great non-profit organizations doing important work in the Bay Area, now’s your chance to help them out. As part of BART’s Blue Sky Celebration, you can vote for your favorite BART Blue Sky non-profit partner here. The non-profits that get the most votes will win valuable exposure in front of BART’s 400,000+ daily weekday riders for their organizations, and YOU have a chance to win a $500 Clipper card just for voting. You can only vote one time, so make it count. You have until Sunday, May 12, 2013 to vote.

This contest features non-profits that are participating in our BART Blue Sky Festival, and are promoting some great initiatives that are making a difference locally.

You can vote for one of the following: Bay Area Green Tours, City CarShare, CUESA (Ferry Plaza Farmers Market),Factory Awareness Coalition Friends of the Urban Forest, Greenbelt Alliance, Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco, Save the Bay and Sierra Club, SF Bay Chapter.  

Alternate Method of Entry: e-mail or mail. Entrants may submit an entry for the sweepstakes, but will not be able to submit a vote by mail.

To submit by email, send an email with the subject line “BART Blue Sky Sweepstakes 2013, Attn: Email Submission” containing your full name and phone number to youwin1@bart.gov. Your email address and phone number will be used solely to notify you of a winning entry.

To submit by mail, include your full name and either a telephone number or email address, and mail your entry to BART Blue Sky Sweepstakes 2013, Attn: Mail Submission, Marketing Dept., P.O. Box 12688 (LKS-18) Oakland CA 94604-2688.

All entries received in this manner will be entered in the BART Blue Sky Sweepstakes, but will not be eligible to vote for their favorite Non-Profit. All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. PT on May 12, 2013. Sponsor’s official judging organization’s computer is the official time keeping device for internet entries. Limit one entry per email address and/or person.

PETA are an international organisation.  You could look at their website and see how you can help.  Or just educate yourself. 
Animal Liberation Front

Please leave a comment below and tell us the ones in your country.