1 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: Behind the scenes at Beyond Meat. What's going on. I'm 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:10,760 Speaker 1: rich Demiro. This is rich on Tech. Beyond Meat is 3 00:00:10,800 --> 00:00:14,320 Speaker 1: a company that's recreating favorites like burgers and sausage, but 4 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:17,720 Speaker 1: from plants. The company sells their products at whole foods 5 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: and other grocery stores, but they're often sold out because 6 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:23,840 Speaker 1: of demand. They just opened up a brand new twenty 7 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:27,400 Speaker 1: six thousand square foot research and development facility just south 8 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:30,560 Speaker 1: of Los Angeles International Airport. Recently, I got to take 9 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:32,880 Speaker 1: a tour and do a taste test of some of 10 00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:36,199 Speaker 1: their items, including a brand new one, a breakfast patty. 11 00:00:36,479 --> 00:00:38,360 Speaker 1: I had it in a sandwich that was basically a 12 00:00:38,479 --> 00:00:42,519 Speaker 1: vegetarian sausage McMuffin. The breakfast patty has double the protein 13 00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:47,239 Speaker 1: of pork sausage, lower fat, and no cholesterol, and it 14 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,400 Speaker 1: was amazing. I would gladly eat this on a regular basis. 15 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 1: It's actually made from pea protein, mung beans, rice, and sunflower. 16 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: You'll be able to find that soon, hopefully through a 17 00:00:57,120 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: drive through. I talked to Beyond Meats founder and seat 18 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:02,920 Speaker 1: Ethan Brown, and I asked him, why is doing all this? 19 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:05,680 Speaker 2: So I looked at I think an important question, which 20 00:01:05,800 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 2: was do you need animals to reduce a piece of meat? 21 00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 2: And after learning a lot about what meat is, I 22 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:14,760 Speaker 2: came to inclusion you really don't. And this effort here 23 00:01:14,760 --> 00:01:16,679 Speaker 2: at the Matta Beats Project is a now ten year 24 00:01:16,720 --> 00:01:19,360 Speaker 2: effort to try to prove that you can build a 25 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:21,679 Speaker 2: piece of meat directly from plants. And if you think 26 00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 2: about that, what the animal's doing is they're consuming a 27 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:26,959 Speaker 2: large amount of vegetative matter. They're using a digestive system, 28 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:29,760 Speaker 2: they're using their skeletal muscular system to then produce what 29 00:01:29,800 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 2: we call meat in the form of muscle. And what 30 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,640 Speaker 2: we're doing is taking the same material plant material, and 31 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 2: we're taking the amino acids from it, our protein, the 32 00:01:38,120 --> 00:01:40,399 Speaker 2: lipids or the fat, we're taking trace minerals, and then 33 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:41,840 Speaker 2: we're taking a lot of water, because meats a lot 34 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:44,000 Speaker 2: of water, sixty to seventy five percent water, sixty to 35 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:47,520 Speaker 2: seventy percent water, and we're combining those in the architecture 36 00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 2: of meat. And we're doing that through a system of heating, cooling, 37 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 2: and pressure that restitches the protein into the form of 38 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:55,840 Speaker 2: muscle or meat, and so we essentially bypassed the animal. 39 00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:58,760 Speaker 2: The consumer is getting really clean protein directly from plants 40 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:02,400 Speaker 2: in the same emily an experience that they would if 41 00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 2: it came from an animal. 42 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:06,040 Speaker 1: The new facility is all about coming up with new 43 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:11,040 Speaker 1: products and perfecting their existing products. We saw engineers, scientists 44 00:02:11,120 --> 00:02:14,680 Speaker 1: and food technologists all working with various machines like an 45 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: electronic nose, a texture analyzer that sees how you chomp 46 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:20,120 Speaker 1: down on a burger, and we saw the way they 47 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:22,680 Speaker 1: make natural coloring from plants like beats. 48 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 2: I think the general concepts, you know, sounds easy, but 49 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,240 Speaker 2: when you start to try to match molecules and you 50 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:34,440 Speaker 2: try to deliver the sensory experience of animal protein using 51 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 2: all plants, it becomes more difficult. And so an example 52 00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:39,639 Speaker 2: of that is there are thousands of molecules that make 53 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:42,400 Speaker 2: meat tastes like meat, So we have to find what 54 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,200 Speaker 2: those molecules are, and then we have to find analogous 55 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 2: where the same ones in plants and match them and 56 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 2: then try to get them to perform the same way 57 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 2: that they overform underheating on a stove, and you know, 58 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:55,800 Speaker 2: as they cool down, have them look the same in 59 00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 2: terms of transition in the appearance. So you know, it 60 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 2: gets more and more complex. Did you get closer and 61 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:04,160 Speaker 2: closer to the animal protein equivalent that you're trying to 62 00:03:04,560 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 2: build directly from plants. 63 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:09,560 Speaker 1: While Brown himself is a vegan, he does not denounce meat. 64 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:12,480 Speaker 1: He sees beyond me as offering an alternative to what's 65 00:03:12,520 --> 00:03:15,639 Speaker 1: already out there, something that even meat eaters like myself 66 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:16,520 Speaker 1: would want to eat. 67 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:18,920 Speaker 2: The only thing that I know is that you know, 68 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:22,280 Speaker 2: throughout human history and even before human history, when we 69 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:24,840 Speaker 2: were evolving about two and a half million years ago, 70 00:03:24,919 --> 00:03:26,680 Speaker 2: we made a decision that we're going to become more 71 00:03:27,160 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 2: rather than less carnivorous, and that's become part of who 72 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,360 Speaker 2: we are. You know, the animal protein consumption is a 73 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:36,320 Speaker 2: big part of our tradition, our religion, our own cultural experience. 74 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 2: And so to advocate that people don't eat meat, I 75 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 2: think is a really bad idea. I think to present 76 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 2: a new form of meat that provides all the upside 77 00:03:44,760 --> 00:03:47,880 Speaker 2: of meat in terms of the protein, the satiating experience, 78 00:03:48,840 --> 00:03:50,760 Speaker 2: but it's simply made for plants is the right idea. 79 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:53,760 Speaker 2: The analogy I use most frequently is to think about 80 00:03:53,760 --> 00:03:56,480 Speaker 2: this like the mobile phone to the landline. No one's 81 00:03:56,480 --> 00:03:59,440 Speaker 2: out there defending the landline people, just like the new 82 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 2: mobile phone, and we have to create products for so 83 00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:05,400 Speaker 2: compelling that people are drawn to ours and not necessarily 84 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:06,000 Speaker 2: even debating it. 85 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:08,720 Speaker 1: One thing to know about beyond me. They're doing all 86 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: this science, but this is not frankin food. 87 00:04:11,720 --> 00:04:13,720 Speaker 2: They have to use all natural ingredients. They can't use 88 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:16,159 Speaker 2: genetic modification, which by the way, they would love to 89 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:20,000 Speaker 2: use to make things easier. Sure, but we believe that 90 00:04:20,080 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 2: we need to really respectful that. You know, Mom's going 91 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:24,919 Speaker 2: to be feeding us through our kids. I feed it 92 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 2: to my own children. So we need to understand everything 93 00:04:27,760 --> 00:04:29,600 Speaker 2: that's in there. We need a consumer we they'll understand 94 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:31,800 Speaker 2: it and feel very comfortable. So we use ingredients that 95 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 2: people are very familiar with. You know, our protein right 96 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:37,120 Speaker 2: now comes from peas, it comes from sunflower seeds, It 97 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:41,599 Speaker 2: comes from recognizable sources. Same with our fats, and so 98 00:04:41,720 --> 00:04:44,800 Speaker 2: you have to be careful. You can apply cutting edge 99 00:04:44,880 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 2: science to this, but you have to remember that at 100 00:04:47,360 --> 00:04:50,200 Speaker 2: the end of the day, food is very intimate and 101 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:52,480 Speaker 2: people want to eat things that are familiar to them. 102 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:54,680 Speaker 1: So back to my taste test, I tried some brought 103 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: worse that could fool anyone at a backyard picnic. It 104 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:00,719 Speaker 1: even had the same texture and snap as the real thing. 105 00:05:01,200 --> 00:05:03,560 Speaker 1: The burger was good, but I could tell it wasn't 106 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:05,080 Speaker 1: the real thing, But I do want to try this 107 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:07,280 Speaker 1: one again. It had a bit of a smokier note 108 00:05:07,279 --> 00:05:09,599 Speaker 1: than your typical burger. Plus I ate it at the 109 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:12,159 Speaker 1: end when I was really full. The breakfast patty, like 110 00:05:12,160 --> 00:05:13,920 Speaker 1: I said earlier, was the first thing I ate, and 111 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:16,480 Speaker 1: there's no other way to describe it except delicious. I 112 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:18,120 Speaker 1: really want to be able to get that through a 113 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:20,719 Speaker 1: drive through so I can eat it on a regular basis. 114 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,520 Speaker 2: So I set a goal for myself, which is now 115 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:24,920 Speaker 2: I'm running out of time on so I got to 116 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:26,839 Speaker 2: hurry up what I said by the time my kids 117 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:30,520 Speaker 2: can drive, and I set this goal years ago that 118 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,159 Speaker 2: they'd be able to go to a McDonald's or a 119 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 2: Wendy's or a Burger King or any major of fast 120 00:05:36,080 --> 00:05:39,159 Speaker 2: food place and be able to get a Beyondburger or 121 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:40,760 Speaker 2: it's you know whatever we're calling it at the time, 122 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,599 Speaker 2: and it wouldn't be an event. It'd be like, you know, 123 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 2: someone who orders a fish file at someone was a 124 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:47,839 Speaker 2: Byonburger and it's kind of just normal. So they're thirteen 125 00:05:47,839 --> 00:05:49,440 Speaker 2: and fourteen now, so I got a couple more years. 126 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:51,600 Speaker 1: One thing I tried it Beyond Meat that I wish 127 00:05:51,680 --> 00:05:54,680 Speaker 1: they would sell was this vegan cheesecake they had. It 128 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:57,160 Speaker 1: was unbelievable, but they told me it was just a 129 00:05:57,200 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: test kitchen item because they have a really good chef there. 130 00:05:59,680 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 1: But they have no plans to bring it to market. 131 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:03,760 Speaker 1: But I think they should make a decision to do 132 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,360 Speaker 1: some beyond meat desserts. Thanks so much for listening. If 133 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:09,400 Speaker 1: you want to see my TV segment on Beyond Meat, 134 00:06:09,520 --> 00:06:12,599 Speaker 1: just go to my website. It's richon tech dot TV. 135 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:15,200 Speaker 1: I'm Richdemiro. I'll talk to you real soon.