Plant Futures Symposium 2021
Berkeley Haas Plant Futures Symposium 2021
A few weekends ago, I had the pleasure to attend the Plant Futures Symposium hosted by UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. I went into the Event having a good sense of what being plant-based meant and how alternative meat products are dominating the market, but the Symposium gave a very good angle on where these trends will turn into mainstream lifestyles in the near future.
As a meat-eater myself, I always considered plant-based and veganism to be more niche and something that I would occasionally cook a dish or two, but never actually adopt as a full diet. The symposium was able to reflect how a plant-based diet doesn’t need to be a Niche or trendy diet but how adopting a plant-based diet is simply necessary to combat climate issues and health issues prevalent in the American population and worldwide.
On the first day of the Symposium, the events were focused upon the history and farmer’s perspectives of the plant-based industry and what the food we eat impacts many lives. It was also very interesting to learn about how other cultures have adopted a dominant plant-based cuisine for generations and it's the Western diet that is truly behind in terms of its plant-based adoption.
The symposium then moved on to talking about the various Health and nutrition myths and hidden truths that common food companies try to peddle to unknowing consumers. The panel on Nutrition and health with the various Doctors was very insightful to things like Fiber intake are crucial to an essential diet yet most Americans are unaware they are likely getting insufficient fiber intake. Out of the many debunked myths and interesting facts about plant-based diets we had in the Panel, I came out of the Symposium that day with a refreshed mind about how plant-based diets becoming more mainstream in the coming years.
Day 2 of the Symposium:
On the 2nd day of the event, we took our knowledge of the plant-based diet and practices and walked through ways that this can apply to entrepreneurship and business. I think in the plant-based tech scene, the perception isn’t as well perceived or hyped when compared to big software/tech startups and I think this behavior is slowly changing. After listening to many passionate VC representatives and people who have made business ventures in the plant-based sector, it's obvious that the small sector of plant-based meats is on the rise.
The most inspirational portion of the Symposium was the networking session where I got the opportunity to speak with Seth Tibbot, the founder of the Tofurky Company. I thought it was very interesting to hear from a Founder who took the chance to create something new in an environment that was so new and risky. Tofurky is one of the older existing plant-based meat companies and it was so inspiring to hear Seth talk about how his passion for wanting to disrupt an industry that holds so much power of consumers.
Overall, I think Berkeley Haas is going in the right direction in allowing business students to pursue alternative ways to entrepreneurship and business careers in something that can make a true difference in the World. I hope to attend more events like the Plant Future Symposium in the future and hope Berkeley Haas continues to diversify its reach into alternative and rising industries.
