No. 104: Tastes Like Chicken

We've got your standard burger. We've got your plant-based burger. Now, we've got your lab-grown burger – and Singapore is leading the way on commercialization.

Cultivated meat targets the same sustainability benefits as plant-based meat, but it's in its early stages of development. Our earliest indications of success take us to Singapore, where diners can partake of cultivated chicken tacos and purchase cultivated meat from the local grocer.

Environmental footprint features in the resource this week as well – I've come across more instances of companies asking consumers to add carbon offsets to their purchases, and NPR is ready to dish on how to spend your social impact dollars instead.

~ Greg

What we're reading

Singapore is testing the limits of the lab-grown or "cultivated" meat market. (NYT)

• By now, you're more than familiar with plant-based meat replacements. I don't eat a lot of it, but I love me some plant-based chorizo. A lot of other consumers have warmed up to the product as well.
• What you may not be as familiar with are the cultivated meat companies. The idea is to grow meat from cells instead of raising livestock (which has a significant environmental footprint) and killing livestock (which broaches ethical concerns).
  • You may have spotted some job opportunities from Upside Foods, one of the leaders in the space, in this very newsletter.
• What I found striking in Singapore is that they started selling cultivated meat to consumers and heavily subsidizing its price. It is still a nascent, costly production process, but companies are working to address scaling issues.
  • As with plant-based meat, consumer tastes are likely to play a factor. In theory, cultivated meat should taste more like the real thing because that's what they're growing, albeit through alternative means.
  • Florida and Alabama have banned the sale of cultivated meat. The political realities are vastly different in Singapore, which imports most of its food and has turned to urban farming to make the most of its limited geographical footprint.
• Personally, I'd eat plant-based meat before cultivated meat, but I like that the option is there. It will, however, take a stroke of marketing genius to turn either product into a sustainable business model. Maybe that marketer is you?

After the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Grants Pass, OR, allowing them broad authority to remove homeless encampments, the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has directed state officials to begin dismantling thousands of encampments around the state. (NYT)

• I wrote about the case before the ruling came out, and it was pretty clear that other western states were keeping an eye on the result. It is a polarizing issue and one that Democratic politicians have seemingly embraced as much as their Republican counterparts.
  • In short, expect other major cities to follow suit.
• Of course, we still have to answer the question of how to house people. Myriad solutions have emerged, from zoning changes to tiny house communities to universal basic income, but there is no panacea.
• Taking a step back, I do wonder what the cause and effect will look like. Shelter is one of the foundations on which we build our lives, and disrupting it is sure to have a psychological impact. How that translates to action, be it productive or otherwise, remains to be seen.

Job of the week

DEI may be under fire, but it's not going away, particularly at Certified B Corps. Case in point: Burton, a major snowboarding outfitter, is looking for a new Director of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion to join their headquarters in Burlington, VT. If you've been reading the newsletter for a while, you know I have a soft spot for Burlington, and there are a bunch of B Corps in Vermont. Assuming you're not in Vermont already, I have other good news: they're offering relocation assistance.

Community roundup

• Testing for Alzheimer's is getting better: a new blood test identifies 90% of early dementia cases and could lead to better drugs being developed for memory loss. (CNN)
• Michigan became the 20th state to enact a law preventing the "gay or transgender panic defense" which is used to excuse violent hate crimes. Essentially, attorneys were arguing that their clients' actions were justified because they found out their victims were gay or transgender. (Advocate)
• A new project called the Sacred Defense National Parks and Monuments Initiative aims to pay Indigenous tribes whose historical land associations are tied to the National Parks. (USA Today)
• Texas is suing the Biden Administration to block birth control access for teenagers. Under the current rules, teenagers can seek birth control without parental consent. (WaPo)
• Florida has enacted a law – we're very law-heavy this week – making it easier for microschools to find classroom space without government approval. (POLITICO)
  • These are "schools" that tend to be the size of one classroom and have one teacher. Their popularity has been growing with the private school movement.
• The Los Angeles Zoo has raised a record number of California condor chicks this breeding season. The species is critically endangered, but the population has grown from 22 birds in 1982 to 561 as of last year. (The Verge)

Hot job opportunities

• Sales Manager – Brewer Science – Remote
• Policy & Sustainability Analyst – SkyNRG – Remote
• Project Manager, Digital Marketing – Seer Interactive – Remote
• Area Division Manager – The Honest Kitchen – Remote
• Marketing Operations Manager, Member Engagement – Homeward – San Francisco, CA
  • If last week's newsletter about rural healthcare resonated with you, you're in luck: Homeward is tackling that issue, and they have a bunch of openings.
• Regional Manager – Counter Culture Coffee – Columbus, OH
• Enterprise Program Manager, Sustainability – Kohler – Kohler, WI
• HRIS and Benefits Specialist – Beneficial State Bank – Portland, OR or Seattle, WA
• Brand Director – OLLY – San Francisco, CA
• Trade Sales Account Manager – Armadillo – New York, NY

Resource of the week

Chances are you've come across a company that nudges you to donate to charity at checkout. I vividly remember our local grocery store raising money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, and Chipotle asks me to round up for charity whenever I pay through the app. Recently, I saw United Airlines asking if I'd like to pay to offset the emissions from my flight, and it raised an eyebrow – carbon offsets are rather notorious for not delivering on their promises.

So it was that I came across this article from NPR about what to know about carbon offset offers like the one from United Airlines. You should take a look if you're unfamiliar with the industry, because it's one of the best summaries I've seen. But in terms of resource, I mainly want to pass along their advice: spend the money on reducing your own emissions. That money is better spent on more efficient appliances, HVAC systems, electric vehicles, and more. Let the companies take responsibility for their sustainability goals.

Test your knowledge

I threw you a softball question last week, but it was worth recognizing Malala Yousafzai as the youngest Nobel Prize laureate ever. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 in recognition for her work advancing women's education.

Get those trivia synapses firing (or rev up your favorite social impact search engine) for this week's question:

Not all supply chains are up to snuff when it comes to social impact, but it's a good sign if you see this term on a product. It indicates fair wages and good working conditions for workers in developing companies.

Email me your guess, and I'll send one lucky winner a couple of One Work stickers!

I took my dog out to a restaurant for the first time this weekend, and he did pretty well for a dog who hates getting in the car. The staff even brought him water in a dog bowl, so I might have to do this more often. You can find me on LinkedIn and Threads.