"If you can give people the taste and texture of meat and make it out of something other than animals, that's the best route to helping end industrial animal agriculture.” —Michael Fox

 

One fine day, a vegetarian, a celebrity chef, and a mushroom geek were out for a leisurely walk in the woods. The crunch of the leaves and the sweet, floral scent of that enchanting place lingered in the air. Suddenly, they stopped. There, clustered around the base of a tree, was a patch of mushrooms that shimmered in the sunlight. With excitement, they realized they had stumbled upon something special— an opportunity to transform their eating habits and create a more sustainable and nutritious way of cooking. From that day forth, these three friends worked together to explore and understand the unique flavors, health benefits, and cooking techniques involved in cooking with mushrooms - ultimately finding a way to turn their discovery into a more high-five-awesome way to eat!

 

With their meaty texture, vibrant flavor, and numerous health benefits, mushrooms can make a fantastic alternative to traditional meats. Not only does it have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune-boosting contents, but it is also packed with essential vitamins and minerals. In addition, mushrooms can help reduce the environmental burden by decreasing the amount of animal farming and water usage associated with meat production, whilst also providing a sustainable and animal-friendly food option. All of this makes mushrooms an all-around healthier, tastier, and more sustainable choice for replacing meat in our diets.

 

In this episode, Justine interviews Michael Fox, one of the co-founders and CEO of Fable Foods, a startup that uses mushrooms as the main ingredient for its alternative meat products. Listen in as Michael shares more of their journey and lessons learned along the way. Justine and Michael also discuss what we can learn about living a regenerative life, what aspects of the food industry make it more challenging than other industries, what factors should we consider before deciding to scale our business, and how to get more accurate consumer insights. 

Meet Michael: 

Michael grew up as a meat-loving Queenslander. As a child, he once penned a song (more like a demanding chant) entitled “Steak of Glory”. He became vegetarian in 2015 for health, environmental and ethical reasons and has since gone fully vegan.

Michael loves to cook healthy food for his family which includes a 4 and a 2-year-old. He wanted to combine his passion for the planet with his healthy home cooking habits to create a whole food plant based meat-alternative. The result is Fable.

 

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Episode Highlights:

01:00 Once Upon a Time

03:14 The Protagonist: Mushrooms

09:45 The Journey: Making the World a Better Place

14:16 The Challenges: Food Safety

16:22 Moral Lesson

22:06 The Start of a Happy Ever After