Andrew Arentowicz is the Co-Founder and CEO of 50:50 Foods, a firm devoted to making healthier burgers. Drew explains that his company's burgers are made up of 50% beef and 50% vegetables. Concerned about the ravages of Amazon rainforest slash and burn practices -- to raise cattle for beef -- Drew and his colleague went to work in their own kitchens to make burgers that taste just as good as their all-beef brethren, but that are healthier both for the planet and for their consumers.

Drew tells his origin story...  from early explorations, the realization that consumers are unwilling to completely give up beef, to his early recipes, leading to manufacture at a major burger facility in San Diego. At this point, the burgers are available in 142 retail outlets -- notably at Pavilions and Vons supermarkets, through Thrive on line, and at Disneyland. Clearly 50:50 Foods has come a long way... a bootstrapped start-up that Drew notes "checks all the boxes!" He discusses the dual needs to cut down on beef consumption and to increase vegetable consumption. For parents, his burgers are a form of "stealth health," as they taste better while offering a potential sustainability solution.

While not marketed for their environmental benefits, Both burgers address environmental concerns head on. Fully 14% of all greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to cows. For every pound of beef production avoided, 100 pounds of greenhouse gases are avoided. Cows and cow food production are responsible for nearly half of all fresh water used in America, dwarfing the 12% used in our homes. Every Both burger cuts water use by nearly 2,000 gallons in the switch from all beef to 50:50's recipe. But Drew is not one to "brow-beat" consumers: Fundamentally, he stresses that Both burgers are delicious. And when produced at scale, they will cost less as vegetables cost less than beef on a pound-per-pound basis. 

The conversation weaves through Drew's rather fortuitous start-up, some of the challenges of working within FDA and USDA protocols and regulations, the clear benefits of 50:50 Foods, and the entrepreneurial path that Drew and his team have taken in developing their potent niche. What's next? First, scaling the burgers.... then taking a look at other related products like meat balls, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets.