A FOOD SCIENTIST OPENS HER BAG

Isha Datar is rethinking the meaning of meat. As CEO of the New York-based “cellular agriculture” non-profit New Harvest, Datar and her team have kickstarted an industry where animal products – like ground beef, milk and eggs – can be made from lab-grown tissue cultures and proteins. Now, she’s bringing that knowledge to scientists around the globe. We touched base with the Saskatoon-born, Edmonton-raised wunderkind before she left for New Harvest’s biannual Lab Meet (not meat) in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

WHAT’S YOUR

PACKING STYLE?

I bring as little as possible. I like to coordinate items that I can mix and match, and I have no qualms about repeating outfits.

HOW IS NEW HARVEST CHANGING THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT FOOD?

I hope that we’re helping

people to consider the impacts of our diets, and to be mindful of how food reaches our plates. Whether it’s from a farmer’s field, a factory farm or a bioreactor, all food has a story, which we’re opting into with our choices.

WHEN WILL WE SEE LAB-GROWN ANIMAL PRODUCTS IN STORES?

Oh, this is hard to estimate! Science and research are so unpredictable and nonlinear. We’ll definitely see lab-grown milk proteins on store shelves sooner than we will meat products, since it’s easier to produce proteins than living tissue – some say as early as in the next two years.

WHAT ARE STAFF LUNCHES LIKE AT NEW

Our team is really small, so we often pack our lunches. When we gather with all of our active researchers for our Lab Meets, we’ll go to restaurants that serve new foods, like the Impossible Burger 2.0.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE INFLIGHT MEAL?

I’m not vegetarian, but on long flights to Europe or Asia I will request a vegetarian meal. And I don’t mind if there’s a little chocolate mousse on the side.