1473 – Cell-Cultured Seafood with Finless Foods’ Michael Selden

In this episode of the Thoughtful Entrepreneur, your host Josh Elledge speaks to the CEO & Co-Founder of Finless Foods, Michael Selden.

Michael Selden, the founder of Finless Foods, is a pioneer in sustainable food production, specifically in the emerging field of cellular agriculture. With his expertise in entrepreneurship, Selden has built Finless Foods into a successful business that uses cutting-edge technology to produce meat products without the need for traditional animal agriculture. Selden's work is closely tied to his concern for sustainability and environmental conservation, which can provide valuable insights into the future of food and the potential for technology to transform how we produce and consume food. By getting to know Selden, you can learn about the latest advances in sustainable food production and gain insights into the community of people passionate about creating a more sustainable and ethical food system.

About Michael Selden: Since a young age, Michale has been a stalwart environmentalist, cultivating an acute awareness of the issues that plague the planet and pondering solutions to rectify systemic inequities. One such issue, the negative impact of animal agriculture and overfishing, inspired him to take action by dedicating his career to impacting positive change within the seafood industry. He first developed a passion for the interrelation of Science and food systems, specifically the critical roles they play in economic, environmental, and social justice, during my time at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, earning a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

Michael began his career there by working in fungal epigenetics to save large monocultures like bananas from the destructive Panama disease. After school, he moved to Taiwan to teach Chemistry at an international high school, followed by working as a translator and Co-Editor-in-Chief at ChinaSMACK, a Shanghai-based news site. Following his return to the states, he worked at the Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine studying high-throughput cancer screening and as a research intern at New Harvest, a non-profit dedicated to propelling the field of cellular agriculture.

Through the intersection of my previous roles and innate interests, he was drawn to a 2014 article in The Atlantic that announced a crucial scientific development: the ability to synthesize horseshoe crab blood, a vital component for quality control of many life-saving vaccines. He thought to himself – “if we can make horseshoe crab blood without horseshoe crabs, why can't we make seafood without harvesting fish?” One night over beers with his friend Brian Wywras, a research technician at the time, they fleshed out ideas that laid the foundation for what would soon become one of the most innovative companies in the field of cell-cultured seafood.

In 2017, Finless Foods created the first fish meat grown outside of a living fish to ever be consumed by a person. Eventually, their passion and vision attracted $3.5 million in funding and landed Bryan and Michael spots on the Forbes 30 under 30 for Social Impact. When he's not working towards building a sustainable future for our oceans, you can find me hanging out with my bulldog Roscoe, making music, or reading the latest science fiction.

About Finless Foods: Finless Foods is a food technology company focused on creating a sustainable future for seafood. Their goal is to contribute to preserving the ocean and its ecosystems, while offering consumers alternative seafood products that are both delicious and ethical.

To achieve this, Finless Foods is leveraging innovative plant and cell culture technology, which allows them to produce seafood products without the need for traditional fishing methods. Using these techniques, they can create various alternative seafood options, including fish fillets and other seafood-based dishes.

These products are designed to provide consumers with a sustainable and ethical alternative to traditional seafood options. They are created without the use of bait or a hook, which can help reduce the negative impact of fishing on the ocean's ecosystem.

Overall, Finless Foods is focused on using technology to revolutionize how the world sources seafood. They believe that creating delicious and sustainable seafood products can help protect the ocean's ecosystem and ensure a healthier future for both people and the planet.

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

Want to learn more? Check out Finless Foods website at https://finlessfoods.com/

Check out Finless Foods on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/finlessfoods/?hl=en

Check out Finless Foods on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/finlessfoods/

Check out Michael Selden on LinkedIn at

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-selden/

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