Future of Food: Meat 2.0

Eating protein doesn't have to mean eating meat. Alternative proteins can be made from plants, fungi, or even protein grown in labs from animal cells. Are there health and ecological benefits to eating alternative proteins? For those who crave the taste and texture of traditional meat foods, how can these alternative proteins be made to reproduce those sensations?

Join the following NC State faculty members as they talk about their work with alternative proteins:

• Karen Daniels (Distinguished Professor of Physics) will talk about the physics of making plant-based food meat. Her lab conducts research on deformations and flow in soft materials, and she’s also passionate about food and cooking.
• Claire Gordy (Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Biological Sciences) will talk about yeast-based proteins. She teaches a Yeast Metabolic Engineering course where students learn about foods like Impossible Burger.

Wicked Problems, Wolfpack Solutions instructor Melissa Ramirez will facilitate the conversation to consider current issues and opportunities, career paths, and ways NC State students can get involved with alternative proteins.

You can taste Barvecue and Beyond Burger in Fountain dining hall during lunch and dinner on September 6th. Guests must use their meal plan, AllCampus funds, credit or debit card to access the dining hall. There will also be a tasting after the discussion sponsored by Barvecue CEO and NC State alumni Lee Cooper.

From 4-4:30 pm, the Special Collections Research Center will showcase items from the university's archives, including historical recipes and examples of meat alternatives dating back to World War I. Stop by before the event to view the original materials and talk to the librarians who preserve them. 

This event is part of the Future of Food series and is co-sponsored by Wicked Problems, Wolfpack Solutions and NC State Dining.