ArtsFoodTechnology

Food Truths

Eric Schulze

In a world filled with food fiction, fables and half-truths, how do we build a better food future and save the planet while we’re at it? Without fooling ourselves.

Debunking the common and audience-supplied food mythology with entertaining facts from a real, honest-to-goodness professional scientist. Combining policy, pragmatic takes, and a willingness to hear dissent, one scientist attempts to promote factual takes on food myths.

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21 episodes
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English

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Sunday · 50 min
How Do We Know a Food Ingredient Is Safe?
How do we know a new food ingredient is safe, and when should it need a fresh review? In this episode of Food Truths, host Eric Schulze talks with experts from SciPinion about proposed changes to the FDA’s Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) system and what they could mean for food companies and innovation. They explore SciBridge, a tool that turns years of FDA submissions into searchable data to help assess whether an ingredient is substantially similar to one the agency has already reviewed. The conversation examines the challenges of defining “sameness,” the importance of transparency and scientific judgment, and whether smarter use of existing evidence could free regulators to focus on truly novel ingredients. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
August 3 · 52 min
Apeel's Jenny Du on Fighting Food Waste and Online Misinformation
In this episode of Food Truths, Eric Schulze speaks with Dr. Jenny Du, cofounder of Apeel Sciences, about the science behind the company’s plant-based coatings that extend the freshness of fruits and vegetables and reduce food waste. Du also discusses the inside story of the misinformation campaign targeting Apeel, its impact on the business, and the hard-earned lessons the company learned about crisis response, consumer trust, and communicating science in an increasingly polarized information environment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
June 18 · 56 min
The Science of Cows, Meat, and the Consumer with Brian Brozovic
Today's guest is part 1 in a conversation with meat scientist, Brian Brozovic. Brian is a full-stack meat science, quality, and consumer expert at Empirical Foods that helps meat producers and processors turn exceptional animal genetics into high-quality meat. Brian's expertise is unique, as he straddles the line of innovation in the conventional agriculture sector while also being very on top of emerging trends in food science, like cultivated meat. Brian helps connect producers, processors, retailers, and consumers through practical, science-based solutions. We talk about meat prices (of course!), what it takes to build a great animal product, and how consumers drive all the choices processors make. For more about Brian, you can connect with him here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianmbrozovic]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
April 10 · 17 min
The Case for Cultivated Meat
The Case for Cultivated Meat" (Part 1 of 2: Scaling, Capital, and the Path to Parity) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
April 3 · 50 min
The Price of Plenty (of Meat) with Maureen Ogle
Maureen Ogle spent years tracing how Americans built one of the most productive and destructive food systems on earth. Her book, The Price of Plenty, is a history of meat in America: from colonial abundance to industrial consolidation to the present conundrum of cheap food and its costs. On this episode, Ogle unpacks the political economy of American meat: how the "paradox of plenty" shaped regulation, antitrust failure, and consumer entitlement across two centuries. We get into the infrastructure that made industrial meat all but inevitable, the public investment that served consolidation far more than smallholders, and what the historical record actually says about whether meaningful change is possible. History as diagnosis, not nostalgia. You can learn more about Maureen and her book, here https://maureenogle.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
February 19 · 1 hr
Designing Dinner with Dr. Andrew Stout
Dr. Andrew Stout trained in the lab that created the world's first cultured hamburger. Now, as the first full-time cellular agriculture faculty hire at Tufts University, he's building the next generation of food scientists and rescuing intellectual property from defunct startups to keep the field moving forward. In this episode, Stout and I dig into what it actually takes to design a new food from the cell up, how cellular agriculture is maturing as a scientific discipline, and why building products in today's brutal funding environment is forcing a different kind of creativity. If you think food science is just about what's on your plate, this conversation will change that. Learn more about Dr. Stout's work at Tufts (link in show notes). https://engineering.tufts.edu/bme/people/faculty/andrew-stout Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
February 3 · 53 min
The Future of Meat with Bruce Friedrich
Summary In this episode of Food Truths, Eric interviews Bruce Friedrich, founder of the Good Food Institute and author of the brand new book, Meat. Eric and Bruce discuss the evolution of meat consumption, the inefficiencies of traditional meat production, and the rise of alternative proteins. They explore the challenges and criticisms faced by the alternative protein industry, the economic and environmental implications of meat consumption, and the future of food production. Bruce talks about his new book (find out more via the link below), emphasizing the need for innovation and the importance of addressing global hunger and sustainability. Bruce's new book: https://meatbook.org/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
January 30 · 41 min
Goodbye Red Dye and Hello New Food Pyramid! (CES Live Session)
In this live onstage session, Food Truths host Eric Schulze discusses the rapidly changing food business and regulatory environment, including the just-announced (an hour before the panel!) new food pyramid, with a fantastic panel of food experts. Eric's guests in this session include Juliana Bernalostos-Boy, the Chief Innovation Officer for Ingredion; Dana McCauley, the CEO of the Canadian Food Innovation Network; Brittany Kovacevik, the Managing Director at Culinex; and Carolyn O'Neil, Nutritionist & Host of the Watch What You Eat podcast (on The Spoon Podcast Network). The panelists discuss the shift in dietary recommendations, the challenges of reformulating products, and the need for clear definitions in food policy. They emphasize the importance of transparency and consumer education in navigating these changes, as well as the potential for innovation in response to new guidelines. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 23, 2025 · 50 min
Right in Front our Eyes: Ross Milne of Leaft Foods
Did you know the most abundant protein in the world is from plants, not animals? You eat it in ever green leafed plant, but now CEO Ross Milne and his team of New Zealand-based Leaft Foods are bringing this protein, Rubisco, to your plate. Rubisco is one of the most important proteins to ever exist - it ensures light and CO2 get converted into sugar and releasing that ever-so-important Oxygen for us to breathe. Ross teaches me about what it took to make Rubisco a food ingredient, its untapped potential, and how he approaches innovation. You can learn more about Ross and Leaft Foods here https://www.leaftfoods.com/. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 18, 2025 · 48 min
Solving Infant Food Allergies with Meenal Lele
Today's guest is Meenal Lele, CEO and Founder of Hanimune Therapeutics. Meenal joins the show to discuss a complex and frustating issue for many parents and children: food allergies. Food allergies are becoming more frequently diagnosed as we learn how children's genetics, environment, and microbiomes develop in response to foods. Meenal's food brand, Lil Mixins, is solving this with thoughtful adherence to the latest consensus science on food allergies and how best to approach reducing food allergies in children. Despite my immunology background, I learned so much from Meenal. You can learn more about Meenal and Lil Mixins here: Hamimune Therapeutics https://www.hanimunetherapeutics.com/, Lil Mixins https://www.lilmixins.com/, and Meenal https://www.linkedin.com/in/meenallele/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 20, 2025 · 50 min
Beer from Bread and Food Waste
Today's guest is Naman Tekriwal, Co-Founder and COO of Breer, a Hong Kong-based company that makes beer from excess bread that would be otherwise wasted or thrown away. Naman and his team make the case that delicious food can be made from the stuff we may want to throw away. Naman walks me through how bread is turned into beer, why local specialities make very loyal customers, and how you start a company that treats its customers as shareholders. We also talk about how Naman's journey to Breer and our shared loved for Slavic fermented beverages. You can find more about Naman here and his company here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 19, 2025 · 41 min
Making Coffee Without Coffee: Prefer CEO Jake Berber
Today's guest is CEO and Co-founder of Prefer, Jake Berber. Jake and his Singapore-based team are working to bring the cost of coffee down by producing authentic coffee that is bean-free. They do this by producing the flavors and aromas of coffee through a state of the art fermentation process, no coffee plant needed. Why go around the coffee plant altogether? Well, the cost of coffee has exploded, climate change is adding difficulty to producing it, and there is a huge demand for foods that have coffee flavor. So, Jake and his team have developed a new way to produce it. And what makes this so interesting is Jake's view on how to build a food company in such a competitive environment - cleverly building consumer trust on price and quality and not on technology value. Many neat lessons for any folks building food products using new technologies. You can learn more about Prefer here [https://www.prefer.coffee/] and Jake here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakeberber/] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 28, 2025 · 1 hr
The Reality of Ultra-Processed Foods: Ep 2 "Real Foods"
Today's guest is Professor Charlotte Biltekoff, author, researcher, and lecturer at UC Davis. Dr. Biltekoff focuses on how good food became 'real' in the beginning of the 21st century and how the food industry has responded to increasingly negative public views of processed foods. She has turned her sights on ultra processed foods (UPFs) and the confusion on what they are and are not. Most important, she unpacks the history of how we got this point, with a large discussion about food science, food scientism, and naturalism. We end up having a discussion about the nature of knowledge and nutrition and how our cultural backgrounds really frame how we think about UPFs and food's goodness overall. As a scientist and policy maker, I learned so much from Charlotte, and I think you will too. You can learn more about Charlotte and her work here [https://www.charlottebiltekoff.com/] and you can find links to her book, Real Food, Real Facts, here [https://www.ucpress.edu/books/real-food-real-facts/epub-pdf] and Eating Right in America, here [https://www.amazon.com/Eating-Right-America-Cultural-Politics/dp/0822355590]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 20, 2025 · 59 min
Navigating the New World Order in Food
The food industry is changing faster than ever. New regulations, shifting political climate, and generational shifts in consumer attitudes. What do food leaders do about it? We will discuss and answer your questions in this informative panel! Join food scientist and podcast host of Food Truths podcast Eric Schulze as he discusses the state of the food innovation landscape with Amy Taylor (Zevia), Sanah Baig (Executive Director | Plant Based Foods Institute), Dana McCauley, (CEO, Canadian Food Innovation Network). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 5, 2025 · 37 min
RFK & MAHA
Today's episode is bringing back friend of the pod, Helena Bottemiller Evich, Founder and Editor-in-chief at Food Fix, one the sharpest food policy sources to exist. We're also joined by her colleague and policy wonk, Theodore Ross, Editor-in-chief of The Food and Environment Reporting Network. Helena and Theodore together have been monitoring RFK's MAHA movement, and we come back to check in on where MAHA is going, if anywhere. Turns out there may be a hint of policy thesis somewhere in there, and we try to tease it out. Also, we attempt to define the paradox that seems to be brewing in HHS that will eventually come to head. You can learn more about MAHA, food policy, and our guests on Helena and Theodore's very own pod, Forked. [https://thefern.org/podcasts/forked] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 24, 2025 · 1 hr 2 min
The Reality of Ultra-Processed Foods: Ep 1 Dr. Richard Black
Today's guest marks the beginning of a limited series here on Food Truths where we will dive into the reality, frustrations, and misinformation surrounding ultra-processed foods. There's a lot of conflicting information, and we are going to speak to a variety of experts to understand what an UPF is and is not. The answers may really surprise you. Today, we kick things off with WISECode's Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Richard Black, award-winning nutrition scientist and Tufts University Professor. He tells the story of how the term UPF came to be, what they got right, wrong, and how he and his team have developed a new, more intuitive way to think about UPFs when you are at the grocery store. You can learn more about Richard here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rblackwisecodeai/] and more about WISECode and the free datatsets and UPF app here [https://wisecode.ai/]. Tune in for more in-depth conversations about UPFs and the importance of knowing what is and what is not ultraprocessed in your diet in the coming weeks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 8, 2025 · 57 min
Cultured Chocolate
Today's guest is Dr. Steven Lang, Vice President of Science and Technology for cultured chocolate company, California Cultured. Steve and his team are designing your favorite chocolate products and making them directly from cocoa cells rather than growing the entire tree. Yes, designing and making real cocoa powder directly from the plant cells of the cocoa tree, virtually no tree needed. Steve has worked in many different industries, first in making biopharmaceuticals, then making cultivated meat, and now designing cocoa from the cell up. We talk about what it's like to be a biologist in today's food world and why making drugs makes for better food production. You can learn more about California Cultured here, and about Steve here. https://www.cacultured.com/ & https://www.linkedin.com/in/steven-lang-b003406/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 13, 2025 · 58 min
We are eating the Earth with Mike Grunwald
Climate journalist Mike Grunwald joins the pod today to walk us through his latest book, We Are Eating the Earth. Mike is an accomplished writer and and thinker about the world we feed today and what a fed world looks like tomorrow. Mike and I discuss the best and worst parts of our current food production system. There's a lot to love about how we make food (It's safe! It's abundant!), and what is rapidly hurting our future and our children's lives (like how we grow protein) and what what can and should be done to ensure a more verdant future. You can learn more about Mike and his work here [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/We-Are-Eating-the-Earth/Michael-Grunwald/9781982160074] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 5, 2025 · 53 min
Designing Fats with Physics
Today's guest is Dr. Sydney Schreppler, Director of Product and R&D at Savor, a startup building edible fats directly from the molecule up. Sydney is a quantum physicist by training, a facet that makes for creative thinking and product design. We discuss the route she took from physics to foods, and how we can make a lasting impact on the world through our acts and deeds - not just our aspirations. Her inspiration, intellect, and drive make her a fascinating guest and scientist. If you'd like to learn more about Sydney or Savor check this link https://www.savor.it/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 27, 2025 · 57 min
How Dire Wolves Are Making Food Better and Safer
Today's guest is professor R. Alta Charo, JD, world expert in emerging biotechnologies (and most recently, bringing back extinct species like the Dire Wolf). Science is rapidly changing how we produce food and medicine. Alta is Warren P. Knowles Professor Emerita of Law and Bioethics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, former Senior FDA Policy Advisor, a member of the National Academy of Medicine, and has worked with DARPA and Department of Defense. In her free time, she publishes paper after paper. No one has been more at the forefront of the ethical and societal changes more that Professor Charo. She has spent a career working in science policy, and she has is one of the few folks who tends to predict correctly more than not about new foods using science. In this episode, we discuss what led to her career choices, the unexpected findings in those choices, where food technology is going, and why bringing back the extinct Dire Wolf is a very good thing for food production. You can reach out to Professor Charo here [https://www.linkedin.com/in/r-alta-charo-6999341b9/] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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