How Do We Actually Make Meat Taste Like Meat? The Future of Food Science

The flavor of food comes from thousands of chemical compounds interacting with our senses in ways most of us never think about. As scientists work to create more sustainable alternatives to traditional animal products, understanding those flavors has become one of the biggest challenges in building the foods of the future.

In this lecture, Jeremy Nowak, a physical chemist and food scientist who has worked at both Impossible Foods and The EVERY Company, explores the science behind flavor, protein innovation, and sustainable food technology. Drawing on his work developing alternative proteins, he explains how scientists identify the molecules responsible for taste and use them to create entirely new foods.

From plant-based burgers to proteins made through fermentation, this talk examines how chemistry, culture, and sustainability are shaping the future of what we eat and the global food system that feeds us.