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When my little rescue cat Loki came into my life I made a commitment to do what was right by him, despite my vegan lifestyle.

I would feed him high quality, vegan cat food if he ate it and if not, well that was a compromise I would make. I’m happy to say Loki boy demolishes his vegan biscuits. I’m sorry to say vegan wet food, not so much. In fact, that gets the big paws down.

So Loki eats fish and I feel guilty however my guest today has a solution!

Shannon Falconer, MSc, PhD is Founder and CEO of BioCraft Pet Nutrition. BioCraft was founded in 2016 and is the first and only biotech company developing cultured meat for the pet food market.

BioCraft is the leader in safe, sustainable and cruelty-free cultured meat to replace conventionally farmed meat for pet food and I am desperate to hear from Shannon just when this miracle product will be available!

In this conversation we discuss how BioCrafted meat is grown in a 100% clean environment free from the devastating impacts of animal agriculture. 

The ethical and health implications of feeding factory farmed animals to our companion cats and dogs may be obvious however on prepping for this conversation I was shocked to learn more about the environmental consequences of the mammoth pet food industry.

To quote biocraftpet.com: BioCraft (formerly Because Animals) was the first to create a proprietary growth medium as an alternative to fetal bovine serum (FBS), helping reduce production costs by well over an order of magnitude and representing a key step towards commercial scale.

Today, the BioCraft team has grown to include a roster of PhD scientists, a veterinarian, and serial entrepreneurs, all focused on taking animals out of the supply chain by producing the healthiest, most environmentally sustainable and supply-chain stable meat for dogs and cats.

In this conversation we cover:

• Shannon left her post-doctoral research fellowship at Stanford University and turned down a prestigious academic scholarship… What gave her the confidence to take such a risk?
• Why cultured meat is better for cats and dogs than traditional pet food.
• FDA recalls on pet food are typically due to bacterial and chemical contamination and largely a result of the slaughter-based method of conventional meat production.
• Industrial farming relies heavily on the use of antibiotics to avoid spreading disease under unsanitary conditions.
• How BioCraft pet nutrition are “producing meat in an alternative way” free from the devastating impacts of animal agriculture.
• How BioCrafted meat is grown in a 100% clean environment.
• How traditional pet food is not a sustainable industry and the huge impact on animal agriculture that would (joyfully) result if they couldn’t sell their scraps for pet food.
• What are some of the potential objections to cultured meat for companion animals and how BioCraft are overcoming them.
• From biocraftpet.com: More than a quarter of the environmental effects of animal agriculture is attributed to feeding pets in the U.S. alone. In fact, if cats and dogs occupied their own country, the amount of meat they consume would make them the world’s fifth largest meat-consuming nation.
• BioCraft is better for pet food manufacturers.
• BioCraft doesn’t use fetal bovine serum (FBS), a growth medium inhumanely obtained from the slaughter of pregnant cows, which has been commonly used to produce other cell-based meats. BioCraft was among the first biotech companies to develop an alternative formula to promote cell growth.
• After humanely collecting samples, the animals who contribute cells to BioCraft live the rest of their natural lives in a home as pets.

If you share your home with a cat or dog I imagine you’re just as excited as I am to welcome BioCraft Pet Nutrition to market.

To connect with Shannon and learn more about everything BioCraft Pet Nutrition, please head to biocraftpet.com. I will also have you linked up in the show notes below.

It quite literally is the waste stream margins that keep these industries afloat… pet food is actually sustaining the most unsustainable industry on the planet which is of course Animal Agriculture. @BioCraftPet Share on X

Connect with BioCraft Pet Nutrition across the socials: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Learn more about BioCraft Pet Nutrition via the website: https://www.biocraftpet.com

That’s it for this week in Healthification.

However, have you checked out my Plant Positive Journal yet? 

I am so very proud of this stunning journal. There is now also a fillable PDF version available for immediate download so wherever you are in the world you can still get Plant Positive with me!

If you are plant-based curious. Or already vegan and need a healthier approach to the lifestyle.

In this daily journal you will learn how to consistently prioritise food, exercise and other healthy habits that build on each other to have a compounding and lasting effect.

To help you create a BODY and LIFE you LOVE by successfully managing your TIME and your MIND.

It makes a great gift to YOU!

Or, for the loved one who is plant-based curious or who has been a valuable vegan ally to you.

You can check out the printed version HERE: 

Plus, the fillable PDF HERE: 

Importantly, the journal follows a twelve month format however is not dated so it is perfect to use at ANY time of the year.

With love and gratitude plant friends.

If you liked “Shannon Falconer and Creating Cultured Meat For Companion Animals.” you’ll also like Vegan Vet Armaiti May and Educating Veterinary Practitioners On The Benefits of Veganism.

If you liked “Shannon Falconer and Creating Cultured Meat For Companion Animals.” you’ll also like Meat The Future of Cultivated Meat and a Sustainable Way To Feed The World with Liz Marshall and Annie Osborn.

If you liked “Shannon Falconer and Creating Cultured Meat For Companion Animals.” you’ll also like Elysabeth Alfano and Investing in a Healthy, Sustainable, Profitable Plant-Based Future.

If you liked “Shannon Falconer and Creating Cultured Meat For Companion Animals.” you’ll also like Tofurky and Creating Delicious Plant Food While Focusing on Purpose Over Profits with Seth Tibbott.

If you liked “Shannon Falconer and Creating Cultured Meat For Companion Animals.” you’ll also like Pam Ahern from Edgars Mission Farm Sanctuary Is Creating A Kinder World For Farmed Animals.

If you liked “Shannon Falconer and Creating Cultured Meat For Companion Animals.” you’ll also like Aubry and Kale from The Herbivorous Butcher are Making Plant-based Meats and Cheeses the Norm.

If you liked “Shannon Falconer and Creating Cultured Meat For Companion Animals.” you’ll also like Dr Sailesh Rao, Healing The Earth’s Climate and Creating A Vegan World 2026.

If you liked “Shannon Falconer and Creating Cultured Meat For Companion Animals.” you’ll also like Danny O’Malley and Before the Butcher Are Making Plant Based Proteins The Norm.

If you liked “Shannon Falconer and Creating Cultured Meat For Companion Animals.” you’ll also like Turning Dairy Farms Into Animal Sanctuaries with Geraldine Starke and Refarm’d