Elaine Siu is an author, activist, and innovator devoted to shifting the world away from animal agriculture.
Elaine Siu is an author, activist, and innovator devoted to shifting the world away from animal agriculture. She is an adviser at Material Innovation Initiative (MII), where she served as the chief innovation officer. She has also served as the managing director of Good Food Institute APAC and is the author of the book Your Next 40,000 Hours. Siu advises startups, corporations, and investors on strategies and industry insights, particularly on harnessing the power of technology and market forces to shift the world away from industrial animal agriculture.
In order to celebrate March 8, International Women’s Day, Siu speaks with the founders of the first clean meat companies in Hong Kong and Singapore—all of whom are women. She interviews Carrie Chan, Sandhya Sriram, and Ka Yi about their trailblazing work in cell-based meat.
In Asia’s markets, where both population and meat consumption (per capita) were projected to rise rapidly in the 2020s, Siu surveyed food innovations rising to the challenge. She singled out China and Singapore as two markets where meat alternatives were set to take off.
On average, we spend around 80,000 hours of our lives working. Many of us go through this time without thinking about the impact we could make if we followed our true passions. Your Next 40,000 Hours is a book for people who want to find meaningful work that makes a difference in the world. Author Elaine Siu shares her own journey into a new, fulfilling career, along with stories from others who have done the same. This book is a call to action, encouraging you to find work that brings joy to your life and helps make the world a better place. It teaches you why finding purpose in your work is important, how to break free from social pressures that hold you back, and how pursuing your dreams can lead to a higher level of personal growth. Get ready to transform your life and start an exciting new career that you never thought possible!
There is a rising trend in creating materials that donʼt come from animals. What new technologies and alternative materials can we expect to see in the future?
Elaine Siu, the Chief Innovation Officer of Material Innovation Initiative, talked about the latest developments, pressing needs, and future possibilities for next-generation materials in the fashion and agrifood industries, from production to the final customer. With the fast growth of new material companies and the strong demand in the supply chain, where will the development of these materials head next, and what are the key factors pushing us toward a sustainable future?
Siu discusses her book Your Next 40,000 Hours and shares her story and her hope that more people worldwide will decide to devote their remaining allotment of working hours to solving the worldʼs most pressing problems.
The alternative protein industry is growing stronger around the world, showing great potential for improving public health, protecting the planet, and ensuring better treatment of animals. Varun and Elaine discuss the important challenges the industry still faces, such as the need for more skilled workers, better production capacity, and more investment. They also explore how the effective altruism community can help the industry expand across Asia.
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In 2020, year of social distancing and webinars, Siu decided to go her own way and run an industry summit like a (virtual) talk show, essentially consisting of seven sessions of 50-minute chats, all live. This is her account of the why, and tips on the how, from a first-time “talk show” host and producer.