Ep. 39 - The OG of the Plant-Based Meat Movement: Seth Tibbott's Tofurky Story

Today, everyone knows what plant-based meat is and chances are they've at least tried it. In many ways, those people have Seth Tibbott to thank.

Seth, who in 1980 founded Turtle Island Foods (maker of the iconic Tofurky brand) and served as its CEO for more than three decades, is now releasing his autobiography: In Search of the Wild Tofurky: How a Business Misfit Pioneered Plant-Based Foods Before They Were Cool. Rest assured that if you're interested in entrepreneurialism to save the world, this is the perfect book to read while sheltering in place during a global pandemic.

In the book, Seth tells the tale of how ill-prepared he, as a hippie-turned-entrepreneur, was to run a business when he started out. In fact, the company remained unprofitable for more than 15 years until finally turning out new products that helped to pave the way for the explosion of plant-based meat popularity we're experiencing today.

So take a moment while social distancing and listen to Seth's inspirational story of repeated (and repeated) business failures, followed by enormous success, both financial and social. After listening to his tale here, you'll surely want to order his new book!

Discussed in this episode

• Books: Diet for a Small Planet, Shoe Dog, Eating Animals, and Stephen Gaskin's works
• Philip Wollen speech on animals
• Wild Wild Country on Netflix
• The Guardian on Eddie the pitbull's foster-to-adoption story
• Paul Shapiro's column in Scientific American about pandemics and raising animals for food