When Liz Specht ‘09 enrolled at Johns Hopkins University in 2005, few people were talking about alternative proteins – including those grown in a lab. Today, though, consumers around the globe are increasingly demanding meat substitutes that are tasty, better for the environment, and cruelty free, and Specht is at the forefront of efforts to provide them.
As vice president of science and technology at the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit that promotes plant- and cell-based alternatives to animal products, Specht is catalyzing cutting-edge research and innovation aimed at getting such products on consumers’ plates.
“I came [to Hopkins] thinking I wanted to go into pharmaceuticals research,” said Specht, adding that she was drawn to the university mainly because of its reputation for enabling undergraduate research and innovation. “Hopkins felt like the place where that was genuinely encouraged and really, really supported.”
Initially her studies were biomedically-focused, but two undergraduate summers spent traveling to India via Engineers Without Borders gave her a firsthand view of food consumption and distribution at a global level and opened her eyes to other career possibilities – as did advice from a professor.
“I worked with (Professor Jeffrey Gray) starting sophomore year, and that was really informative for me in terms of kind of coaching me to think about biology as a set of tools that we can use or manipulate to achieve some sort of beneficial purpose in the world,” she said.
Professor Denis Wirtz was also an influence, and encouraged her to continue her academic pursuits rather than immediately enter the industry. “He said if you can invent something or develop something, that can impact way more people than you can ever hands-on interact with,” said Specht. “That convinced me to go the research route.”
After earning a PhD from the University of California-San Diego in 2014 she did postdoctoral work at the University of Colorado. Asked if Boulder, which is a city known for its acceptance of an alternative-eating lifestyle, informed her future pursuits, Specht laughed. “You can’t help but eat and breathe that sort of ethos,” she said, “but it wasn’t super influential.”
| “I remember Liz as a spectacularly bright and ambitious undergraduate … It’s a delight to have her sharing her latest work on sustainable food technology with us.” – Jeffrey Gray, professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering |
What was influential was the prospect of doing something that would make a meaningful impact on people and the environment. While lab research can take years to realize real-world applications, food is a tangible and fundamental element of daily life that is constantly adapting and changing. “My impatience of seeing that impact is probably why I’m not still in academia,” said Specht. “I began looking for areas where there’s, like, lots of technologically low-hanging fruit, in terms of relatively simple tech or biotech that could make a massive positive impact in the lives of millions or billions of people.”
Few commodities make as much of an impact on large groups of people as food, and technology continues to transform how it is made and what it is made from. Alternative proteins haven’t had an easy path to the consumer market, though, and today comprise roughly 1% of overall meat consumption. Despite its growing prominence on shelves and even at fast food restaurants, meat substitutes have a PR problem. “I remember biting into a veggie dog in the mid-2000s and writing them off as disgusting,” said Specht. “But they’re way better (now) than they were.”
Specht is not just a consumer of alternative proteins; she is also one of their biggest proponents. As such, she has firsthand knowledge and foresight into the hyper-dynamic world of meatless meat innovations. In her expert – and personal – opinion, biologically derived meat has drawbacks that science can, and is, able to bypass and improve upon. “Historically we’ve eaten what’s easiest to domesticate – not necessarily the most nutritious,” said Specht.
Enter lab-grown meat, also known as cultivated meat. Once the stuff of science fiction, it is already a reality, though not one yet offered at most supermarkets. Currently only Singapore allows the sale of cultivated meat directly to consumers, and Specht projects that it may take until 2030 before it’s widely available globally.
“There’s talk from multiple U.S.-based companies that they anticipate (manufacture and distribution) regulations before the end of the year,” said Specht. “Maybe the more important question for consumers is how long before you can actually buy this at a grocery store or restaurant, where it’s not a novelty. That’s much harder to answer.”
Beyond the potential aversion that some may have to a laboratory-derived protein, Specht said that the products’ price point and taste will no doubt be the factors determining if consumers are willing to make the switch. “The Impossible burger is pretty good, I can’t tell the difference,” Specht said. “[But] the majority are not quite there on taste and texture.”
She said that cultivated meat may go a long way to solving the taste problem, as well as appeal to those concerned about the decimation of certain animals like tuna and the negative effects of meat farming on the environment. And lab-grown meats would also open up a seemingly unlimited world of options for your harried Wednesday night dinner, offering exotic proteins beyond the standard American diet of beef, chicken and pork. Specht explained that cultivated meats all cost essentially the same to produce; thus, the gulf between chuck and chateaubriand becomes narrower. Specht said there is even one company focusing on cultivating wagyu beef. Made in a lab, lean chicken breasts could be imbued with salmon-like Omega 3 fats. It’s all just manipulation of cell culture media composition. No matter the end product, “the process will pretty much look the same,” Specht said.
Specht’s education and foundation in chemical and biomolecular engineering gives her a different lens through which to view what, for most of us, is both sustenance and indulgence. “Everything we admire about food, from nutrition to taste to texture is really just the interaction of biomolecules,” she said. “Food is just biomaterial you put in your mouth.”
(Specht returned to the Homewood campus Oct. 13 as part of the weekly seminar series).