Jennifer Stojkovic - The Future of Food Is Female: Reinventing the Food System to Save the Planet

A great collection of the inspiring but often untold stories of the women in food tech and how theyre shaking things up. Stojkovics work is a great read for up-and-coming entrepreneurs and innovators interested in the industry.

Kyle Vogt, CEO of Cruise

As someone who has dedicated my life to building a better food system, I know firsthand how crucial it is for us to empower the best and brightest minds to solve some of the industrys biggest challenges. Yet, for many of those who are leading the way, their stories have not been told. Stojkovic weaves together a powerful vision for a transformative future of food, as told through the eyes of women around the world. These fellow founders, scientists, and innovators provide a hopeful path for a kind, just, and safe planet for us all, and I recommend this book to anyone looking to be inspired to make a difference in this world.

Josh Tetrick, CEO of Eat Just

The Future of Food Is Female sheds light on the visionary women who are paving the way toward a more sustainable, healthy, equitable, and compassionate future by challenging the status quo of our food systems. A must read to understand who and what are behind the positive changes taking root across the food industry, this book will inspire readers to see how they can help address some of the most pressing challenges facing our world today.

Uma Valeti, MD, CEO of UPSIDE Foods

I am a friend and fan of many of the featured trailblazing women who are dedicated to improving the lives of so many around the globe, which is why it brings me so much joy and hope to see Jennifer Stojkovic shining a light on their amazing journeys. The future of the Earth and humanity is much more promising because of their leadership and innovation.

David Yeung, CEO of Green Monday and OmniFoods

My excitement for reading this book was slightly quelled by a sudden thought: Why isnt there already a book about women leading the food revolution?

For too long the voices of female leaders havent been given the credit and platform they deservenow with The Future of Food Is Female, that has finally changed. This book contains the advice and expertise of some of the most extraordinary female leaders in the plant-based movement. It provides an inspiring road map of essential knowledge that will no doubt lay out the future agenda for change. This book creates the stage for women to empower women (and anyone really!) to find strength and resilience, to rise up, take control, and change the world.

The future of food truly is femaledont believe me? Read the book.

Emma Hurst, Member of Parliament of New South Wales

Stojkovics interviews cast an important light on many firsts in food technology that have been pioneered by women. An insightful study of leaders shaping our future food system, filled with firsthand advice for entrepreneurs and anyone passionate about the future of food.

Mark Post, MD, CSO of Mosa Meat

Jenny Stojkovic has been a leader of the alternative-protein movement who, like her book, elevates the female voices, faces, and insights of the diverse leaders of this evolution of the plate and palate. If you care about creating a better world, the most overlooked place to do so is our food system. And if you care about creating a better food system, then Jennys book is for you.

Ari Nessel, Founder of Mobius

Stojkovics dive into the world of alternative protein redefines the industry by casting light on the often-untold stories of diverse women visionaries and trailblazers around the world. While The Future of Food Is Female may be the industrys first publication focused on the female lens of leadership, Stojkovics book journeys into the history of women and food, the cultural ties to what we eat, how generational change is redefining diet and sustainability, and ultimately, the importance of our personal motivations for change.

Bruce Friedrich, CEO of The Good Food Institute

Our industry is built and led by diverse women founders, and Stojkovic highlights several of their incredible journeys as they build the future of the plant-based food industry, recombinant animal-protein replacements, and a slaughter-free meat industry. In a world hungry for change, these pioneering women are building the future of feeding more than ten billion people with innovation, sustainability, and kindness at heart.

Ryan Bethencourt, Cofounder of Wild Earth, IndieBio, and Sustainable Food Ventures

Copyright 2022 by Jennifer Stojkovic
All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Published by VWS Press, Los Angeles
veganwomensummit.com

Edited and designed by Girl Friday Productions
www.girlfridayproductions.com

Cover design: Megan Katsanevakis
Project management: Mari Kesselring
Editorial: Bethany Davis

Image credits: cover iStock Photo/Jolygon; iStock Photo/Rebelf; iStock Photo/GeorgePeters

ISBN (paperback): 979-8-9857259-0-2
ISBN (e-book): 979-8-9857259-1-9

First edition

For Laika.
The worlds first animal to orbit the Earth.
Science failed you, but we will not fail those who come after you.

Reaching Supermodel Stardom, Learning to Love Your Body, and Changing the Way We Eat, One Meal a Day

Overcoming Failure, Building a Fast-Food Empire, and Leading the Black Plant-Based Revolution

A Scientists Journey to Entrepreneurship, a Love of Math, and Use of NASA Technology to Make Better Protein

Promoting Socially Impactful Capitalism, Being a Millennial CEO, and Empowering Mothers Through the Future of Infant Nutrition

Building a Refugees Legacy, Disrupting Venture Capital, and Paving the Way for Latina Leadership

Facing Existential Crisis, Engineering a New Way to Nourish, and Rebalancing Capitalism with Feminine Power

Leaving a Dream Job at Google, Taking a Systems Approach to Food, and Shaping the Future of Human Milk Products

A Journey to the White House, Serial Entrepreneurship, and Why Data Is the Secret to Healthy Plates

Surviving Against All Odds, Choosing Conscious Capitalism, and Changing Diets Through Consumer Choice

Growing Up as a Child Star, Using Your Platform for Good, and Building Market Solutions for a More Compassionate World

Applying a Military Approach to Reforming the Food System, Being a First-Time Founder, and Disrupting the Egg Industry

Escaping from the Yakuza, Reinventing Yourself Again and Again, and Understanding the Ethics of How We Eat

Championing Womens Rights for All, Combating Hatred and Misogyny, and Using Politics for Good

Leaving an Indian Slum, Using Artificial Intelligence for Better Food, and Creating a Food-Tech Revolution in Latin America

Finding Your Calling, Taking Scientific Solutions to Market, and Creating the Future of Cell-Based Seafood

For the first two decades of my life, I never once thought about where my food came from. Despite growing up in a rural area outside of Toronto surrounded by farm life, like most of us, I had almost no relationship with my daily food choices or how food ended up on my plate. To me, food was a source of comfort, convenience, and distractionand exactly what it was and how it was made was of no concern. Then, one day, my entire view of the food system changed. The source of this radical discovery and my diet shift was not born of health issues or environmental concerns, but of something far more unlikely: a personal tragedy. A senseless act of violence caused someone I loved deeply to experience what was probably some of the greatest suffering a person can go through, and he was taken from us. I was twenty-three years old at the time and had a fairly self-centered view of the worldI was a typical college grad and newlywed thinking about me, my life, and my career. Then everything came to a screeching halt, and I was suddenly aware of the tremendous amount of suffering in the world, not just among victims of violent crime but everywhere. Once I had this awareness, I couldnt turn away. I had to come to terms with the fact that, because of how I was eating and living, I, too, was contributing to that suffering. When I made that connection, I knew I had to start thinking about my own impact on the world. The choice to change how I ate was really an act of compassion for everything and everyone else around me.