Isha Datar (born January 6, 1988) is the executive director of

New Harvest New Harvest is a donor-funded research institute dedicated to the field of cellular agriculture, focusing on advances in scientific research efforts surrounding cultured animal products. Its research aims to resolve growing environmental and ethi ...

and known for her work in

cellular agriculture Cellular agriculture focuses on the production of agricultural products from cell cultures using a combination of biotechnology, tissue engineering, molecular biology, and synthetic biology to create and design new methods of producing proteins, ...

, the production of agricultural products from cell cultures.

Early life and education

Datar was raised in

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Centr ...

. Her mother worked at a dairy farm, where Datar spent much of her childhood growing vegetables alongside her mother. Her mother was also a sculptor and her father was a doctor. After an elementary school field trip to a landfill, she became invested in reducing global waste and the impact of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

. Datar received a B.S. from the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

in 2009. During her time as an undergraduate, Datar took a

meat science Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chick ...

class that challenged her idealistic vision of the sustainability of the

animal agriculture Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, start ...

industry and introduced her to

. Datar received her M.Biotech from the

University of Toronto Mississauga The University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), also known as U of T Mississauga, is one of the three campuses that make up the tri-campus system of the University of Toronto. Located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, the campus opened in 1967 as Eri ...

in 2013.

Career

In 2009, Datar published "Possibilities for an in-vitro meat production system" in ''

Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies ''Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering basic and applied research in food science and technology. It is an official journal of the European Federation of Food Science and Techn ...

'', which detailed the progress of

. The paper was sent to Jason Matheny - founder and then-director of

- who forwarded the paper to those who were mentioned in it. In 2013 Datar became the CEO at New Harvest. Datar also co-founded Muufri (now Perfect Day) and Clara Foods (now

The EVERY Company The EVERY Company (formerly ''Clara Foods Co.'') is an American biotechnology company that develops proteins and other products traditionally sourced from animals. It does this by using yeast to convert sugar into proteins that are similar to t ...

). In 2021,

Robert Downey Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...

funded Datar's work through his 'fast grants' project. Datar has been profiled in media venues including

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

, the magazine

Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eatin ...

, the Calgary Herald. She has spoken with NPR's

Science Friday ''Science Friday'' (known as ''SciFri'' for short) is a weekly call-in talk show that broadcasts each Friday on public radio stations, distributed by WNYC Studios, and carried on over 400 public radio stations. ''SciFri'' is hosted by award-wi ...

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...

, Food & Wine magazine, and the ''National Observer''''.''

Awards and honors

Canadian Business spotlighted her work as a 2016 Change Agent. In 2019, Datar was named one of 25 Food and Agriculture Leaders to Watch by FoodTank.com.

References

External links

*, April 27, 2013
Isha Datar: How we could eat real meat without harming animals
at TEDMonterey, July 2021 {{DEFAULTSORT:Datar, Isha Living people Canadian women in business University of Toronto alumni Biotechnologists University of Alberta alumni 1988 births