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Marketing pushed meat onto Americans’ plates. Can plant-based protein do the same?

Part 1 of the TED Radio Hour episode The hidden forces shaping your choices.

Americans have been overconsuming meat for years, says food systems expert Sarah Lake. She wants to help people choose less meat and more plant-based proteins for their health and the climate.

About Sarah Lake

Sarah Lake is the CEO of Tilt Collective, a non-profit advocating for a sustainable, healthy food system for all.

Prior to Tilt Collective, Sarah co-founded Madre Brava, an advocacy organisation working to elevate protein transition as a critical climate solution. She holds a PhD in Economic Sociology where her research focused on the social and environmental harms of livestock supply chains.

This segment of the TED Radio Hour was produced by Harsha Nahata and edited by Sanaz Meshkinpour and James Delahoussaye. You can follow us on Facebook @TEDRadioHour and email us at [email protected].

Web Resources

Related TED Bio: Sarah Lake

Related TED Talk: A flavorful field guide to foraging

Related TED Talk: The future of the food ecosystem — and the power of your plate

Related NPR Links

NPR Topic: Food

TED Radio Hour: The great food rescue

TED Radio Hour: Food Connection

Copyright 2025 NPR

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Manoush Zomorodi is the host of TED Radio Hour. She is a journalist, podcaster and media entrepreneur, and her work reflects her passion for investigating how technology and business are transforming humanity.

Zomorodi is a co-founder of Stable Genius Productions and is the co-host and co-creator of ZigZag, the business podcast about being human. She also created, hosted, and was managing editor of the podcast Note to Self in partnership with WNYC Studios, which was named Best Tech Podcast of 2017 by The Academy of Podcasters.

Prior to her time at WNYC, Zomorodi reported and produced around the world for BBC News and Thomson Reuters, including a few years in Berlin.

She was named one of Fast Company's 100 Most Creative People in Business for 2018 and has received numerous awards for her work, including The Gracie for Best Radio Host in 2014 and 2018. Her book "Bored and Brilliant: How Spacing Out Can Unlock Your Most Creative Self" (2017, St. Martin's Press) and her TED Talk are guides to surviving information overload and the "Attention Economy."

Zomorodi received a bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in English and fine arts. She is half-Persian and half-Swiss but was born in New York City, where she lives with her family.

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