Isha Datar
- 1 min read
- 2 chapters
Related on Lably
Through Climate change and Animal husbandry
Early life and education
Datar was raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Her mother worked at a dairy farm, where Datar spent much of her childhood growing vegetables alongside her. Datar's mother was also a sculptor, and her father a doctor. After an elementary school field trip to a landfill, she became invested in reducing global waste and the impact of climate change. She received a B.S. from the University of Alberta in 2009. During her time as an undergraduate, Datar took a meat science class that challenged her idealistic vision of the sustainability of the animal agriculture industry and introduced her to cellular agriculture. Datar received her M.Biotech from the University of Toronto Mississauga in 2013.
Sign in to keep reading
One more chapter is free with a Lably account.
Career
In 2009, Datar published "Possibilities for an in-vitro meat production system" in Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies, which detailed the progress of cellular agriculture. The paper was sent to Jason Matheny – founder and then-director of New Harvest – who forwarded the paper to those who were mentioned in it. In 2013, Datar became the chief executive officer at New Harvest. Datar also co-founded Muufri (now Perfect Day) and Clara Foods (now The EVERY Company). In 2021, Robert Downey Jr. funded Datar's work through his 'fast grants' project. Datar has been profiled in media venues including USA Today, the magazine Toronto Life, the Calgary Herald. She has spoken with NPR's Science Friday, The New Republic, Food & Wine magazine, and the National Observer.