043: Connecting Culture, Pleasure and Sustainability of the Human Food Experience Through Neuroscience with Mario Ubiali

<p><strong>Future Food-Tech Alternative Proteins Series Part VI</strong></p> <p><strong><em>in partnership with</em></strong> <a href= "https://www.futurefoodtechprotein.com/"><strong>Future Food-Tech Alternative Proteins Summit, NYC June 21 - 22, 2022</strong><strong> </strong></a></p> <p><br /> <br /></p> <p><strong>Episode Description:</strong></p> <p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">We all want to transition to something more sustainable. But if you take sustainability without the hedonic component, you take pleasure away from sustainability.” -</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mario Ubiali</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It's no secret that humans are emotional eaters. We can't help it—we're built this way! It is the way we deal with stress, the way we bond with our friends, and the way we console ourselves after a bad day.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Therefore, in order for sustainability to work in the food space, it has to be more than just a good idea—it has to be exciting, fun, and worth the effort. Sustainable eating is not about telling people what to do. It's about addressing the emotional, psychological, and cultural needs behind eating so as not to take the pleasure away from sustainability.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mario Ubiali founded</span> <a href="https://thimus.com/en/home/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Thimus</span></a> <span style= "font-weight: 400;">with the vision of humanizing the food experience. Their team consists of biomedical engineers and cognitive neuroscientists who have developed a high-level portable electroencephalogram/EEG device with dry sensors embedded in the hardware to provide neurophysiological data used in analyzing and interpreting human behavior, specifically towards food.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Listen as Justine and Mario discuss how technology helps us understand our food choices, why pleasure and sustainability must go together, how to encourage inclusivity and diversity