Sustainable living is in Priyanka Srinivas’s blood. Born and raised in Hyderabad, India, she grew up watching her mother reuse utensils and plastic bags and sanitize old clothes to use as cleaning rags. As an adult, Srinivas worked with food
retailers, where she learned a sobering lesson. Many market-dominating
products, which claim to be “green” and “healthy,” are actually green-washed. “I
felt like I was being cheated,” she says. “Like many people, I wished the industry
would provide thoughtful solutions instead of expecting consumers to take
responsibility for their choices.” When she asked herself how she could
improve the food industry, she found her answers in ancestral wisdom and
technology. She united and created the Live Green Co., which offers plant-based
alternatives to meats, eggs, and milk, as well as replacements for additives
and ultra-processed ingredients, using an AI-driven platform that generates
innovative solutions. This helps to create clean, functional, sustainable plant-only foods, pharmaceuticals, and supplements. Here is Srinivas’s insight into the future of plant-based food technology.
Why did you choose to work in food technology?
The food industry (particularly animal-based food production) is one of the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide, contributing to climate change. And with the increasing urban population,
food insecurity is on the rise as well. To overcome both these crises, we need
large-scale solutions. We need to make better, healthier food that we love with minimal resources. And this is where technology comes into play. There’s
currently no better tool than technology, particularly artificial intelligence, to enable disruptive change. So building a food tech start-up that is focused on scalable, healthy nutrition was a natural next step for me.
Can you offer some advice for people who are looking to make more environmentally friendly choices in their kitchens?
Small steps can lead to significant changes— and there is no such thing as too little or too late. From reusing plastic cutlery to making a change in your diet, like reducing animal-based foods, every small step can lead to a more sustainable future. I encourage people to read food labels when grocery shopping. Look for products that contain whole foods like fruits, legumes, and grains. The plant-based and especially plant-only products I can recommend will have labels like “zero
cholesterol,” “additive-free,” or “clean-label,” which makes it much easier. This
is where we as consumers have the most power. Most brands push the responsibility onto the consumer. So let’s show them that we demand healthier
products with our purchasing power!
