Lab Created "Quail" entering the Australian & NZ Food Market
Exploring Vow Food and their Funders
Article 2
“You cannot enrich a country by destroying the health of its population. The health of a society cannot be measured by corporate profitability. ... We have allowed the instruments that are supposed to serve us to become our masters.” Sir James Goldsmith, on the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Excerpt from PharmaFood by Elze van Hamelen
This is my second article regarding Vow Food’s submission to the FSANZ (Food Standards Australia NZ) to allow Lab Quail “Meat” in to the Australian market. FSANZ has assessed the Lab Quail “Meat” application favourably, and is progressing full steam ahead to allow the Lab food in to the Australian market. This decision is open for public submissions- closing Monday 5th Feb at 6p.m. Details can be found here https://consultations.foodstandards.gov.au/sas/a1269-cultured-quail-as-a-novel-food/
This article explores the financial backers and partners of Vow Foods, so we can understand the implications of where we are heading when food is Patented and funded by Venture Capital Firms, Tech Specialists, CSIRO partners and ex employees, Bankers, Oil and Gas companies with Chemical interests, Superannuation funds and more. There’s no farmer or nutritionist in sight. In a breathtaking breach of transparency the public is restricted from seeing a large amount of Vow Foods submission to the FSANZ (such as their heavy metal and allergen reports) due to Vow Foods stating they fall under “Confidential Commercial Information.”
Though Vow Food founders go to great lengths to state their “Lab Food” is a niche product we can see that there is a serious ramp up of projected investment in the Lab “Meat” market, and once the door opens to Vow Foods we may see a stampede.
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/cultured-meat-market-report
There’s a large, incredibly wealthy and powerful nest of vested interests involved in Vow Food Lab “Meat” and their application to FSANZ outlines clearly the way they perceive us, the public. I would sum it up as: We, the consumers, are to consume and do not have the right to be able to see what’s in this “food” or how it’s made. https://consultations.foodstandards.gov.au/sas/a1269-cultured-quail-as-a-novel-food/user_uploads/application---cultured-quail-as-a-novel-food.docx.pdf
I am hoping my information assists others with preparing a submission. I will put a further article up regarding health and environmental concerns regarding Lab “Meat”.
Article 1 in this series with the links to the FSANZ submission information:
Lab Created "Quail" entering the Australian NZ Food Market
Article 1 I will be putting up information over the weekend about the first Lab Meat being allowed in to the Australian market. I’m working on a FSANZ submission (due Monday 6pm) to raise concerns about the approval of Lab Grown Quail in to the Australian and New Zealand food market. Please consider putting a submission in.
About Vow Foods
Vow Foods Laboratory, Alexandria Sydney, opened in 2022 even though it’s not currently legal to sell Lab Created “Meat”. Why was Vow Foods so confident that Lab food would be permitted by the FSANZ? That becomes clear below.
That Matt Kean, NSW Treasurer, was there to cut the ribbon is indicative of why Vow Food built a factory before they even “knew” if their product was going to be accepted by FSANZ. Moreover, I believe, the power and sway of the financial backers of Vow Food makes it very clear that their Lab “food” is going to be permitted. https://www.afr.com/technology/the-new-factory-making-meat-that-s-illegal-to-eat-20220930-p5bm7l
The official story is that Vow Food Started in 2019 with a $25,000 grant from the NSW government.
The justification Vow Food (and all other “Food” Biotech companies use for their processed products) are United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 2- Zero Hunger and 13- Climate Action https://www.foodanddrinkbusiness.com.au/news/cell-cultured-kangaroo-meat-start-up-granted-25k
Within three years, by 2022, Vow Food is listed on Forbes 100 Asian companies to watch https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesasiateam/2022/08/29/forbes-asia-100-to-watch-2022/?sh=15800c28df33
Vow plans to build a second factory. The first factory to produce 30 tonnes of Lab Meat a year. The second factory (if I scale up 100x) could potentially produce 3000 tonnes of Lab Meat.
Vow Food is intended to become a large operation, which is likely considering their backers detailed below.
Founders of Vow Food go to great lengths to state that Lab Created “Meat” will not replace traditional agriculture, but you can listen to excerpts from an interview on Youtube where George Peppou explains how Lab “Meat” in the future will be the food the majority of people eat, with only the wealthy being able to buy meat from Ethical Farms (snippets from video at end of article). And George is far from the only person in the Biotech space stating this. The wealthy who can access Ethical Farms, would most likely be the class of people who are currently investing in Vow Food.
Vow Food is a member of the recently formed Australian and NZ Alternative Proteins Council.
https://www.alternativeproteinscouncil.org
CSIRO
The Alternative Proteins Council has links to CSIRO- the Federal government agency for scientific research in Australia. V2 Food, listed as a partner of the Alternative Proteins Council, is a collaboration between CSIRO and Jack Cowin. Jack brought KFC to Australia and owns Hungry Jack’s.
https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/News/2019/October/CSIRO-and-Jack-Cowin-launch-v2food
The Ex CEO of CSIRO, and a partner of CSIRO Venture Capital arm are firmly implanted in the financial backing of Vow Food. Main Sequence is a Venture Capital Firm founded by CSIRO and Bill Bartee (Co-Founder of Blackbird Venture Capital). Blackbird funds Vow Foods (Blackbird is covered in more depth below). The other Co-Founder of Blackbird Larry Marshall was the CEO of CSIRO from 2015-2023. He oversaw a significant shift in the CSIRO’s direction, where a large amount of Scientists were fired and the direction changed from Climate Change Modelling to Climate Change Mitigation (details below).
A little about Main Sequence:
Main Sequence partners include:
https://www.mseq.vc/about
Bill Bartee is also a Director of Quantum Labs, a Cybersecurity company partnering with the Department of Defence. https://www.quintessencelabs.com/partners
CSIRO has been criticised by Scientists, in previous years, for transforming in to a large consultancy firm who works for their partners, whilst good science and ethical scientists are suppressed. Vow Food’s financial backer BlackBird Co-Founder Larry Marshall was CEO of the CSIRO during this time.
Who is George Peppou?
https://sxswsydney.com/speaker/george-peppou-2/
George worked for Intellectual Ventures, I would assume he knows a lot about Patents.
https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/inside-intellectual-ventures-the-most-hated-company-in-tech/
Tim Schwab in his book The Bill Gates Problem- Reckoning with the Myth of the Good Billionaire has this to say about Intellectual Ventures:
At the centre of this story was a company named Intellectual Ventures, run by one of Bill Gate’s longest-standing deputies, Nathan Myhrvold… After leaving Microsoft in 1999, Myhrvold launched the company which, he said, “invests in invention.”p. 98
Today, IV claims to have launched more than fifteen companies, but oddly, its website names only eleven..Most of them appear to be financially propped up by Bill Gates….p. 98-99
One Silicon Valley investor compared (the IV patent model) this model to a “Mafia-style shakedown, where somebody comes in the front door of your building and says, it’d be a shame if this place burned down. I know the neighbourhood really well and I can make sure that doesn’t happen. And saying, “Pay us up”p.100
George then worked with Cicada Innovations and created Grow Lab https://thefarmermagazine.com.au/cicada-growlab-is-an-ag-ideas-hub-in-redfern-thats-creating-a-new-future/
https://gust.com/programs/growlab-3
It goes without saying that Cicada GrowLabs is primarily interested in Synthetic Biology, Robotics, Automation and believes that Technology and genetic engineering will save the “Climate” and "Feed the World”.
https://www.cicadainnovations.com/partner-with-us
Who are the main Partners/funders of Vow Foods?
Vow Food commenced in 2019 with a $25,000 grant from the NSW government.
Articles state that Vow partnered with Nourish Ingredients, who have created a Genetically manipulated yeast strain which generates fat (I am unsure if the partnership is current).
https://www.fooddive.com/news/vow-cultivated-meat-49m-investment/636457/
Not surprisingly, Nourish Ingredient’s Founders are ex CSIRO employees. Not surprising as CSIRO is the arm of the Australian government leading Australia into a Synthetic Biology future.
https://research.csiro.au/synthetic-biology-fsp/
As detailed through this article CSIRO ex employees and its Venture Capital arm are front and centre with the “transformation” of our food system.
Financial Backing
In 2021 Vow Foods raised $7.7 million in a seed round led by Square Peg Capital, alongside Blackbird Ventures, Grok Ventures and new investor Tenacious Ventures.
In 2022 Vow Food’s raised $73.5 million in Series A funding. The raise was led by local VC Blackbird and Prosperity Ventures, with support from Toyota Ventures, Square Peg, Grok, Cavalio, Peakbridge, Tenacious Ventures, HostPlus Super LP, NGS Super and Pavilion Capital. https://www.startupdaily.net/topic/funding/sydney-cultured-meat-startup-vow-raises-49-2-million-series-a/
The public face of Vow Food is youngish people, well meaning, excited to be part of “disruptive'“ technologies which are going to “save the climate” and “feed the world”. It’s important to unpack their investors as this gives a more accurate picture of where this is heading. I wonder if Vow Food founders and employees grapple with their partnership implications (maybe they do privately?). https://www.vowfood.com/our-people
Let’s learn a bit more about some of the funders:
Blackbird
Their website is dumbed down to the max and makes you feel like you’re having an epileptic fit. They’re into “Day Zero’ relationships, they’re “passionate”, and they “wear t-shirts”.
https://www.blackbird.vc/about-blackbird
Blackbird’s team are mostly in their thirties and forties excited about doing “good” things and being “disruptors” in a predatory world.
Two founders of Blackbird that are not mentioned on the website are both CSIRO men. One is Larry Marshall. The other is Bill Bartee (detailed above who Co founded Main Ventures- Venture Capital Firm- with the CSIRO). Is your head spinning yet? Larry Marshall is champing at the bit to progress Australia in to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
https://www.afr.com/technology/we-need-to-turn-invention-into-innovation-20230925-p5e7b2
Larry Marshall recently left his role as CEO of the CSIRO and is now on the Board of Fortescue Metals. As an aside (it is indicative of the centralised power system and how government and private interests are so embedded) Fortescue Metals is owned by Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest- who has his finger in every pie. Michael Gunner, Ex Premier of the Northern Territory, otherwise referred to as “Crazy Eyes’ Gunner left politics around the time he came under investigation for the alleged misuse of public funds and was being investigated by ICAC. https://ntindependent.com.au/under-investigation-former-chief-minister-michael-gunner-to-give-speech-at-resources-conference/ No matter, Gunner waited the mandatory 6 months before he landed at Fortescue as the Head of the Northern Australia team. Ex Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull is a Director of Australian Fortescue Future Industries. Edit: Michael Gunner and Malcolm Turnball have left their positions at Fortescue in the last few weeks. Somethings up!! https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/malcolm-turnbull-exits-fortescue-boardroom-20240123-p5ezgs
Marshall is no stranger to controversy
During Marshall’s time as CEO of the CSIRO (2015-2023) he layed off a large amount of Scientists and moved the CSIRO away from Modelling of Climate Change to Mitigation of Climate Change. Again, Marshall is a Venture Capitalist invested in Climate Mitigation strategies. During Marshall’s time as CEO the CSIRO established a Venture Capital Firm, Main Sequence (detailed above). Marshall’s Co-Founder of his personal Venture Capital Firm Blackbird, Bill Bartee, Founded Main Sequence in partnership with the CSIRO. Are we allowed to still mutter the words “Conflict of Interest” in these days of Public Private Partnerships?
Prior to working for the CSIRO Larry worked with the military in the Defence Science and Technology Organisation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_R._Marshall
Prosperity 7 Ventures
Prosperity 7 Ventures is Aramco Ventures. https://www.prosperity7vc.com/about/
Aramco Ventures is….. a Saudi Arabian Oil and gas company with Chemical Interests. I thought Lab food was Clean and Green? What’s going on here?
But don’t worry they’re going “Net Zero”.
To learn about what they mean by Mitigation (Carbon, Capture and Storage) please check out Michael Swifte’s blog We Suspect Silence, it isn’t clean and it isn’t green. https://wesuspectsilence.wordpress.com/2023/02/
Square Peg Venture Capital Firm
The founders of Square Peg are listed below- it includes one of the wealthiest families in Australia, ex Bankers, Consultants for the Big 4 Consultancy companies and more. Once you start looking at the big players you realise that this is a big club that we (us normal folk) are not part of and can have no influence over. Even when it involves them transforming the food we eat.
Grok
Created by Billionaire Tech Entrepreneur Mike Cannon-Brookes who funded the Teals.
He attempted to buy AGL with Canadian Firm Brookfield
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-07/qld-mike-cannon-brookes-agl-takeover-bid-atlassian/100887666
Coincidentally Brookfield partnered with IEG (reference above under Aramnco- EIG-led consortium acquired 49% equity stake in new entity, Aramco Oil Pipelines Co, with rights to 25-years of tariff payments for oil transported through Aramco’s stabilised crude oil pipeline network) and tried to buy Origin Energy. This was rejected. https://eigpartners.com/eig-signs-12-4-billion-infrastructure-deal-with-aramco/
And he’s another one to have a bust up with Andrew Forrest, over their plans to build a 12,000 hectare solar monstrosity in the Northern Territory and run a cable under the sea to Singapore. Hopefully you’re getting the picture as to how farmers are being effected detrimentally by “renewable” energy and transmission lines? And why they are protesting in Canberra at Parliament House this coming Tuesday the 6th of February.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-11/sun-cable-enters-administration/101845100
Cavalio
https://www.wilburellis.com/100th-anniversary/wilbur-ellis-through-the-decades/1970s/
In a nutshell the ones funding the new food technologies are the supremely wealthy, Venture Capital Firms created by Bankers, ex CSIRO staff, Tech Specialists. Then there are Oil and Gas Companies with Chemical interests, people involved in energy markets, and Superannuation Companies.
Who isn’t involved in Vow Food Funding is farmers or people who are committed to nutrition.
What does it mean when our food is patented and in the hands of a very wealthy and powerful class of people? Where we, the proposed consumers, are not even allowed to see what’s in the Lab “Food”, how it’s made or the technology that it involves (according to the Vow Food submission the Lab Meat is non GMO). All around the world actual farmers, the ones who live on the land and care for their farms, are on their knees. What will our food choices be if farmers are knocked out by government policies, the same government who is backing Lab “Meat”?
If George Peppou is correct it will be from big tech firms, with only the wealthiest able to afford the food we can currently access. You can listen to his words here:
Full video on Youtube can be found on Disruptors For Good Channel under Inventing a New Category of Food From Animal Cells- George Peppou.
George knows there will be push back from farmers regarding his Lab Quail “Meat” submission to FSANZ. Contradicting his statements in the video above George reiterates that Lab “Meat” is complimentary to traditional farming.
https://www.afr.com/technology/lab-grown-quail-headed-for-diners-plates-in-2024-20230223-p5cmyz
George states that he welcomes questions from Scientists. He neglects to mention the general public, those who eat the food that he considers will replace natural food. It’s hard to understand how we can make a submission when the neglected public, Scientists and Farmers are unable to see the following appendices from Vow Foods Submission to the FSANZ.
In this time of inversion this is considered “Climate Friendly”,“Nutritious”, and “Healthy” Food. Go figure, I guess I’m just a “Neophobic”- fear of trying new foods- or that’s what the behavioural modification unit would want us to believe.
Thanks for this massive effort! One frustration I had when submitting my small submission was that it completely lost all my formatting when cut&pasted into the given "box". Maybe that was my tech ignorance, but just in case it's useful for others to know.