This week on Everybody in the Pool, we're diving into the world of protein production — in reverse. Recently, the USDA released a new food pyramid that controversially places red meat and dairy at the top. That, combined with the global and particularly American obsession with protein, make it a great time to talk to Ross Milne, CEO of Leaft Foods. Leaft is developing a groundbreaking technology that extracts protein directly from alfalfa leaves, potentially reducing emissions by 97% compared to traditional animal agriculture.

Leaft Foods isn't just creating a protein alternative - they're reimagining the entire food production system. By isolating RuBisCO, the most abundant protein on the planet, they've developed a nutritional powerhouse that outperforms eggs, whey, and beef in amino acid profile. Their first product, LeafBlade, packs 18 grams of protein and 58% of daily iron intake into a tiny 100ml pouch.

• How extracting protein directly from leaves could transform agriculture
• The nutritional superiority of RuBisCO protein
• Why efficiency matters in solving the climate crisis
• How this technology could improve both human nutrition and animal farming
• The potential for scaling a more sustainable protein production method

• Leaft Foods: https://www.leaftfoods.com/
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Here’s a bonus episode for you to kick off 2026. Back in episode 97, we interviewed Kate Danaher of S2G Investments about investing in the ocean economy. S2G are actually investors in a few of the companies we’ve had on Everybody in the Pool, including Matter, Moleaer, and Sofar Ocean. So this week, we’re featuring one of their interviews as they prepare to launch their new season.

The S2G Podcast is hosted by the team at S2G Investments, and looks at what it will take to scale the food and agriculture, oceans and energy transitions. Episodes launch every two weeks with a range of guests, including company leaders, innovators, investors, and policy experts. Season 3 starts on January 15 and you can find the S2G Podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

• S2G Episodes: https://www.s2ginvestments.com/insights/podcast
• Subscribe to the S2G Podcast: https://www.s2ginvestments.com/podcast
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This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re starting the year with an audacious question: what if we reinvented one of the most basic materials in the world?

Decarbonizing the built environment means tackling the stuff we use everywhere — wood, concrete, and steel — at the same time we’re trying to build millions of new homes, strengthen supply chains, and reduce our exposure to geopolitical and climate risk. That’s a tall order. But it’s also unavoidable.

My guest is Nathan Silvernail, co-founder and CEO of Plantd, a company building a tree-free, carbon-negative alternative to engineered wood. Designed as a drop-in replacement for OSB (oriented strand board), Plantd’s material looks and behaves like conventional wood — but without cutting down trees. And they’re not stopping at the material itself: Plantd is building the machines, manufacturing process, and agricultural supply chain needed to produce it at scale.

• Why “sustainable wood” isn’t always as sustainable as it sounds
• Why trees can’t scale fast enough to meet demand and climate goals
• What it takes to replace a commodity material without asking builders to change how they build
• The co-benefits: turning waste into biochar and high-purity carbon for adjacent industrial markets
• The hard realities of scaling hardware, agriculture, and manufacturing at the same time

• Plantd: https://www.plantdmaterials.com/
• All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/
• Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/
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