“Business For Good”: Paul Shapiro’s Industry Illuminating Podcast

    Podcasts offer the perfect on-the-go listening experience, providing active listeners with meaningful content to consume at any time. Ranging from educational to downright entertaining, many podcasts highlight cultural events, current news, business trends, and other relevant notions. Listeners often gain firsthand accounts of personal stories, glimpses inside business operations, and access into worlds otherwise unfamiliar. “Business For Good” is a prime example of such an industry illuminating podcast. Sustainability and clean meat thought leader Paul Shapiro’s podcast aims to highlight business innovators. Through honest conversation with renowned guests, host Paul Shapiro champions business evolution, sustainability, and innovation.

    Who Is Paul Shapiro?

    Paul Shapiro is a best-selling author, entrepreneur, and business owner, TEDx Talk presenter, podcast host, and thought leader. He has decades of experience in the realm of the meat industry, sustainability, and the clean meat movement. Shapiro often lends his expertise via major multimedia platforms. Through his involvement with these industries, Shapiro works to spotlight injustices, champion evolution and legislature, and highlight fledgling businesses.

    After decades of leadership appointments in the race for clean meat, Paul Shapiro penned “Clean Meat: How Growing Meat Without Animals Will Revolutionize Dinner and the World.” The book was released in January 2018 and became a Washington Post Best-Seller on January 7, 2018. In this enlightening book, Shapiro explored how the commercialization of clean meat could impact the world, and the race to get there. He dove into the groundbreaking introduction of harvesting real meat products from animal cells.

    Paul Shapiro founded The Better Meat Co. in April 2018. Working alongside meat manufacturers and sustainability innovators, The Better Meat Co. is an ingredient company that provides plant-protein formulas. These plant-proteins are then utilized in the meat manufacturing process. This produces a myriad of benefits for manufacturers, clean meat innovators, consumers, and the environment. Plant-based proteins boost the overall nutrition of ground meat products, enhance yield, and improve sustainability. To date, the company has secured over $9.1 million in seed funding. The Better Meat Co. touts Purdue Farms as a collaborating purveyor of plant-proteins.

    What Is “Business For Good”?

    With vast experience highlighting breakthroughs in the race for sustainability, Paul Shapiro launched the “Business For Good” podcast as a vehicle for dissemination of information. In July 2018, Shapiro launched the first season of the podcast with his partner and Co-Host, Toni Okamoto Shapiro. The duo interviewed industry disruptors, entrepreneurs, and forward-thinking leaders intent on using their skills to propel various industries.

    Now in the podcast’s second season, host Paul Shapiro is joined by occasional VIP Co-Hosts. He continues to delve into the realm of various industries and yearns to inform, illuminate, and entertain listeners with tales of innovation, evolution, and growth

    What Guests Are On The Podcast?

    Season one’s inaugural episode saw Paul Shapiro and Toni Okamoto Shapiro joined by John Mackey. The CEO and Co-Founder of Whole Foods Market discussed conscious capitalism, his professional trajectory, and how to do good in the world of business. Mackey stopped taking a salary from his position and donated the entirety of his Whole Foods stock. Thus, when Amazon purchased Whole Foods for a cool $14 billion, Mackey didn’t see a penny from the sale. Mackey Co-Founded Conscious Capitalism, an organization aimed at elevating humanity in business.

    Episode 3 of the first season featured Seth Goldman, CEO, and Co-Founder of Honest Tea. Three decades ago, Goldman entered the workforce with a mission to make an impact on public health. Through Honest Tea’s commitment to providing a tasty beverage with limited sugar, Goldman effectively evolved the drink industry. He helped to start a “low sugar” movement that saw major beverage companies follow his lead. Simultaneously, he created a viable livelihood for organic tea farmers within Asia. Expanding his reach, Goldman now also serves on the Board for Beyond Meat and Ripple. In this episode, the trio discusses how a good business idea can aid a global world issue.

    In the aptly titled “How Toilet Paper Can Save Lives” episode, the hosts are joined by Simon Griffiths. He is the CEO and Co-Founder of Who Gives A Crap, an organization dedicated to bringing toilets to individuals in third world countries. There are various benefits related to plumbing and proper waste disposal, from environmental to personal. Griffiths’ organization devotes 50% of profits to this cause. Who Gives A Crap manufacturers toilet paper that is made from 100% post-consumer waste paper, and is plastic-free. The interview explores Griffiths’ unique methods of fundraising, including live streaming himself sitting on a toilet for 50 hours. It also delves into Griffiths’ commitment to employee fulfillment and well-being, which entails regular “happiness meetings” with his teams.

    Bob Langert, author and former VP at McDonald’s, joined the conversation on February 15, 2019. The public may not necessarily consider McDonald’s as an innovator in sustainability. However, Langert was responsible for making the company’s decisions related to social responsibility. Langert worked to eliminate Styrofoam containers, increase pay for vegetable pickers, and even improve animal welfare. After years of experience in the fast-food industry, Langert penned a book on how the fast-food sector can continue to evolve. Through frank conversation and firsthand accounts, this episode highlights the role of big corporations in the sustainability chain.

    Season 2 poses important questions, including whether helping the homeless with surplus food could be profitable. This quandary is explored with guest Jasmine Crow, CEO of Goodr. Crow’s venture connects the hungry with perfectly good food that would otherwise be thrown away. This venture has several benefits, including minimizing food waste and helping hungry individuals maintain a balanced diet. To date, Crow’s company has successfully diverted an impressive two million pounds of food from landfills. Thanks to federal law, this process is also profitable for collaborating companies. Paul Shapiro discusses Crow’s business model, and how Goodr is resolving various concerns at the same time.

    ClaraFoods CEO Arturo Elizondo joined the podcast on February 1, 2020. Elizondo was inspired to create an alternative to the status quo of factory farming of animals. In the quest for commercializing alternative protein, Elizondo founded ClaraFoods. This biotech company works to make real egg proteins without the chickens. Elizondo’s company has $50 million in venture capital and is ready to commercialize its inaugural product. Shapiro’s own involvement in the mainstreaming of the alternative protein market makes this episode exciting, inspirational, and fast-paced. 

    What Can Listeners Learn?

    With so many industry leaders and innovators featured on the podcast, “Business For Good” contains a plethora of knowledge. Listeners can gain specific knowledge in niche industries, and gain “bigger picture” perspectives on the marriage between commerce, farming, consumerism, and sustainability. Guests like Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, Lori Dearwester, and Abhishek Sinha lend their expertise on how to bring sustainability to the masses, charity, and the evolution of veganism.

    As a thought leader and sustainability expert, Paul Shapiro lends his insights, inspiring thoughts, and illuminating industry considerations via multiple platforms. Shapiro has successfully led four meaningful and inquisitive TEDx Talks. His scholarly work has been featured in leading journals, and Shapiro has been featured on various multimedia platforms. The “Business For Good” podcast serves as Shapiro’s vehicle for continuing to propel change, welcome conversation, and engage with industry innovators.