Bruce Friedrich—the co-founder and executive director of The Good Food Institute (GFI), which promotes plant-based dairy, eggs, and so-called clean meat, as alternatives to those items as produced by animal agriculture (factory farming)—outlines how, starting at age 12, he toiled on behalf of the homeless, inspired by an influential pastor and his faith. 
In response to an observation that he apparently really prized education, and really excelled at it—Phi Beta Kappa (and triple major) undergrad, Masters in Education from Johns Hopkins University, J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center—Friedrich addresses his great passion for learning, for reading new material and discussing or writing about it, noting he’s also quite competitive. He describes how he first came to know about 
PETA, hit it off in his first meeting with co-founder/president Ingrid Newkirk (saying they’re both “Type A, hard workers”), was, in fact, hired in that meeting, beginning a 13-year stint at the organization, 1996 to 2009. Friedrich assesses what he would point to as his biggest triumphs—the biggest successes that happened at PETA under his purview. Moving into the present, he provides an overview of what The Good Food Institute is and its multifaceted mission, including responding to my hypothetical scenario that I’ve developed a plant-based sushi that’s delicious and, I believe, is ready to scale—walking me through the steps GFI would undertake to help my fictional start up, and the obligations along the way that I would need to fulfill. Friedrich also observes that Beyond Meat and Impossible Burger represent game changers in this realm, and touches on the growth that GFI itself anticipates, including internationally. (https://www.gfi.org)
ALSO: I spoke with Arin Greenwood, the journalist and author, whose latest novel, “Your Robot Dog Will Die,” had just been released in paperback. Greenwood provided a basic synopsis of the book, a coming-of-age tale set against a backdrop of animal welfare issues—a world she knows well, and cares deeply about, from years of writing about it for The Huffington Post, The Today Showwebsite, The Washington Post, among others. Her current job, as Senior Writer for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, precludes her from continuing to write those sorts of articles. (https://www.aringreenwood.com https://www.facebook.com/aringreenwood)
COMEDY CORNER: Joe Zimmerman’s “Bigfoot Enthusiast” (http://www.zimmermancomedy.com)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme, instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play Name That Animal Tune today.
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