2024 Stanford Food Summit

Plant-Based Solutions for a Healthy and Sustainable Future

On Friday, November 1, 2024, more than 250 Stanford researchers, experts, and guests passionate about food, health, and sustainability gathered at the Frances C. Arrillaga Alumni Center at Stanford University for the 2024 Stanford Food Summit. The daylong, in-person conference brought together leaders in the field to share the latest innovations and research on plant-based solutions to major public health and environmental challenges.

The event featured more than 30 speakers who explored a wide range of topics, including food equity, diet-related diseases, and the role of plant-based solutions in mitigating global warming.

The day began with a keynote address from Dr. Arun Majumdar, Inaugural Dean of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, who spoke about the school’s commitment to “reimagine academia by harnessing all the powers we have—knowledge, education, talent, innovation, resources, solutions, influence—to restore Mother Earth for our children and grandchildren and improve their quality of life.”

Ethan Brown, Founder and CEO of Beyond Meat, also delivered a keynote address. He discussed the nutritional and environmental benefits of plant-based meat, as well as the company’s ongoing innovations. Brown highlighted the improvements in taste, ingredients, and labeling in Beyond Meat’s products, and shared insights on the development of Beyond V, an upcoming product that, if successful, he said will "raise the bar even higher on the health benefits available through our products.”

In 2021, Beyond Meat made a generous donation to support the Stanford Plant-Based Diet Initiative (PBDI), an initiative within the Stanford Nutrition Studies Research Group in the Department of Medicine. This funding enables the program to offer biannual seed grants to support pilot research on the health and sustainability effects of plant-based eating.

At the Summit, seven recipients of PBDI seed grants shared their works-in-progress and research findings. Their studies covered a wide range of topics, including the effects of plant-based meat on online menu selections, the role of language models in promoting sustainable food choices, and the experiences of Latinx farmers and patients in the Food as Medicine movement. 

The seed grant presenters included: Rachel Herdes, DO, Clinical Assistant Professor, Pediatrics-Gastroenterology, Stanford Department of Pediatrics; Jayakumar Rajadas, PhD, Director of ADDReB and Assistant Director of Cardiovascular Pharmacology, Stanford Medicine; Mathangi Janakiraman, PhD, Postdoctoral Scholar, Gastroenterology, Stanford Medicine; Tamiko Katsumoto, MD, Clinical Associate Professor, Medicine-Immunology & Rheumatology, Stanford Medicine; Wei-ting Chen, PhD, Executive Director, Food For Health Equity Lab, Stanford Medicine; Anna Thomas, PhD Student, Computer Science; and Jessica Hope, RN, MSN, NP, Research Scientist, Humane & Sustainable Food Lab, Stanford University.

The day also featured a panel discussion on Food and Sustainability, with a distinguished group of experts: Christopher Gardner, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Nutrition Studies Research Group at Stanford University; Tamiko Katsumoto, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine-Immunology & Rheumatology at Stanford Medicine; Jim Leape, JD, Co-Director of the Center for Ocean Solutions and William and Eva Price Senior Fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment; Stephen Luby, MD, Lucy Becker Professor of Medicine at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment; Vayu Hill-Maini, PhD, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at the Stanford School of Engineering; and Michael Wara, PhD, JD, Senior Research Scholar at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment.

Following this panel, a second discussion on Food Is Medicine featured David Hott, MBA, CEO of Loaves & Fishes Family Kitchen; Michelle Kuppich, Executive Director of the California Food Is Medicine Coalition; Maya Rams Murthy, MPH, RD, Co-Founder and CEO of Ahara; Lisa Goldman Rosas, PhD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Stanford; and Erika Tribett, MPH, Director of Program Strategy & Design at Project Open Hand.

Guests also had the opportunity to engage in multiple networking sessions and participate in breakout discussions on topics such as fermented foods, science communications, and food sustainability efforts on the Stanford campus.

Stanford Chef Andrew Mayne led a culinary team in preparing an unapologetically delicious plant-based lunch for the Summit, featuring dishes like Royal Corona Bean & Grilled Shishito Pepper Salad, Black Garbanzo Salad, Shio Koji Roasted Vegetables, and Sprouted Marsala Chaat Lentil Salad.

Participants from all seven of Stanford’s schools joined the Summit, alongside numerous community partners.

The host of the event, Christopher Gardner, PhD, Director of the Nutrition Studies Research Group and the Rehnborg Farquhar Professor of Medicine at Stanford, called for increased collaboration among Stanford’s schools and community partners to tackle the pressing challenges facing today’s food system.

For videos of the conference, visit the 2024 Stanford Food Summit YouTube playlist.