Isha Datar

Isha Datar is a pioneer in the food technology industry, having dedicated her career to combining science and education to respond to resource demand. Credited with coining the phrase cellular agriculture, Isha is currently the Executive Director of New Harvest, a role in which she researches alternative solutions to food shortage issues. As a speaker, Isha draws on her two decades of experience to enlighten audiences on the future of food and a fresh perspective of the meat industry.

Best recognised for her current role, Isha has been leading New Harvest since 2013. The non-project organisation works towards research in cellular agriculture and aims to reinvent the way humans consume and create meat through making it in labs rather than traditional farming. Prior to joining the charity, Isha Co-Founded Perfect Day and Clara Foods, in which she developed milk without cows and eggs without chicken, respectively.

Having started her career at GlaxoSmithKline, Isha saw a gap in the market to develop better communication between scientists, businesses and the public, leading her to pursue ventures in the third sector. In 2010, Isha published ‘Possibilities for an in-vitro meat production’ the first journal in Canada on alternative meat creation, establishing herself as an innovator in the field. Currently, Isha is a Director’s Fellow at the MIT Media Lab, an organisation that combines the strength of various industry experts to work towards collaborative projects.

A regular speaker at events and conferences, Isha is booked for her insights into the food industry, the future of food and sustainable solutions that utilise technology and science. Her TEDx talk on ‘Re-Thinking Meat’ gained popularity internationally thanks to her engaging nature, clear communication style and original content.