Is a Plant-Rich Food System a Lost Cause?

Tilt Collective’s Sarah Lake Thinks Not

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About the Guest

Sarah Lake is a leader of climate change solutions for agriculture emissions with an extensive track record working on protein transition, diet shifts and deforestation-free supply chains. Prior to Tilt Collective, Sarah co-founded Madre Brava, a science-based advocacy organisation working to elevate protein transition as a critical climate solution and helped unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in climate funding for meat reduction strategies. Earlier in her career she worked at WRI where she helped design the first science-based target for land-use, and co-led Trase in partnership with the Stockholm Environment Institute. She has a PhD in Economic Sociology where her research focused on the environment and social harms of livestock supply chains.

About this episode

With declining sales, cultural backlash, and growing skepticism around alt-proteins, many are asking: Is the plant-based movement already past its peak? In this episode, Sarah Lake, CEO of Tilt Collective, makes the case that this moment is less a dead end and more a turning point. She shares the real forces shaping what we eat—from corporate power and public policy to culture and consumer psychology. They unpack why meat reduction remains such a political and emotional minefield, and why changing food environments—not just minds—may be the key to shifting diets at scale. Sarah shares Tilt’s approach to funding high-impact solutions globally and explains why success will look different in New York, Brazil, or Thailand. If you’re tired of shallow optimism or hand-wringing despair, this conversation offers a third way: honest, grounded hope.

Key Takeaways

  1. The backlash is real—but it’s not the end. Sarah argues we’re in a reset, not a retreat, for the plant-based movement.

  2. Meat reduction is cultural, not just nutritional. Attempts to change diets without addressing identity and tradition are doomed to fail.

  3. The system is rigged for meat. From subsidies to grocery store layouts, consumers are nudged toward meat at every step.

  4. We don’t need more alt-protein products—we need better uptake. Proven solutions exist; we just haven’t scaled them properly.

  5. Context is everything. A burger blend may work in the U.S.—but it’s illegal in Brazil. Local strategies matter.

  6. Corporate power cuts both ways. Big Food helped create this crisis but may also be key to transitioning away from it.

  7. Health, not climate, might be the real motivator. For most consumers and even retailers, health framing is more persuasive than environmental messaging.

Sarah Lake's TED Talk: The Hidden Forces Behind Your Food Choices