Josh Balk (vegan): A Gamechanger for Animal-People, Part 2 of 2

“When I look at industrial animal agriculture, I look at an industry that has just caused a tremendous amount of havoc in our society, and a lot of pain, a whole lot of pain. It's just filled with misery, (and) a disregard for the suffering of animals.”

In 2011, Josh founded Eat Just Inc. with Josh Tetrick. The two co-founders believed that in order to win non-vegans over to the plant-based lifestyle, they would need to use technology. The two co-founders hired a team of scientists and culinary experts who began testing countless combinations of plant proteins, hoping to find a delicious, plant-based alternative to eggs. Eventually, they were successful, and Just Egg, made primarily from mung beans, was created.

The sales of Just Egg have been skyrocketing. After only 3 years of production, the company reported, in March 2021, that it had sold the plant-based equivalent of 100 million eggs. “And of course, it's all plant-based, made from delicious mung beans. It tastes just like eggs! No cholesterol though, just as much protein. And according to surveys, the vast majority of people who buy it aren’t vegan or vegetarian. And so that's exactly what we're hoping for with the company.” “The key with Eat Just is twofold. One is that the products have to be delicious. No matter what clever marketing you do, whatever beautiful design you can create, if the products don't taste good, you can only go so far. So, the first basic way to start is to have a delicious product. After that, the mentality has to be, ‘How do you reach the ordinary American?’”

For two decades, Josh Balk has worked tirelessly to promote the plant-based lifestyle. He says a global shift to the vegan diet would have many benefits. “If the world ever goes completely plant-based, it's going to save a whole lot of animals. It's certainly going to be a major reason why we (will) have solved the climate crisis. There is going to be a dramatic reduction of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity. We're going to have less land we have to take up. And so forests are going to regrow. We can shift our economy to an economy that actually focuses on healing our world and healing ourselves versus destroying it. So, if that day ever occurs, then certainly a lot more happiness will probably exist; a lot less suffering will occur.”