Future Fields Origin Story: Fresh From The Farm
Lejjy Gafour: We met in Edmonton’s local music scene, I think.
Jalene Anderson-Baron: Yeah, over a decade ago now, yeah, our our third co-founder Matt, he was a touring musician at the time in a local band. And we both, I guess we’re friends with musicians and were attending shows. And we, all three of us came to know each other through that.
Our business journey began, again, over a decade ago, really in the roots of our friendship. It’s something we talked about for many years before we actually decided to jump in full-time. But I think it was over a couple of pints, at Remedy Cafe, where we all decided to take the leap and, you know, with Lejjy’s encouragement to actually incorporate our business in 2018.
Lejjy Gafour: Our business is Future Fields. And what we do is make growth factors, up to a thousand times cheaper, for cellular agriculture companies around the world.
Jalene Anderson-Baron: Cellular agriculture is a new and growing global industry whereby animal products, everything from milk to meat to leather and gelatine, can be created in laboratory conditions without the use of an animal. And at Future Fields we are creating one of the most expensive and important inputs into that process, which are growth factors.
Lejjy Gafour: This is important, because of the challenges we face today, and in the future, with both how we think about food, how we grow it, and what we eat. Between climate change, food insecurity and all the unknown challenges we face into the coming years, cellular agriculture is a path forward towards a new agricultural revolution to make the world a truly better place.
Jalene Anderson-Baron: On a personal level, the work that we do at Future Fields in supporting the cellular agriculture industry is very important to me because I really see it as being one of the answers to mitigating catastrophic climate change in the future. And as a parent of a two-year-old daughter, this is something that I really have never been more passionate about. I think it’s incredibly important that we do what we can to ensure that we leave the planet in a livable state for the next generation.
Lejjy Gafour: For me, being an entrepreneur goes back to my past, especially in food. I grew up in deep poverty here in Southern Alberta, on a farm, but it still didn’t matter. We never had enough food. So to me, our company and the industry, represents a way to actually help millions of more people that grew up as I did, and to carve a better path for a new future.
Future Fields exists as an international company based out of Edmonton, because of the access we have to biotechnology talent, global infrastructure, and the long cultural history of agriculture here in Alberta, and in Edmonton. It has given us a vantage point that includes more than just the technology, but also the people that can affect, and what we’re aiming to change in the future, culturally, around the world. There is no way to get away from food and farmers and where you live. And that is why we operate here in Edmonton. It is entirely possible because we have a world-leading globally facing company, as a biotech startup in downtown.
Jalene Anderson-Baron: We are here at the Old Strathcona Farmer’s Market in Edmonton because our mission at Future Fields is to unleash cellular agriculture and change the future of food.
WAYFINDING: Ever wonder who makes the emergency medical devices that save the day in life-threatening scenarios? Never fear, our next entrepreneurs are on the case! Just head north along Gateway until you reach Tommy Banks Way. Cross Gateway at the pedestrian lights and follow Tommy Banks Way and turn right on 87th Ave. Just a little ways along the Ave is a spray park and playground.
About Future Fields
We make growth factors for the cellular agriculture industry that are cost-effective, safe, and sustainable.
Our vision is to feed the world through cellular agriculture.
As a society, we are faced with growing challenges relating to climate change, resource depletion, population growth, and food insecurity. We are concerned about the trajectory of our planet and are passionate about finding solutions to these challenges.
Our mission is to unleash the full potential of cellular agriculture.
We are enabling the rapid commercialization of this industry by solving one of its biggest challenges – enabling safe, sustainable, and affordable growth media.