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The son of a theoretical physicist turned bioengineer, Andras Forgacs–the founder of Modern Meadow–was thinking of the world’s future in terms of biology before he even realized it.

Andras’ passion for science came from his father, Gabor Forgacs, who was a pioneer and innovator. A lifelong physicist, Gabor was one of the first to apply the frameworks of physics to understand biological phenomena such as how embryos develop and organs form. Around 2006, Gabor was pursuing some of the most interesting work of his career: developing a form of biofabrication called bioprinting. This innovation in 3D printing of human tissue led Andras and his father Gabor to partner with other co-founders to create the company Organovo (meaning “new organ”). Led by a dynamic team of forward-thinkers, Organovo was a pioneer in biofabrication focusing on creating human tissue models that could be used to accelerate pharma drug discovery and development.

Over ten years ago, Andras once again started thinking about biofabrication as a way to reimagine how the world approaches materials, sustainability and consumption, and how they are intertwined. Living in China in 2010-2011, Andras saw that rapid growth in consumption — specifically in animal products such as leather and meat — can come at great cost to the environment. He began to wonder if the principles of biofabrication could be used to make these animal products without the animal. In 2011, Modern Meadow (named to signify “a new field”) was founded.

Andras, Gabor and the small founding team at the newly-formed Modern Meadow began looking at the starting point for the creation of these materials: proteins. Experimenting with several different processes, and leveraging the knowledge and skill-set of a growing scientific team, Modern Meadow has been able to evolve its approach to create materials that support sustainability while balancing performance, aesthetics, and accessibility. While the technologies have evolved significantly since the beginning, the goal of achieving sustainability at scale has remained consistent.