Effective Altruist - Food System Innovator - Serial Social Entrepreneur
Sebastian Joy is a Serial Social Entrepreneur working to transform the global food system. Over the last two decades, he has helped launch dozens of nonprofits, coalitions, social enterprises, event series, and campaigns around the world. Sebastian is the Founding President of ProVeg International, one of the world’s leading food awareness organizations. He invented an award winning toothpaste and co-founded the Animal and Vegan Advocacy Summit as well as VeggieWorld, the world’s largest series of vegan trade shows. He co-founded the world’s first incubator for plant-based and cultured food startups, and launched Kickstarting for Good, an impactful incubation and accelerator program designed to support nonprofits and impact initiatives.
Sebastian is a driving partner of V-label International, mentor at Charity Entrepreneurship, and former lecturer in Social Entrepreneurship at the Berlin School of Economics and Law. He and his organizations have received multiple international awards, including the Momentum for Change Award from the United Nations.
He currently lives in Berlin with his wife Dr. Melanie Joy.
WHAT DRIVES ME
My primary motivation in life has always been to help make the world a better place – a place with less suffering and better lives for all sentient beings. To this end, I have been inspired and guided by the principles that are now known as effective altruism – the idea that we need to use our resources – time, money, effort, etc. – as effectively as possible in order to create as much good in the world as possible. A key principle of effective altruism is that we should focus on solving problems that are large in scale (affecting many individuals) and relatively neglected by others. The main question for me was for which cause should I use my energy and the short time I have on this planet?
In my early twenties, I came to realize that our current food system, with its heavy focus on animal products, was contributing to many of the world’s most pressing problems, such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, wasted resources, human health issues like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and antimicrobial resistance, food injustice, and animal suffering. At the same time, this problem was not being addressed with nearly the urgency or resources that many other global problems were. After switching to a plant-based diet, I sought the answers to two questions: where is the greatest need for work in this space? And how can I best help fill this gap, given my skills and experience? For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to innovate – so becoming a food system innovator in the plant-based movement seemed like the most logical step.
“There is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you don't care who gets the credit.” This famous quote has deeply influenced me. It helped me realize that the most efficient way for me to help change our global food system is to play a pivotal, yet not always visible, role in kick-starting innovative solutions that can make a lasting impact without my continued involvement. So I came to see myself as a serial social entrepreneur. Over the last two decades, I’ve initiated numerous initiatives, organizations, products, campaigns, programs, and events. While not all of these projects have been successful, a few continue to have a positive impact on the world. These last ones are described below on this site.
Yours, Sebastian