Jenny Stojkovic

Words by Elisabeth Hower | August 16 2022

COOKING UP THE FUTURE OF FOOD AND YOU’RE INVITED

“[Food tech] is one of the very few places we have left where women actually have a chance to lead. Especially women of color.

Anyone suffering from a lack of inspiration should talk to Jenny Stojkovic. We spoke at the end of a long day, for the author at any rate, but within minutes, I felt as though I’d had a delicious cup of coffee, delivered by osmosis through her infectious verve for life. Throughout our talk, it became clear she puts that verve (and a lot of hard work) to good use; it’s elevated her as a leader in food tech, led her to found the Vegan Women Summit (VWS), and pen her book, The Future of Food is Female. Her message is simple: “Changing the food system is the single most important challenge facing humanity today, and women are leading the charge.” Stojkovic is right on the forefront of that charge, a woman on fire, and the heat of her message is spreading rapidly.

With her signature red lips, long dark hair, and sleeve tattoos, Jenny looks more like a rock star than a Silicon Valley staple, having worked for Facebook and Google, among other major companies, and that suits her just fine. She’s got far too many things on her, er, plate, to worry about what others think.

You can be a hero every time you lift your fork. It doesn’t have to be all at once. You don’t have to have an identity of ‘I am this’ or ‘I am that’.

Her journey to becoming vegan began after the tragic murder of a close friend. It turned her world upside down, and spurred some pretty dramatic personal transformations. She and her husband dove into spiritual books and Buddhist texts to try and comprehend their irrevocable grief and suffering. This is something that I’d come to learn about her: Stojkovic does nothing half-way, and she’s not afraid of change.

Eventually, she and her husband visited the jail to forgive the murderer, which got them thinking… If they could find the compassion to do this, shouldn’t they be living as compassionately in the rest of their lives? It was a truth they couldn’t unsee. “We wanted to see ourselves as people that wanted to promote a compassionate world and compassionate life, and to remove ourselves from pain and suffering because we had [experienced that] in such a great way.” Yet, “we were still hurting animals.” It hit her deeply. “It’s the most obvious thing that you do three times a day that is the biggest contributor to pain and suffering in this world in many ways.” How’s that for a dose of truth? For Jenny and her husband, it was a freeing one, as well. Becoming vegan was cathartic and healing, and gave them an agency they hadn’t experienced before.

But don’t think for a moment that she’s just a bleeding heart. She educated herself about the ethics of the food industry, willing to look at how both the literal and proverbial sausage is made. It opened her eyes, and gave her an idea. But first, let’s get a few things straight. “You’re not ‘giving up’ meat, you’re gaining so much more depth and color to what it means to be alive,” she explains. Further, “Every time you buy something, every time you put something on your body, you’re making a decision as to whether you want to build a kinder world.” It’s another reminder of how empowered we already are: what we buy shapes the world we live in by putting our money where our mouth is.

Jenny wears Suit by RVN, Shoes by Alohas, Earrings by Adiba & Rings by Calista

And that’s exactly what Stojkovic did. After years of working in the white, male-dominated, ‘Tech Bro’ culture of Silicon Valley, and armed with her newfound compass, she was inspired by the budding industry of food tech, which has given us mainstream alternative proteins like Beyond Meat, and Impossible Burger. Initially, food tech displayed the same lack of diversity, but since it was so new, there was still time for change. Stojkovic asked herself, “How do I create a space where the future of food is diverse and equitable? How do I create a space for women to come and actually be represented in this industry?” She answered a personal call to action by creating the Vegan Women’s Summit (VWS), which she describes as “a no brainer.” Her goal was to create a catalyst to launch women, and the Food Tech Industry, to the next level, and a diverse one at that.

The VWS began with a fairly humble 250 women together in a room. Two short years later, that number has grown to 45,000 women from across six continents. And guess what? Forty percent of participants aren’t fully vegan, and that number is growing every year. Which is exactly as Stojkovic intended. The movement is “for all of us,” she says. The Summit gathers inspiring speakers and hosts networking events to build job pipelines directly into the industry. It also holds pitch competitions, proving that “there is no shortage of women with great ideas” concerning plant-based food innovation. Which is important. “We need to bring the brightest minds together,” says Stojkovic, “because we’re running out of time” to shift the way we make food altogether. Love for animals aside, the effect the meat industry has on climate change is now becoming common knowledge.

Speaking of knowledge, when we discuss STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) studies, Stojkovic mentions that until 1985, almost half of all computer science degrees were given to women. Since then, it has been overwhelmingly male dominated. What shifted? Oh, just the release of a little toy called The Nintendo, “which forever changed the representation of women in computers,” she says. “We haven’t always had this issue.” But she’s optimistic that women in STEM are making a comeback, albeit slow. Educational opportunities for young girls are increasing but, “it’s going to take a really long time for them to enter the workforce.”

Jenny wears Top by Zara, Pants by Julia Allert, Bracelet by Kurt Geiger, Earrings by Adiba

You’re not ‘giving up’ meat, you’re gaining so much more depth and color to what it means to be alive.”

In the meantime, one of the silver linings of the past two years is the proliferation of remote work. Decentralizing opportunities has made it more possible than ever to work in tech; no longer does one need to move to Silicon Valley to be seriously considered. It’s easy to see the positive ramifications of the shift, which “removes barriers, particularly for women, particularly for women of color, particularly for mothers.” And in a booming industry like Food Tech, why wouldn’t we want to broaden the talent pool not only nation-wide, but globally?

Jenny wears Top by VICI Collection, Earrings by Kurt Geiger

Despite the challenges to “disrupting the status quo” within the industry, there has been a yearly exponential increase in women entering the space of innovation and entrepreneurship, representing the diversity of our population more accurately than ever before. Just last year, the fastest growing founder group in America was black women. “What’s really exciting to me on a macroeconomic level is that there is an incredible amount of entrepreneurship happening in communities that were previously underserved,” she says.

In the same way Stojkovic wants to open the vegan space to nonvegans, she’s aiming to see it expand across cultures as well. “There are no mainstream plant-based Hispanic brands.” It is baffling, considering the immense buying power of Hispanic communities, a staggering $1.9 trillion in 2020. Why are alternative protein brands largely only making burgers and brats? Stojkovic challenges the growing industry to expand their reach, and show some respect for their consumers as well.

Jenny wears Dress by Naked Wardrobe, Jacket by Kaftan Studio, Earrings by Adiba

Following the dollar can be pretty practical, too. Consider that states like Kansas are now having to reconsider a cattle industry that’s growing ever more expensive, as grain prices, not to mention temperatures, are on the rise. In June of this year, thousands of cows succumbed to heat stress and dehydration in Kansas. It’s a stark reminder of the real cost of animal agriculture, which Stojkovic describes as the “least capitalist industry there is,” nodding in part to the beef, chicken, and pork lobbyists aren’t keen on sharing their piece of the proverbial pie, not to mention government subsidies. To date, they’ve also been able to keep their products less expensive per pound than their plant-based alternatives. However, according to some reports, that could change as soon as the end of 2023. In the meantime, Stojkovic will continue to work to support and empower women to take charge of their own lives and make their own change, break into traditionally male companies— or start their own. In her book, The Future of Food Is Female, she gathers crosscultural stories and insights into the powerful women changing the food industry today. As well, her Pathfinders podcast is a juicy dose of inspiration from some of the world’s most powerful female leaders in the food, tech, and fashion industries.

You can’t talk about how people eat without women in the room. They are the keys to the castle in terms of unlocking the food system. The fact that so few of these major food brands are led by women is shocking.

Jenny wears Top by Julia Allert, Pants by Valentina Shah & Earrings by Open Edit

Oh, and in case you were wondering, despite evidence to the contrary, Jenny Stojkovic isn’t super human. However, she is incredibly disciplined. She works from home, but still leaves the “office” in the early evening, unplugs her screens until the following morning, and describes herself as a “nine to fiver.” That is, she’s in bed by 9 pm to rest up before another inevitably big day.

It seems silly to ask, after our discussion of socio-economics and generally how to save the world through food, but I do anyway: what’s her current favorite vegan fashion statement? “Well,” she says with a grin, “My new favorite thing are these vegan mushroom Uggs sandals.” She immediately sends me a link. “You’re going to laugh so hard,” she says. Waits for it to load, watching my face. And there they are. Fuzzy. Pink. Platform. Perfect. “Nothing beats a comfy vegan shoe.” Understood. And necessary. Shifting an entire industry is a long road, but Stojkovic will no doubt do it, one step at a time.

Jenny wears Top by Julia Allert, Pants by Valentina Shah & Earrings by Open Edit

GLENN NUTLEY @THECONTENTCOLLECTIVE

HAIR & MAKEUP STEPHANIE RODRIGUEZ @CREATEFACEE

FASHION STYLIST CALLI MARTIN @CALLIMARTINSTYLIST