Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has said that he believes that fake meat products will eventually be a “very good” option for consumers, noting that most people will be unlikely to turn to a vegan or plant-based diet in the future.
Gates made the comments during his annual Ask Me Anything session on the social news website Reddit.
“I have backed a number of innovators in this space, including Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods and Memphis Meats. I think eventually these products will be very good, even though their share is small today,” he added.
The agency’s decision means that Memphis Meats, which has since rebranded under the name Upside Foods, will be able to bring its “cultivated chicken” products to the market once it has been inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Most People Unlikely to Go Vegan, Gates Says
Upside Foods grows meat, poultry, and seafood by harvesting the cells from live animals and using them to grow the meat inside laboratory environments, namely a cultivator.According to the company, the meats can be molded into any shape and made to look identical to typical conventional-raised poultry.
The products are not vegan or vegetarian but simply lab-made alternatives to traditional meat, which the company says hopes will reduce or eliminate the need to slaughter animals.
Gates noted on Wednesday that he believes it is unlikely that most people will want to turn to a vegan or plant-based diet in an effort to reduce climate impact. “For people who want to go vegan that is great but I don’t think most people will do that,” he wrote.
Another Beyond Meat Executive Departs
On Monday, Just Food reported that Beyond Meat’s chief brand officer, Beth Moskowitz, had departed the company, making her the latest executive to leave the firm.A spokesperson for the company told Just Food: “We have no comment on Beth Moskowitz. We have hired a marketing executive to lead our global marketing efforts who will begin early February.”
He was released the following day after posting an $11,085 bond.
“I own less than 1/4,000 of the farmland in the United States,” Gates said in the thread. “I have invested in these farms to make them more productive and create more jobs. There isn’t some grand scheme involved—in fact, all these decisions are made by a professional investment team.”