Microsoft billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates has praised plant-based meat on major TV program The David Rubenstein Show.
Speaking about global warming and carbon emission, Gates explains how cows, and other grass-eating species, have a digestive system that emits methane – a ‘very powerful greenhouse gas’.
‘We need to change’
“Cows alone account for about six percent of global emissions so we need to change [that],” Gates said.
When asked what that change needs to be, the philanthropist started talking about plant-based startups such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods – both of which he has invested in – and how ‘artificial meat’ has progressed in the last five years.
‘A dramatic reduction’
“You can go to Burger King and buy the Impossible Burger…” Gates explains.
“It’s slightly healthier for you in terms of less cholesterol, it’s of course a dramatic reduction in methane emissions, you know, animal cruelty, manure management, and the pressure meat consumption puts on land use.”
Vegan?
Back in 2017, Gates was urged to vegan by animal-rights charity PETA, after he reportedly invested $80 million dollars on a 25,000 acre plot in Arizona to build a new ‘smart city’.
PETA Executive Vice President, Tracy Reiman, said: “The smartest move for a ‘smart city’ is to leave cruelly produced and unhealthy meat, eggs, and dairy ‘products’ in the past.
“The future is vegan, and PETA is encouraging Bill Gates to set an example of what a compassionate, forward-thinking vegan society can look like.”