Bill Gates is a vegetarian who believes that the future of this world depends on a plant-based diet. So much so, that he’s investing in the vegan start up Beyond Meat.
Earlier this year the company, which is on a quest to make non-meat protein products (their Chicken-free Strips will be available in stores this fall), was named one of three companies that Bill Gates thinks is shaping the future of food.
So who’s behind Beyond Meat (besides Bill Gates)? Well, it’s backed by the Obvious Corporation, an incubator created by Twitter co-founders Evan Williams and Biz Stone as well as Twitter’s former VP of Product, Jason Goldman. The trio think that non-animal meat is going to be a big deal as the effects of climate change become more severe. But then again, if the sight of real meat makes you cringe, this stuff might do the exact same thing. The products really do look like meat, and there are certainly people that would be hard-pressed to tell the difference.
Still, they’re vegan, GMO free, and as the packaging says “looks, feels, tastes and acts like chicken, but without the cluck.
But do vegans and vegetarians really want a plant-based protein that tastes like poultry?
Apparently it doesn’t matter. By 2030, the demand for chicken will increase to 82 million tons, up from 22 million in 2000, and that, according to Bill Gates, is one of the main reasons that we need to re-think what we’re eating and what kind of food we’re producing. “..raising meat takes a great deal of land and water and has a substantial environmental impact. Put simply, there’s no way to produce enough meat for 9 billion people. Yet we can’t ask everyone to become vegetarians. We need more options for producing meat without depleting our resources,” noted Gates in his Future of Food slideshow.
So looks like Beyond Meat is here to say, and when someone asks you how your vegan burrito tastes, you can feel confident responding with “it tastes like chicken.”
Related on Organic Authority:
The 20 Best (and Worst) Protein Sources for Your Health and the Environment
5 Ways to Eat for a Healthier Planet
Bill Clinton’s Gone Vegan, Really?
Image: OnInnovation