Bill Gates said that climate change cannot be solved by telling people to make radical changes to their lifestyle, such as eating. B. not eating meat, despite his earlier statements that America and other wealthy countries should move to “100% synthetic beef.”
“Anyone who says tell people to stop eating meat or have a nice house is basically going to change human desires, I think that’s too difficult,” he told Bloomberg’s Zero podcast. “You can argue for that, but I don’t think it’s realistic that it plays a central role.”
However, the Microsoft co-founder previously said the world’s wealthiest countries should switch to “100% synthetic beef.”
“Anyone who says tell people to stop eating meat or have a nice house is basically going to change human desires, I think that’s too difficult,” he told Bloomberg’s Zero podcast. “You can argue for that, but I don’t think it’s realistic that it plays a central role.”
Many environmentalists, including Gates, have long touted that shifting to a more plant-based diet would weigh on the climate crisis. The truth, however, is different, according to organizations like the Global Food Justice Alliance (GFJA), which says it advocates “nutrient-dense diets that support healthy populations and ecosystems.” ABOVE: A beef burger
“You can get used to the difference in taste, and the claim is that it will taste even better with time. Ultimately, that green bounty is modest enough that you can somehow transform people or completely shift demand through regulation,” Gates told MIT Technology Review in a February 2021 appearance to endorse his book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster advertise.
Many environmentalists, including Gates, have long touted that shifting to a more plant-based diet would weigh on the climate crisis. The truth, however, is different, according to organizations like the Global Food Justice Alliance (GFJA), which says it advocates “nutrient-dense diets that support healthy populations and ecosystems.”
A 2017 analysis listed on GFJA’s website shows that removing all livestock from the US would reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by just 2.6%. A separate review of studies shows that meat substitutes have a higher carbon footprint than beef-based beef.
Gates has touted and invested in companies like Beyond Meat, Hampton Creek Foods, and Nature’s Fynd. Beyond Meat, which was endorsed by Kim Kardashian in a much-ridiculed commercial, lost $100 million in revenue this year and saw its stock price plummet 74%.
A 2017 analysis listed on GFJA’s website shows that removing all livestock from the US would reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by just 2.6%. A separate review of studies shows that meat substitutes have a higher carbon footprint than beef-based beef. ABOVE: Aerial view of an oil refinery in Houston, Texas
Beyond Meat, which was endorsed by Kim Kardashian in a much-ridiculed commercial, lost $100 million in revenue this year and saw its stock price fall 74%
After a spike in interest sparked by fears about meat processing plants in the first year of the Covid pandemic, several Beyond Meat partnerships with brands like McDonald’s and Taco Bell flopped and the company laid off 40 employees.
On the Bloomberg podcast, Gates discussed his involvement in driving the Inflation Reduction Act, which earmarked nearly $370 billion to reduce carbon emissions.
“I involve governments and on this latest bill, I’ve been personally involved with a lot of the things that were written in it and worked with key senators over the past month to get it passed,” he said.
The world’s fifth richest person, with an estimated net worth of $101 billion, said we’re not innovative enough to tackle climate change – noting that the world’s richest countries only cause about a third of global emissions.
‘This [remaining] two-thirds of the emissions are pretty simple in terms of calories, housing, transportation, and goods consumed,” Gates explained. “So the excesses of rich countries … It may feel Calvinistically appropriate, but I’m looking at what the world needs to do to get to zero and not using climate as a moral crusade.”
Gates has raised eyebrows with some of his investments in the past, while receiving praise for others.
He has funded a start-up called Turntide that builds energy-efficient electric motors and lithium start-up Mangrove Lithium.
The philanthropist is also the largest private owner of farmland in America, having quietly bought at least 242,000 acres of farmland in 18 states — including thousands of acres in Nebraska, Arizona, Arkansas and Louisiana.
“We’re not even trying to achieve breakthroughs, like inventing an economical way to produce aviation fuel, cement or steel,” he said. “The existing instruments only apply to areas such as electricity generation and not to most emissions.”
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, transportation and industry together are responsible for 52% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the country, with electrical power accounting for another 25%.
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, transportation and industry together are responsible for 52% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the country, with electrical power accounting for another 25%.