Richard Branson Explains the Reasons Why He Invested in ‘Clean Meat’

Industrial animal agriculture is killing the earth, literally. From contaminating the environmentand our air and water, causing the destruction of irreplaceable habitats like rainforests, breeding public health hazards, and endangering our future ability to produce food, factory farming is without a doubt a broken system that is destroying our planet.

Ironically, and perhaps in this case helpfully, as a flamboyant member of the international jet-setting bourgeoisie, Branson rubs elbows every day with the top players in the very system that has been murdering the planet for generations. We'll see how they respond to his siren call.

Thankfully, there are enlightened individuals like Richard Branson who are using their positions of wealth and influence to combat the detrimental effects of animal agriculture. Branson recently invested in the “clean meat” company, Memphis Meats, which uses animal cells (without killing animals) to produce meat in laboratories.

In a recent podcast interview with Tim Ferriss, Branson explained his decision to invest in clean meat. Branson cannot stand to see such a beautiful world, particularly rainforests, rapidly diminish because of the world’s increasing demand for meat. Branson essentially wants to save the rainforests and stop the unnecessary suffering and slaughter of animals. He said, in the future, when looking back, people will be “embarrassed” by the “wholesale slaughter of animals.” His main goal in investing in clean meat: “Trying to protect what’s left of our beautiful earth.” 

About one thing Branson may be right: conversion to veganism will not save the animals in sufficient numbers in the foreseeable future nor spare the Earth further lethal degradation. Only offering meat users something they can use to satisfy their palates will tilt the scales, and that too will take some serious campaigning. Nothing in this field ever comes easy. —P. Greanville

He feels persuading people to not eat meat will not be successful, so he sees providing alternatives as the key to begin fixing the broken system. The main challenge, according to Branson, will be producing the quantity of clean meat to match demands. His investment will hopefully help solve this issue and lead to the creation of clean meat on a grander scale.

You can listen to the entire interview with Branson here.

To learn more about the environmental impact of our food choices as well as trends and developments in the plant-based food space, check out our podcast #EatForThePlanet with Nil Zacharias.

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons