In an interview with MIT Technology Review, Bill Gates stated he does not think the 80 poorest countries in the world would be eating synthetic meat in the future, but the wealthiest nations “should move to 100 percent of synthetic beef.”
Gates said in the interview, “You can get used to the taste difference, and the claim is they’re going to make it taste even better over time. Eventually, that green premium is modest enough that you can sort of change the [behavior of] people or use regulation to totally shift the demand.” Gates said he wasn’t sure if lab-grown meat like Memphis Meats will ever be economical. Still, he noted plant-based protein companies Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat have a quality and cost road map that makes them “totally competitive.”
Gates is an investor in the plant-based manufacturers Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat, Memphis Meats and Hampton Creek Foods.
