Bill Gates wants to make it a reality.
The billionaire has invested buckets of cash into two start-up companies in San Francisco (where else?) that would “disrupt the global egg industry.” Hampton Creek Foods and Beyond Meat are seeking to replace eggs and chickens with plant-based alternatives. They think the real things are environmentally harmful, unhealthy, and too expensive.
No surprise, both companies are now selling their creations at Whole Foods. (Another reason NOT to shop there.)
Personally, I think this idea is just plain stupid. Quite frankly, it smells like lab-created burgers. And I know that animal agriculture doesn’t have the environmental impact that those opposed to it claim. I also don’t think it will succeed. Why would you buy fake eggs or fake chicken strips when you can have the real thing? What happened to people being obsessed with “all natural.”
I suspect the push for fake meat products is really a way for vegans and vegetarians to pretend they aren’t missing out on something. The CEO at Beyond Meat said just that – it can fit both a vegans diet and a carnivore’s diet. (Except it isn’t really a carnivore’s diet because it isn’t really meat.) The difference between this idea and HSUS or PETA is that these fun start-up companies look trendy. They have young people working in a cool location with a cool mission and a cool new idea. The message, however, is the same: end animal agriculture.
Let’s pretend these guys succeed. Let’s pretend they are able to completely replace real eggs and chickens with fake ones. Let’s pretend they’re the superheroes that end animal agriculture with all of its supposed pollution, cruelty, and health risks. What are they really accomplishing? The only thing they’ll really succeed in doing is putting lots of hard working American family farms out of business. Those folks are supposed to just pack up, move to the city, and fit in with all the rest of the “trendy” job opportunities. Not just our chicken farmers, but also those growing the grain used to make feed. They won’t be necessary anymore either. And how about all of those animals currently involved? I don’t doubt that our farmers would continue to care for them, even if there wasn’t a market for the products, but how can they do that when they aren’t making any income from it?
What these guys hope to accomplish (besides making a ton of cash, of course) is to disrupt American family farmers. They want to put us out of business. How convenient – if you want the world to see things your way, just destroy the opposition’s way of life; right?
I have way too much respect for family farmers in this country. Raising animals is hard work, but it’s also a passion. For some punk to come in and claim they want to put an end to that is disgusting, especially with fake products.
I’ll stick to the real thing and support the backbone of our country – family farms.
Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
