Cows are large emitters of methane emissions, and various feed additives to reduce the climate impact of their burps and farts have had limited success.
Gates made the declaration in his recently released book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We have and the Breakthroughs We Need.
“I do think all rich countries should move to 100% synthetic beef,” Gates tells Technology Review. “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.”
Twitter predictably blew up at the thought, though to his credit Gates acknowledged the idea would be about as popular as a well-done steak. “Saying to people, ‘You can’t have cows anymore’ — talk about a politically unpopular approach to things,” he said.