Leonardo DiCaprio, known in his movie roles for What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Titanic –– and for dating Bar Refaeli – has invested in not one but two alternative meat companies, Aleph Farms, based in Israel, and Mosa Meat from the Netherlands. Unlike the Impossible Burger and the OSI Group which creates alternative protein from peas, which is tasty, but hard to digest, Aleph and Mosa create meat in a lab using original cells from a real animal.

The idea is to create real meat that tastes like meat, not a plant-based substitute. But lab meat is exactly like meat, removing the suffering and methane gas production, oh and antibiotic use, so the argument goes. 

“One of the most impactful ways to combat the climate crisis is to transform our food system. Mosa Meat and Aleph Farms offer new ways to satisfy the world’s demand for beef, while solving some of the most pressing issues of current industrial beef production. I’m very pleased to join them as an advisor and investor, as they prepare to introduce cultivated beef to consumers,” said DiCaprio.

It’s common for celebrities to invest in startups, especially Israeli ones. Leonardo is in the footsteps of other Hollywood actors like Ashton Kutcher. 

Both Mosa and Aleph have demonstrated the ability to grow beef directly from animal cells, with the unveiling of the first cultivated hamburger by Mosa Meat in 2013 and the first cultivated steak and ribeye by Aleph Farms in 2018 and 2021 respectively. The meat made still costs a mini fortune but new investments will help the companies scale production and cut back costs.

Some of us have turned vegan or vegeaware or at least participate in Meatless Mondays. Eating meat –– until we find a better solution to satisfy meat eaters –– is here to stay. New innovations might help alleviate climate problems, as well as a growing interest to return back to the land, hunt one’s own meat, and eat less or whole animal meat eating. 

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You are probably bored to death with doom and gloom news about climate change. Nevertheless, the fate of the human race and the entire planet is reliant upon the way we treat the earth. Scientists have been warning us for around 50 years that humanity is likely to have a dangerous impact on the climate of the earth. Unfortunately, we may have heeded their warning too late to avert serious catastrophe. Here are four hidden sources of environmental damage that may have passed you by. Try not to feel too overwhelmed. 

Water Waste

Water is not an infinite resource. Water scarcity is a major concern both for the welfare of humanity and the preservation of the environment. Climate change is having some seemingly contradictory effects. Sea levels are rising thanks to melting icecaps, but deserts are spreading thanks to groundwater droughts and deforestation. Without going into the science behind these occurrences, it is worth mentioning that global warming is responsible for both. 

Water distribution is an absolutely huge polluter, and that pollution is contributing to the disappearance of water sources – it is a self-perpetuating cycle. California uses 20 percent of its electricity to distribute water. 

What can an ordinary person or business owner do to avert this slow catastrophe? For starters, we should be reducing water waste on a large scale. The real change, however, will come when governments impose stricter environmental controls on water distribution companies.

Microplastics

Take any water sample from a river or coastal area and there is a very high chance that it contains microplastics. Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic waste less than 5mm in diameter. They are released into waterways during manufacturing processes or in solutions dumped down drains. Until recently, many hair products contained ‘microbeads’ – small plastic balls that took years to biodegrade and travelled into the water system via showers and baths. They might be small, but they are causing a huge amount of environmental damage. They clog up the gills of fish, and in turn make their way into the diet of creatures that feast upon said fish, including us. 

Internet Shopping

In the internet age it is possible to receive imported products within days of making an order. This has been made possible by the proliferation of air freight. The problem is that aviation is a polluting industry on an absolutely massive scale. Jet fuel is very concentrated and burns off at a swift rate. Future generations are going to pay for our convenience.

Meat

Meat and dairy production is the cause of 14.5 percent of global greenhouse emissions. Cattle farming has an especially bad impact on the environment, as cows produce a huge quantity of methane. The transportation, feeding and slaughter of animals on an industrial scale has been a disaster for the planet. This is one of the reasons that veganism has become such a popular ethical choice for younger people, who are starting to feel the effects of climate change first-hand during their lives. 

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It’s a sign of the times: a vegan cheesemaking company in Israel is considering listing on the TASE – or Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. Two meat or animal product substitute companies already list there and now Vgarden, which makes vegan cheese is looking to raise capital. A report in the local paper Haaretz says the kibbutz-based company plans to list next year at a valuation of $102 million. 

Israel has more vegans per capita than anywhere in the world. And the company already has dozens of companies looking to offer a plant-based alternative to meat or animal based products. 

Yofix in Israel already sells its soy-free yogurt alternative made from oats, legumes and seeds. The fermented, cultured products contain protein, fiber, calcium and iron, have no added sugar or preservatives, and are pre- and probiotic.

Vgarden produces sliced cheese, cream cheese, ricotta, and feta –– all without milk of any kind. And it’s marketed under the brand Mashu Mashu, which means “wow, that’s something” in Hebrew. I have tried the sliced cheese and it’s a satisfying and convincing alternative. It’s firm and tasty and has a cheesy smell and flavor likely from yeast – which the African Israelites have been using as a seasoning for decades. They are an all-vegan village in Beersheva. 

The transition to complete veganism hasn’t been difficult for mainstream Israelis because as part of the Jewish lifestyle and dietary laws it is already known if a food product contains traces of animal products as it’s not allowed to eat meat and milk together, for those who observe the customs and traditions known as kashrut.

They are similar to the Muslim dietary laws called halal but are more restrictive – except for one – Jews are allowed to drink alcohol, Muslims are not. 

Israelis taking bite out of meat substitute markets

MeaTech in Israel 3-D prints meat alternatives and its shares have risen 120% on the TASE over the last year according to the Marker, an Israeli financial paper. SavorEat is developing a plant-based meat alternative using 3D printing and plant cellulose. 

Impossible Burgers have been on the Israeli grocery shelves for a couple of years already. But they cost about $8 a piece, which is more than double the price of a burger bought at a butcher. McDonalds in some locations in Israel is selling vegan burgers and for those observing dietary laws can for the first time order a cheeseburger from the famed fast-food chain. 

Redefine Meat from Israel says it is making the world’s first plant-based steak created using 3D printing technology. The Rehovot-based company said it will start testing the beef, which it calls Alt-Steak, at select high-end restaurants in Israel later this year.

Israelis are thrilled with the rollout of Beyond Meat and are clearly trying to take a bite out of this enviable market. Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026, “the global meat substitute market size was valued at $4.1 billion in 2017, and is expected to reach $8.1 billion by 2026.”

RilBite is ambitiously positioning itself as the basis for “The burger that saves the world.”

Founded by Barak Melamed and incubated in The Kitchen FoodTech Hub of the Strauss Group in Ashdod, RilBite is developing a “minced plant” product using only six ingredients: onions, tomatoes, textured vegetable protein (TVP) from soy, lentils, rice and spices.

There is Kinoko Tech developing a vegan protein with a meat-like texture and slight umami flavor. The secret ingredient is an edible mushroom tissue called mycelium.

FFW is creating a yeast-based meat alternative. Founder Leonardo Marcovitz says that yeast contains 50% protein and has all the essential amino acids. It’s cheap and easily available. But until now, no one has been able to create a textured product out of yeast or temper its strong umami flavor.

“For the past year, our food technologists have been working on solving those two challenges,” he says. “We’re deciding whether our first product will be in the form of pulled chicken, chicken nuggets or Bolognese.”

Taking on the humble chickpea, a staple of the Middle East diet: InnovoPro and ChickP have developed proprietary technologies for extracting neutral-tasting protein from chickpeas for use in the food industry. Although hummus everywhere unless it’s organic contains high amounts of cancer-causing Roundup. 

Sometimes, unless it’s my daughter begging to try a vegan bacon one day, I just have to hope: maybe we should just stop trying to create substitutes? The next generation of vegans won’t hunger for milk, cheese or anything that resembles meat if we educate them properly. Food grown simply from a garden and made into a homemade spread without a printer or complicated enzymes in a lab is really the healthiest and more sustainable way we can consumer our food. These foodtech companies may both help and hinder a meat-free transition. What do you think?

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Consider this, most Americans are sort of in denial when it comes to climate change and their food. That means more steaks on the barbecue, less care about food miles, and more interest in eating fast?  But is that the whole picture?

Let’s see what the research says.

In a national survey released this week by Earth Day Network and the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

Not talking about the impact of food

The report, titled “Climate Change and the American Diet,” found that half (51%) of Americans surveyed said that they would eat more plant-based foods if they had more information about the environmental impacts of their food choices.

But, 70% rarely or never talk about this issue with friends or family.

Nearly two-thirds of the Americans surveyed report having never been asked to eat more plant-based foods, and more than half rarely or never hear about the topic in the media. Guess they aren’t listening to NPR. 🙂

However, the report found that more than half of Americans are willing to eat more vegetables and plant-based alternatives and/or less red meat. So that’s good news for startups like Impossible Food and Beyond Meat that are using labs to create plant based meat, without harmful soy, and which tastes and even bleeds like meat.

The Slow Food Movement defines Slow Meat

But at the same time American consumers are already changing their diets and purchasing habits in favor of plant-based foods.

Are you doing Meatless Mondays?

Although four percent of Americans self-identify as vegan or vegetarian, 20% choose plant-based dairy alternatives about two to five times a week or more often. Roughly the same percentage choose not to buy products from food companies that are not taking steps to reduce their environmental impact.

“Many American consumers are interested in eating a more healthy and climate-friendly diet,” said Anthony Leiserowitz of Yale University. “However, many simply don’t know yet which products are better or worse — a huge communication opportunity for food producers, distributors and sellers.”

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The Slow Food movement isn’t against eating meat. It’s for eating whole animal, better quality meat, less often. It is organic meat. Free meat. Happy meat. Are you slow? Take the quiz.

Today Slow Food launched the Meat the Change campaign, with the aim of reaching people all over the world.  The campaign aims to encourage people to reflect on the consequences of their food choices. 

How Slow Are You? is the title of a quiz on eating habits, which asks social networks users to answer multiple choices questions like “How much meat do you eat each week?” and “What criteria do you use for choosing meat when you shop?”.

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Tired of going broke in the pursuit of healthy eating? It’s easy to assume that eating cleaner and greener means having to spend more money purchasing fresh, organic food. A new study cooks that conclusion, but Green Prophet has been telling you this for years.

Researchers from The Miriam Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island and the Rhode Island Community Food Bank found that folks who followed the Mediterranean Diet saved an annual average of USD$750 over the typical diet prescribed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (also known as the USDA MyPlate diet).

And if money doesn’t motivate, consider a Green Prophet report that linked the diet to increased virility!

The Mediterranean diet consists largely fruits and vegetables, nuts and beans, fiber-rich whole grains, moderate consumption of fish and red wine, and generous servings of olive oil. The diet is largely plant-based, requiring fewer natural resources than animal production, so it’s relatively light on environmental impact. In 2010, UNESCO recognized it as part of the Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Lead researcher Mary Flynn, Ph.D., a dietitian at The Miriam Hospital, said in a statement, “It is commonly said that healthy diets are expensive and that it is the fruits and vegetables that make them too expensive. We expected the two diets to be similar in fruit and vegetable content, but our plant-based diet was substantially cheaper, and featured a lot more fruits and vegetables and whole grains.”

The study concluded that these staples are less expensive than traditional red meat based Western-diets that include white bread and pre-packaged snacks.The savings are largely attributed to a reduction in meat. Nutrient-rich olive oil is pricier than vegetable seed oils, but this is offset by increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis, which produced the biggest cost savings in the study.

“Our findings with this study run counter to the general belief that a healthy diet must be expensive,” said Andrew Schiff, CEO of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank and a researcher on the study. “This is really good news for individuals served by the Food Bank – showing that wholesome eating on a tight budget is possible for everyone.”

Need help starting your economical plant-based diet? Start here.

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More than 1,000 teachers and school administrators in upstate New York have accepted a 10-day challenge to eat a plant-based diet, inspired by a colleague who transformed himself after a heart attack. Perhaps he will inspire you to ditch meat too, at a minimum challenge you to trial Meatless Mondays.

Doug Schmidt, an elementary school teacher in Rochester, suffered a near fatal heart attack at age 49. “I weighed 225 pounds and thought I was just an average American, middle-age guy,” he told ABC News. Following a second heart scare a year later, he decided to make some lifestyle changes, beginning with a gradual transition off red meat and towards a plant-based, whole foods diet.

Within three years, his diet had become completely plant-based and does not include processed foods, sugar, or oil. Schmidt lost 60 pounds in thr process, and was able to stop taking his medications. He also saved a bundle of money, and radically reduce his carbon footprint. (See his amazing before and after images below.)

“The medicine was in the food,” said Schmidt, “I eat more now than I did on my standard American diet, but it’s all good stuff and your body just craves it and thrives on it.”

It’s been ten years since his first heart attack. Schmidt, who was formerly a professional baker, is also a wellness coordinator in his school district. His transformation drew the attention of his fellow teachers. Two years ago, he led the 10-day plant-based diet challenge attracting 30 curious colleagues. The next year the same challenge drew about 65 participants.

This year, the “10-Day Jumpstart Your Health Challenge” has been adopted in 35 school districts and a community college and counts 1,300 participants. It is challenge is based on The Engine 2 Diet book, a plant-based food plan by Rip Esselstyn. A website and a Facebook page provide support to the participants, and serve as platforms for sharing recipes and meal planning.

Schmidt hopes to coordinate with author Esselstyn to help people incorporate their new dietary habits into a sustainable lifelong plan.

“When I look at my fridge, it looks totally different than it did 10 years ago,” he said. “Yes I’ve given up some of my favorite foods, but what I’ve gained in my life is so much richer.”

“I literally feel like I’m 20 or 30 again,” he said. “My only regret is I wish I would have done this 10 years earlier.”

Are you a reducetarian?

A turn away from meat is not as common in the USA as it in countries such as Lebanon, Turkey, and Israel – which boast some of the lowest meat consumption in the world. In Israel, plant-based diets are so popular that the military has incorporated vegan options into the soldiers’ meal plan. Israelis are the world’s biggest fruit and vegetable eaters in the world per capita. 

A plant-based diet provided by companies like Geltor, Good Catch, Desserto, Ripple, Impossible Foods, Miyoko’s Creamery., Nuggs consists of minimally processed fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, herbs, and spices and excludes all animal products, including red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products.

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Cows are notoriously gassy animals. Their farts are laden with methane (CH4), one of the biggest contributors to climate change. Scientists studied the effects of a three-day course of tetracycline on the amount of methane present in cattle manure, finding that waste from cattle dosed with this common antibiotic held 80% more methane than that of untreated cattle. Their report, published online in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggests that the increase links to a spike in methane-producing microorganisms within the digestive tracts of treated animals. Those organisms, called archaea, suppress growth of antibiotic-susceptible bacteria.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the agriculture industry is the world’s primary source of CH4 emissions. In fact, emissions from cud-chewing livestock worldwide (think cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and camels) account for about 20% of global-warming-causing GHG. Animal waste and digestion produce both methane and nitrous oxide gas, which have respectively, 23 and 296 times the heat-trapping effect of carbon dioxide.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations states that animal agriculture produces 65 percent of the world’s nitrous oxide from human-related sources and 37 percent of the methane. (The emissions result from their normal digestive process, but the emissions are considered human-related because humans raise these animals for food).

The latest findings are the first to link increased GHG emissions to antibiotic use in ranching. The researchers suggest that future studies should test the effect of antibiotics on cow belching, as methane emitted from manure is typically lower than that released from belching.

So what’s the solution?

Last year, a three-month-long study conducted in the dairy barns of America’s Penn State University claimed that feeding dairy cows a methane-inhibiting supplement reduced their methane emission by 30 percent, with no adverse affects on milk production or feed consumption. The supplement is 3NOP, which stands for 3-nitrooxypropanol.

Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, that study explained how 3NOP targets the enzyme methyl-coenzyme M reductase, present in the animal’s rumen.  The rumen, or paunch, is the organ responsible for methane production. The inhibitor could potentially be used in other breeds of livestock.

Unfortunately, these remedies may prove problematic for organic farmers. Enter Naturmælk, a Danish organic dairy looking for ways to make its products more climate-friendly. The company is sponsoring development of a natural remedy to cut GHG emissions by feeding animals methane-reducing herbs, as example, alfalfa and oregano.

“Oregano has essential oils with a mild antimicrobial called carvacrol, which can kill some of the bacteria in the cow’s rumen that produce methane,” Kai Grevsen, a senior researcher at Aarhus University who specializes in crop science told National Public Radio program The Salt. “Of course, you can’t kill all the bacteria, or the cow would die.”

The Danish study – which runs through 2019 – builds on earlier research by the lead scientist from the Penn State team, and will include testing on several organic dairy farms. The Danish team will use “Greek oregano,” which has a much higher concentration of burp-busting essential oil than oregano used in earlier research. They expect that this herb-infused feed could cut methane emissions by up to 25 percent.

“A cow loses a lot of energy in releasing all this methane,” explains Grevsen. “By blocking the bacteria, the energy that doesn’t get lost can be used by the cow to produce more milk.”

One anticipated obstacle is economics; cultivating oregano in anticipated volumes is not cheap. In fact, a key part of this study focuses on how to produce the best herb specimens and how best to use them. It is not yet known what oregano will do to the taste of milk.

Denmark is the right place to conduct the tests. The flat nation, surrounded by seas, is maximally vulnerable to climate change. The political climate is right too: the Danish Council on Ethics has floated a food tax based on calculated environmental impact, and although legislation has not been enacted, the Danish market naturally gravitates to sustainable food. Thirty percent of their domestic milk sales is for organic products.

Livestock, natural ecosystems (such as wetlands), and human activities (such as leakage from natural gas systems) all produce methane. It’s lifetime in the atmosphere is much shorter than carbon dioxide (CO2), but CH4 is more efficient at trapping radiation than CO2. According to the US EPA, the comparative impact of CH4 on climate change is more than 25 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year period.

This news might offer incentive to try meatless Mondays, or offer another argument in support of full-bore vegetarianism. And brace yourself for pizza-flavored dairy.

The post Holy cow! Bovine burps blamed for climate change? appeared first on Green Prophet.

Technically, Lent began the previous Sunday, but Monday’s popular picnicking marks the run-up to Easter for the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches.

This is a holy-day holiday everyone can sign up to!

As a Catholic-raised American living in the Middle East I’m always doing a calendar doubletake – orthodox versions of our western religions adopt different holiday start dates. Lent here started Monday – whereas back home it begins two days later, on Ash Wednesday.

I know this not because I’m observant, but because I’ve been Twitter-tracking my firstborn as he eats his way through Mardi Gras – the annual bacchanalian that culminates today, Fat Tuesday, the last day of over-consumption before Lent’s ritual fasting begins. (Nick’s not religious either – unless you consider his devotion to po’boys, gumbo and beignets.)

Meat, eggs and dairy products are off-limits to Orthodox Christians throughout Lent, and fish is only eaten on major feast days – far more restrictive than fasting in the West. I’ve stumbled on this in my Amman workplace, cluelessly bringing in cookies and cakes which only the Muslims could tuck into.

Where Christian orthodoxy is in the majority, Green Monday goes large. It’s a public holiday in Cyprus; thousands flock to open areas, parks and beaches for picnics.

The day is also called Clean Monday, your last chance to indulge in dicey behaviors and non-fasting foods. The idea is to start Lent with a clean slate (and plate!). It’s also customary to go to Confession this week, and to thoroughly scrub the house.

The theme of Clean Monday is explained in the Old Testament (Isaiah 1:16-18) which says:

“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”

The happy vibe of Clean Monday may seem at odds with Lenten repentance and self-denial, a last flash before austerity sets in.  But the tenets of the day rise above religiosity; there’s a positive take-away in Green Monday for everyone that can be easily implemented year-round – no matter whom you pray to.

Adopt Meatless Mondays, get out into nature, seek to do good, and go clean your room.

Image of Easter eggs from Shutterstock

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Eating vegan only has become so popular in Tel Aviv that a new NGO called Vegan Friendly are handing out certificates to restaurants who offer a vegan main course. Look for the sticker on the door. Serving falafel or hummous doesn’t count as these Middle Eastern foods are already known to be vegan-friendly. And the group has already convinced ice cream shops to offer choices made from soy milk.

If you live in Israel or are travelling to the country look for a green V sticker on the front of the restaurant, but don’t confuse it with the green check mark rating that some restaurants earn every year for being a local favorite.

I found this sticker (above) on a car parked in the parking lot of my child’s Waldorf school, a school and pre-school that serves organic whole foods and vegan meals (except for eggs). The sticker here says Vegan Friendly, “also me” in Hebrew.

While Meatless Monday is pretty rare in the Middle East, especially now around the Big Eid holiday when it’s customary to slaughter animals in memory of the Koranic Ibrahim and his son Ishmael, there are growing movements no matter how small.

Iran has just started a Meatless Monday chapter the organization has told us, and Israel has had one for years – click here for Meatless Monday Israel.

Veganism has taken off in recent years in Israel in parallel with a growing awareness to animal rights and the environment. Israeli activists have started the worldwide movement 269Life group where they etch and burn themselves the way cows get branded. A bit extreme for my tastes. But they aim to expose the world to animal suffering in the food industry.

But thanks to Vegan Friendly (Hebrew only), an NGO, locals are able to find restaurants and products that they can eat as vegans. Founders of the site were inspired to go vegan after watching the talk by Gary Yourofsky, the Best Speech You Will Ever Hear. It is below.

Getting restaurants to go vegan in Israel may be a bit easier than anywhere else in the world. Chefs are already aware of the Jewish kashrut or kosher customs in food, which are much more stringent than the Muslim halal.

Far from the reality of what’s happening in Tel Aviv however, Jews are not allowed to eat seafood of any kind, bugs, the blood of animals, they can eat only certain kinds of animals (no pork), and they do not mix meat and milk products together. For this reason, Israeli chefs are hyper aware of what is going into their creations. Consider the gelatin (made from pork, beef or fish?) and if there are any animal products at all going into the food.

Non vegan food items?

Things to watch out for if you are cooking vegan for your friends: honey is not vegan, nor are eggs or any animal derived byproduct. That means no cheese. No gummy bears. No beer. Read here for the 14 things that seem vegan but which are not. You’ll be super surprised to find things like wine and white sugar on the list.

Back to the topic at hand: We aren’t saying that everyone needs to turn vegan, and there is good reason to support the idea of lab grown meat, but eating less meat will help ease the greenhouse gas emissions that raising cattle cause.

Eating less meat will ease animal suffering in the less than humane conditions animals as ‘live exports’ to the Middle East are facing.

Or you could just do it to be like vegan star Natalie Portman.

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