Bill Gates insists it is his “meat” in print.

Businessman Bill Gates defends that traditional bovine farming needs to be replaced mainly in rich countries by alternatives based on plants or artificial meat, the central reason is methane, a gas with warming potential up to 86 times greater than CO2 in the short term, released mainly by the digestive system of bovines.

Yes, I know, the topic is quite controversial and does not necessarily express my opinion, here I am only the bearer of the information, according to the data cited by Gates, cows represent about 6% of global methane emissions, a significant number when you think on a planetary scale.

Reducing the global herd would mean reducing emissions, pressure on agricultural land, water use, environmental impacts associated with intensive farming, the bet is on companies like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, which use plant proteins and industrial processes to simulate the flavor, texture and appearance of traditional meat.

Gates claims that these alternatives can be more sustainable, even a little healthier by reducing cholesterol, metabolic impacts, but the proposal divides opinions, countries with a strong agricultural economy see the idea as a threat to food security and rural incomes, while defenders point out that the current model is under increasing climate pressure.

The central point is not the consensus, it is the fact that food officially entered the technological debate, and when even food becomes “recreated”, it becomes clear that we are not just optimizing processes, we are trying to redesign the physical limits of the planet.