Reddit Co-Founder Alexis Ohanian Condemns Factory Farming, Predicts Plant-Based Boom
The entrepreneur and tech analyst says plant-based foods will soar “as we realize what our factory-animal-processing practices have done to our health & safety”.
Alexis Ohanian pictured with his wife, Serena Williams. Credit Facebook/Alexis Ohanian Sr.
Entrepreneur and investor Alexis Ohanian has spoken out against factory farming and its role in damaging human health.
Taking to Twitter, the Reddit co-founder discussed the future of food and explained that “plant-based foods, products, etc. are going to get a huge bump next decade as we realize what our factory-animal-processing practices have done to our health & safety”.
Ohanian’s statement was in response to the alarming news that scientists have discovered a mutation of the coronavirus passed from animals to humans on a mink fur farm in Denmark.
News of the mutation has shocked the world, acting as a stark reminder of the risks to human health that are posed by farming animals: more than 6 out of every 10 known infectious diseases in people can be spread from animals, and 3 out of every 4 new or emerging infectious diseases in people come from animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Now, figures like Ohanian are encouraging the move towards a plant-based food system to help prevent the next pandemic coming from a factory farm. And he’s no stranger to plant-based food either: he’s married to plant-based, world champion tennis player Serena Williams.
Together, the couple have invested in various plant-based food innovators, including helping Impossible Foods raise $300 million last year, and startup Eclipse, who are making plant-based dairy products that are indistinguishable from conventional dairy.
Find out more on why investors are betting big on plant-based food, with our podcast episode Beyond Beyond Meat: The Next Big Plant-Based IPO.
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The footage was reportedly recorded at Marshall BioResources in North Rose, New York, where up to 22,000 dogs - mostly beagles - are being bred for animal experimentation.