Mark Zuckerberg’s cows have beer and most expensive nuts. The beef over it
Mark Zuckerberg’s cows have beer and most expensive nuts. The beef over it
Mark Zuckerberg is spending a lot of time on his luxurious ranch on Kauai, Hawaii’s oldest island. It is on this 1,400-acre compound that he is reportedly building a massive “postapocalyptic” underground bunker. And the social media tycoon has yet another project in the works – to create the highest quality beef in the world.
Zuck, the beef farmer
The Meta founder shared photos of the meat on Instagram and wrote, “Started raising cattle at Ko’olau Ranch on Kauai, and my goal is to create some of the highest quality beef in the world.”
It’s probably what you can expect from the world’s sixth-richest man. Zuckerberg has been growing cattle – wagyu, a Japanese breed of beef cattle, and Angus, which has its origins in Scotland. They yield the most expensive meat in the world.
But the cattle and what they eat have become a topic of debate.
Also read: Why a tax on cow burps might not be the best way to fight climate change
Beer and macadamias for cattle
The animals will be raised on macadamia nuts, one of the most expensive nuts, and beer produced on the $100-million property.
“Each cow eats 5,000-10,000 lbs of food each year, so that’s a lot of acres of macadamia trees. My daughters help plant the mac trees and take care of our different animals. We’re still early in the journey and it’s fun improving on it every season. Of all my projects, this is the most delicious,” Zuckerberg wrote in the post.
But why beer and macadamia nuts?
It might sound unusual to feed cow beer but turns out it is not. Farmers have often fed cattle the grain leftovers after the brewing process. Breweries are known to give away spent grain to farmers.
There are several theories surrounding the production process behind Wagyu cattle. Farmers serving up ice-cold beef to them is one. Beer’s cocktail of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins, and carbohydrates helps promote digestion and improve flavour and texture, according to a report in Fast Company.
Macadamias are an expensive choice but the verdict is still out if it is a wise one. Research papers point out that animal growth is reduced when the nuts form a large part of the diet only because cattle eat less of it. A 2006 paper concluded that they were “not suitable as a feedstuff for ruminants”.
Interestingly, a pound of macadamia nuts costs $36 (Rs 2,989) at a supermarket chain in Hawaii. The feedstock is likely to cost Zuckerberg $180,000 (Rs 1.49 crore) to $360,000 (Rs 2.98 crore) a year for each cow, reports Fast Company.
That is a whole lot of money. It might not pinch the tech billionaire but he is facing heat over his beef-creating plan.
The climate question
Macadamia nuts require a lot of water for cultivation and planting more such crops as several countries face drought is uncalled for, say experts.
“Raising cattle on water-intensive macadamia nuts and beer is just a billionaire’s strange sideshow. We need real agriculture reform to address the inequities in our food system and the reality of a warming climate,” Mitch Jones, policy director at Food & Water Watch, a legal and policy nonprofit, was quoted as saying by the Guardian.
“We need to promote the viability of small and medium-sized farms that work to feed everyone, not just wealthy celebrities,” he added.
Climate scientists also point to how the production of beef cattle contributes to global warming. A fully-grown cow can release up to 500 litres of methane every day, which accounts for 3.7 per cent of all greenhouse emissions. Emitted by cattle in their belches, these gases can over two decades cause about 85 times more warming than carbon dioxide, reports the Guardian.
Beef production also contributes to deforestation and water pollution. Climate experts have been saying that beef consumption should fall to curb its harmful effects on the environment.
PETA’s Shalin Gala hit out at the tech mogul. “Mark Zuckerberg says he’s now “started raising cattle” at his property in Hawaii, feeding them beer, and then killing them. Mark, the Dark Ages called and it wants you back. #goVegan,” he wrote on X.
Mark Zuckerberg says he's now "started raising cattle" at his property in Hawaii, feeding them beer, and then killing them. Mark, the Dark Ages called and it wants you back. #goVegan pic.twitter.com/sgz07ljHmr
— Shalin Gala (@ShalinGala) January 10, 2024
Author and journalist Andrew Greenberg wrote in a post, “Proud of you man, you really fulfilled that dream of putting food in your mouth in the manner that causes the most climate change possible for a human being.”
Zuckerberg’s latest ambitions do not align with some promises he made earlier. In 2022, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), founded by the Meta CEO and his wife Priscilla Chan decided to contribute $44 million to fight climate change. The funds, it announced, would be directed towards the pursuit of technologies that will tackle climate change, mostly by the method of carbon dioxide removal.
In 2024, maybe the billionaire needs a reminder.
With inputs from agencies
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