American actor and climate activist Leonardo DiCaprio has invested in two lab-grown meat startups, the companies announced Wednesday.
DiCaprio has bought an unspecified stake in Aleph Farms and Mosa Meat, two companies developing protein products grown from cow cells, an emerging area in the growing alternative meat market.
The actor will also be an advisor to the companies, said a joint press release from Israel-based Aleph Farms and Netherlands-based Mosa Meat.
“One of the most impactful ways to combat the climate crisis is to transform our food system,” DiCaprio said in the news release. “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.”
The announcement comes after earlier investments by the Titanic star in publicly traded Beyond Meat, which sells burgers and sausages made from plants.
Aleph Farms “grows beef steaks, from non-genetically engineered cells isolated from a living cow, without harming animals and with a significantly reduced impact to the environment,” while Mosa Meat “introduced the world’s first cultivated beef hamburger in 2013, by growing it directly from cow cells,” according to the press release.