Bill Gates Vouches for This Dairy-Free Yogurt Made of Ingredient Sourced From the Yellow Stone National Park

Ever since Bill Gates was spotted at Dicks Drive placing an order for a burger, fries, and cola, he has publicly expressed his immense love for cheeseburgers. Early this year, however, he shared a blog post writing “Cheeseburgers are my favorite food. But I wish they weren’t, given the impact they have on the environment.” Lately, the tech billionaire has been opting for appetizers that are meatless and dairy-free. “I now prefer a fungi-based yogurt over the ‘real’ stuff,” Gates wrote in Instagram Threads. The fungi-based yogurt he is referring to is most likely Fy Yogurt, which is made by the Chicago-based food technology company Nature’s Fynd, according to Veg News.

“Seeing as though we're the only fungi-based yogurt on the market, we're hoping he's talking about our Dairy-Free Fy Yogurt available at Whole Foods Markets. Perfectly balanced & planet-approved,” Nature’s Fynd wrote in a comment on Gates’ post. According to The Spoon, the company specializes in producing protein made from fermented fungi. Their first two products were dairy-free cream cheese and meatless breakfast patties.

In his post, Gates explained that the typical fermentation process of oils and fats leads to massive carbon dioxide emissions, triggering global warming. “Each year, the world emits 51 billion tons of greenhouse gases—and the production of fats and oils from animals and plants makes up seven percent of that.” Additionally, Veg News reports that over a year, just one cow produces around 220 pounds of methane, a greenhouse gas 28 times more hazardous to the environment than carbon dioxide.

Thankfully, the fermentation process of fungi is quite sustainable as compared to these oils and animal fats. It doesn’t require the large amount of water, feed, and land as animals do. The yogurt Gates is endorsing is made from a protein derived from a member of the fungi family called “Fusarium strain flavolapis,” which was discovered in the geothermal hot springs of Yellowstone National Park. The yogurt is available in three flavors: peach, strawberry, and vanilla.

Gates hasn’t just backed Nature’s Fynd with his Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, but several companies that promote plant-based foods. For instance, Gates is a big fan of Savor’s butter. Savor is a company that creates fats by trapping carbon dioxide, without using any dairy, antibiotics, hormones, animals, farmlands, or fertilizers. Another brand Gates endorses is C16 Biosciences, a company that produces alternatives to palm oil by using a fermentation process that involves fungi instead of trees, hence, reducing harmful emissions.

For those who love the typical oily sizzle and greasy slur of finger foods, it might be hard at first to transition into a plant-based lifestyle, but Gates believes it is not impossible. “The idea of switching to lab-made fats and oils may seem strange at first. But their potential to significantly reduce our carbon footprint is immense. By harnessing proven technologies and processes, we get one step closer to achieving our climate goals,” Gates noted, displaying his growing preference for plant-based fats and oils.