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Leonardo DiCaprio Invests In Meatless Burgers That 'Bleed'

Leonardo DiCaprio Invests In Meatless Burgers That 'Bleed'

Leonardo DiCaprio has proven how serious he is about the cause by investing his own money in a company called Beyond Meat.

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

Hollywood hero Leo DiCaprio is making it his mission to get the planet to stop eating meat and he wants us all to help him out.

The star has proven how serious he is about the cause by investing his own money in a company called Beyond Meat, that specialises in making meat-free, plant-based burgers that 'bleed'.

Credit: Paramount / Wolf Of Wall Street

It may not sound too appealing, but stick with us here, because the brand's products have been described as "the world's first plant-based burger that looks, cooks, and tastes like a fresh beef burger."

A bold claim, but it's true. Beyond Meat's burgers look and taste just like the real thing but use pea protein, yeast and coconut oil in place of meat.

"Livestock production is a major contributor to carbon emissions," DiCaprio said in a statement.

"Shifting from animal meat to the plant-based meats developed by Beyond Meat is one of the most powerful measures someone can take to reduce their impact on our climate. Beyond Meat's ability to create appealing, healthy meat directly from plants will go a long way in helping everyday consumers take action on climate change."

Beyond Meat is understandably very pleased to have Leo on board.

"I am thrilled to officially welcome Leonardo DiCaprio to the Beyond Meat family," said Ethan Brown, the chief executive of Beyond Meat, in a statement.

"His investment and role as an advocate reflects a shared vision that meat made directly from plants, like our Beyond Burger, has enormous benefits for human health, the climate, natural resources, and animal welfare.

"I look forward to continuing to collaborate as we bring delicious, satiating products to a rapidly increasing consumer base."

Leo is a campaigner for environmental issues and has even set up his own fund to tackle climate change - an issue he feels very strongly about.

Credit: 20th Century Fox / The Revenant

Speaking to Wired in 2015, Leo said: "I'm not from the country. I lived in downtown LA, in the Silver Lake area, which is close to the Natural History Museum. So, I got exposed to the wonders of nature through film-Imax documentaries and such.

"It was something I always loved, and after Titanic I decided to explore that interest by getting more involved in environmental issues.

"I was lucky and got to have a meeting with Al Gore in the White House. He pulled out a chalkboard and drew planet Earth and drew our atmosphere around it. And he says, if you want to get involved in environmental issues, this is something not a lot of people are talking about - remember, this was 17, 18 years ago - but climate change is the single greatest threat to humanity that we've ever had.

"That put me on this path. We did Earth Day in 1999. I started a foundation. I started speaking out about the issue."

Featured Image Credit: The Great Gatsby

Topics: Food, World News, climate change, Leonardo DiCaprio