Mark Zuckerberg’s project to produce macadamia and beer-fed beef cattle draws criticism

Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg Thursday revealed that he has started a project to produce the highest quality beef in the world by feeding his cattle locally produced macadamia and beer at his luxury Hawaiian ranch.

Sharing photos of the meat on his Instagram handle, Zuckerberg 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.” The platform chief owns a 1,400-acre ranch on Hawaii’s oldest island of Kauai, where he owns a 5,000-square-foot underground shelter which is speculated to be a “postapocalyptic bunker,” as per a Wired report.

He said that the cattle that are being grown are wagyu, a Japanese breed of beef cattle, and angus, which has its origins in Scotland — both are among the most expensive kinds of beef in the world due to their consistency and marbling.

“They’ll grow up eating macadamia meal and drinking beer that we grow and produce here on the ranch. We want the whole process to be local and vertically integrated. Each cow eats 5,000-10,000 pounds of food each year, so that’s a lot of acres of macadamia trees,” Zuckerberg wrote.

 

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The social media tycoon also included a photograph of his daughter shovelling dirt, adding in the caption that his three daughters play a role in planting the macadamia trees and taking care of the 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,” he added.

However, the 39-year-old billionaire’s post was criticised for a variety of reasons. While some experts pointed out the fallacy of cultivating water-intensive macadamia nuts in the current drought-prone global situation, others pointed out that beef cattle production is a major contributor to global warming. According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, a fully grown cow can release up to 500 litres of methane per day, which accounts for about 3.7 % of all greenhouse gas emissions.

“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, told The Guardian, adding, “We need to promote the viability of small and medium-sized farms that work to feed everyone, not just wealthy celebrities.”

PETA Vice President Shalin Gala took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to express his displeasure. “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.

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