Chipotle’s Cultivate Next fund is looking to harness the power of aquatic plants to combat climate change—and help cows burp less.
The fast-casual chain’s venture fund said Wednesday it is making investments in two companies behind innovations designed to reduce greenhouse gasses. Both are tapping into different types of aquatic plants.
Cultivate Next has made a minority investment in Plantible, founded in 2018, which has developed a natural, plant-based protein from an aquatic plant called Lemna, which is more commonly known as duckweed. The Rubi Protein, as it is named, can mimic the quality, taste and texture of animal proteins, and it can also replace synthetic emulsifiers and binders.
Duckweed, itself, is nutrient dense, and it’s grown in a sustainable way on aquatic farms, according to Plantible’s website. It requires 10-times less water to grow than soybeans, and 100-times less water than growing beef, and it uses no arable land. The plants also take in carbon—more than a healthy forest.
“Plantible’s vertically integrated and traceable supply chain aligns with our commitment to ingredient transparency and Food with Integrity standards,” said Curt Garner, Chipotle’s chief customer and technology officer. “Investing in a like-minded venture that strives to transform the global food supply could help the entire industry unlock new opportunities for plant-based menu offerings.”
Chipotle has also invested in CH4 Global, which is focusing on seaweed as a feed supplement for cows called “Methane Tamer.”
Enteric methane from cattle and other ruminants—otherwise known as cow burps—are a serious contributor to global methane emissions, and methane is one of the most potent of greenhouse gasses contributing to climate change. CH4 Global says ruminant methane represents 30% of methane emissions from human activities.
CH4 believes it can reduce emissions on a “gigaton-scale” over the next decade by feeding cattle whole, dried Asparagopsis, a type of seaweed, which the company says can reduce methane emissions by up to 90%.
It also gives cattle more energy and nutrition from the same amount of food, which could help them grow or produce milk more efficiently, the announcement said.
“As we all work toward the goal of minimizing global greenhouse gas emissions, it’s vital for us to invest in companies like CH4 Global that are engineering scalable solutions to reduce harmful global emissions,” said Christian Gammill, Cultivate Next fund manager, in a statement. “Our investment in CH4 Global will help the team scale production of Methane Tamer to meet its current outstripped demand.”
The two investments are the latest in a string from the venture fund, which has included restaurant chains like Brassica, along with tech companies like GreenField Robotics, Hyphen and Vebu, and ingredients like the seed-free-oil producer Zero Acre Farms.
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