Alexis Ohanian Speaks Out on Factory Farming, Health and a Plant-Based Future

Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, tech entrepreneur, and Serena Williams’ husband, spoke out yesterday against factory farming and the impact it has on worldwide health and safety, placing a big bet on the future of the plant-based food industry.

Ohanian took to Twitter to respond to a CNN report that Denmark’s government is enforcing the mass killing of minks due to COVID-19. Ohanian has previously talked about embracing a mostly plant-based life personally, and now he has publicly endorsed the need for more plant-based foods and how factory farming has affected our health and safety.

“Not the time, I know, but plant-based foods, products, etc. are going to get a huge bump next decade as we realize what our factory-animal-processing practices have done to our health and safety.”

Ohanian doesn't consider himself to be fully plant-based since he still eats eggs. However, his wife Serena started eating plant-based after her sister Venus was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, Sjögren's Syndrome, and she ditched all animal products. Venus continues to espouse a plant-based approach as the key to her feeling well, training at her peak performance levels, and bringing her back to the game she loves.

Ohanian and Serena Williams have previously invested in Impossible Foods and Ohanian has backed Simulate the parent company that owns vegan chicken nugget brand NUGGS and non-dairy frozen dessert brand Eclipse Foods. Meanwhile last January he told GQ.com that he was eating mostly plant-based to be "a better dad" for Olympia, his now-three-year-old daughter.

It all started after watching an early cut of The Game Changers documentary (he was asked to be an executive producer and lept at the chance). Then he tried an Impossible Burger and liked it so much, he invested in the company. Ohanian has gone full-tilt on the plant-based life and is finding that for his health, his ability to focus, and his performance in his day-to-day tasks, plant-based is working for him.

Ohanian said that eating plant-based helped improve his focus, his ability to work effectively, and see the fruits of his labor. He told GQ that he adopted a plant-based diet to be a more successful human, as a way of finding more purpose in his work, and reaching the goals he set for himself and his company.

Clearly, Ohanian is investing in and hoping for a plant-based future for health and safety reasons.