Natalie Portman is Investing in Vegan Bacon: Here’s Why

Ever since Natalie Portman announced her Instagram hiatus last year, we’ve desperately missed her vegan recipes. Through the entire COVID-19 quarantine, the acclaimed actress shared recipes over IGTV with her fans, hoping to destigmatize plant-based dieting with a little optimism. Portman stepped away from Instagram, leaving fans waiting for more vegan tips and tricks, but the Oscar-winning actress is still highly active in the vegan movement.

Portman recently helped secure a record-breaking investment for the French vegan company La Vie, formerly known as 77 foods. The company, which specializes in plant-based pork, just closed its Series A funding round with $28.3 million. The investment package marks the largest funding round in the French alternative protein category. Currently, the food-tech start-up is exclusively available at Carrefour across France but intends to expand following the successful funding round.

La Vie aims to expand its production and distribution capacity through the next year, announcing that it plans to rapidly expand within France, Europe, and the UK. Eventually, the brand hopes to bring its plant-based bacon and lardons to the United States market.

Since 2019, the vegan brand has worked to develop a recipe that properly mimics the taste, texture, and most importantly, the preparation of conventional bacon products. The founders Nicolas Schweitzer and Vincent Poulichet officially unveiled its plant-based pork last October, featuring a recipe containing soy, konjac, and sunflower oil. Schweitzer claims that he and Poulichet are “the only ones in the world today to have succeeded in developing a vegetable fat that cooks, fries, infuses and browns.”

Alongside Portman, the historic investment round enlisted the financial support of several prominent names in the plant-based industry. Led by the Paris-based venture capital firm Seventure, La Vie received investments from Oatly chairman Eric Melloul, BlablaCar CEO Frederic Mazzella, Back Market CEO Thibaud Hug de Larauze, and Vinted CEO Thomas Lodewijk Plantenga.

“It is essential to switch to plant-based food and I am convinced that technological innovation has a key role to play in encouraging consumers—even the most reluctant—to make the switch,” Plantenga said. “The La Vie team has created a delicious recipe and a unique brand that will make plant-based meat so appealing that it will become the norm in our societies.”

The high-profile investors signify the potential for La Vie’s plant-based pork and general interest in the alternative protein category. The plant-based protein market is expected to rise 451 percent by 2030, and one of the industry’s leading categories is pork. Alternative pork is expected to grow at a 24 percent CAGR within the next decade, fueling investor interest worldwide. As sustainability becomes a primary concern for consumers and investors, companies including La Vie will flourish as plant-based pioneers.

“La Vie is a UFO that aligns 100% business and impact,” de Larauze said. “It has the capacity to massively reduce the CO2 emissions of the food industry without requiring the slightest compromise from the consumer, quite the contrary! "

La Vie’s latest funding round also accompanies a food renaissance happening within France as well. The meat-and-cheese-dominated country is shifting towards a plant-based cuisine. Last year, Environmental Minister Barbara Prompili urged French citizens to reduce meat and cheese consumption, planning to remove meat from school lunches at least once a week.

“[About] 15 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and 91 percent of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest are linked to livestock farming,” the minister said last July. “So developing a vegetarian offer means acting for the climate, against deforestation, while giving canteens more room to purchase high-quality, locally produced meat that is better for the environment. Everyone wins.”

Jimmy Fallon featured Portman’s vegan recipes on the Tonight Show during the 2020 quarantine, pleading that she start a plant-based cooking show. While her tutorials have yet to hit the big screen, Portman continues to support and invest in plant-based companies. Portman joined Oatly as an early investor alongside big names including Oprah and Jay-Z, helping push the dairy-free milk company into the mainstream.

Portman also joined John Legend in the vegan leather brand MycoWork’s Series B funding round. The sustainable leather company raised $45 million dollars, closing one of the most successful investment rounds for a vegan leather brand to date.

Although Portman’s vegan recipes cannot be found on her revived Instagram, fans can check out her Easy Baked Cauliflower recipe here on The Beet or on her Youtube channel.

Sir James Paul McCartney is no stranger to a meat-free life as he's been vegetarian for 45 years. He initially went vegetarian in 1975 with his first wife Linda McCartney and began his advocacy for animal rights.

If you find yourself constantly singing along to the song The Greatest, then you're already a Sia fan. Sia tweeted that she is "fully vegan now" back in 2014 and stays true to her word

Way back at the start of Grey's Anatomy, Sandra Oh took the cast out for a plant-based lunch at Truly Vegan in Hollywood. In her effort to inspire contemporaries to eat vegan, the TV star is known to invite her friends for vegan meals that are delicious. She adopted the vegan lifestyle years ago and continues to quietly live a cruelty-free life.

Giselle revealed that when she was at the peak of her modeling career, her diet consisted of "cigarettes, wine, and mocha Frappuccinos," according to an interview in People Magazine. Now 39 and the mother of two children, Gisele eats a "mostly" plant-based diet to nourish her body and stay fueled.

Alec Baldwin has made a bigger commitment to plant-based eating since he was first told by doctors that he was pre-diabetic and needed to change his diet. That was decades ago. But, over the last few years, he's been vocal about the benefits not only to his health but also the impact plant-based eating has on the environment.

We all remember Pamela Anderson as the curvaceous blonde in the hit series Baywatch as she played Casey Jean in the red one-piece swimsuit that brought her world-class fame. She is a life-long active animal rights advocate and teamed up with PETA to join the Animal Protection Organization.

"We shouldn't eat as much meat guys," Kristen Stewart told GQ in an interview in January. The Twilight star has made a full 180 from vampire to vegan. When she appeared on the game show "Hot Ones" she chose to skip the wings and instead compete by eating increasing spicier sauce on vegan cauliflower wings.

This award-winning actor eats a high-protein diet consisting of only plants. Leto, who has been plant-based for 20 years, says it keeps him "shredded" in an interview. Now, 48, Leto looks half his age.

Jaden Smith switched up his diet from vegan to vegetarian, meaning that he doesn't eat meat but does eat dairy from time to time. In a recent article by Plant Based News, Smith admits he skipped meals and was not getting the proper nutrition when he was vegan, but this hasn't stopped him from espousing the plant-based life.

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex has never admitted to being fully vegan, but sources say, she eats a plant-based diet most days during the week. She is teaching Prince Harry vegan cooking and in a Plant-Based News article, Markle explained how she hopes to raise baby Archie on a mostly vegan diet.

As a professional athlete, fueling the body is a key factor to Willaim's successes. In a Bon Appetite article, she explained that she adopted a plant-based diet back in 2012, she was eating a lot "healthier" for her sister, Venus, who eats a strict vegan diet for health reasons.

The popular grocery store, Whole Foods Market sells vegan products and nonvegan products which arises black lash from ethical vegans as CEO John Mackey follows a strict vegan diet. The successful businessman grew up in Houston Texas and told Business Insider that he would traditionally eat processed foods for dinner while watching TV with his family. Now, Mackey steers clear from the processed isle and eats a clean vegan diet and feels amazing at the age of 65.

Jason Mraz, singer of the popular song, I'm Yours, committed to a vegan diet to support his friend diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Mraz says he eats mostly raw food and told magazine sources his favorite vegan dish is "Chocomole, a mixture of avocados, dates, cacao, agave nectar, and coconut oil."

Long time vegan, Leona Lewis grew up in a vegan household and continues to eat a plant-based diet. Lewis first adopted the diet at 12 when she learned about the health risks of eating animal products but told Women's Health Magazine she occasionally eats an omelet. She also mentioned her 2:30 lunch is normally a kale salad topped with dried cranberries and she loves a veggie stir-fry for dinner.

Hannah Teter changed her diet after watching the documentary, Earthlings when she discovered how "horrible" factory farming is. After a strict vegetarian diet, Teter liked the way she performed as an athlete and believes that her diet helped her win gold at the 2006 games.

You may recognize Maggie Q as the star of the Nikita series, but in the plant-based world, she's well-known for her heroic activism. Maggie Q has followed a strict vegan diet for 19 years, making her a true veteran of the lifestyle. She made the plant-based diet transition because she felt sluggish and had low energy, she has said. The famous actress keeps in shape by eating veggies and plant-based protein and working out with a passion.

Winner of the first Masterchef vegan cook-off with Gordon Ramsay, Madelaine Petsch was raised vegetarian and went completely vegan at age 14. She claims that she started this diet before it was "trendy" and shot a campaign for PETA last year wearing a dress made of bok choy. Petsch says her vegan diet allows her to feel "healthier" and not "lethargic."

After doing a little sleuthing on her social media platforms we think Millie Bobbi Brown qualifies as plant-based. Whether or not she is actually skipping all meat and dairy, one thing is for sure: She eats mostly salads, vegetables and grains and lives a predominantly plant-based lifestyle full of healthy foods.

The grammy-nominated sisters went vegan for a week with their mom but liked it so much they decided to stick with it. For one thing, it helps keep their "voices in shape" by eating a vegan diet and they emphasize the fact that dairy helps to limit extra mucus build-up, according to a PETA interview.

Best known for her role as Lizzie Mcguire in the long-running series, Hilary Duff is a recent vegan advocate and entrepreneur. She recently launched the vegan and cruelty-free eyeshadow palette, "Day Dreamer" and changed her diet to plant-based last fall.