Meat's climate impact is hidden, Bill Gates has warned - but the billionaire believes plant-based meat is 'the future'. Fertilizer and cows are the hidden cause of climate change, Bill Gates has claimed - but plant-based meat is 'the future'. Most people still don't know how  agriculture contributes to climate change, the billionaire claims – specifically methane emissions from livestock and fertilizers. “Of all the climate zones, people are probably the least aware of all the fertilizers and cows , and that's the challenge," Gates said recently in the latest episode of his podcast Unconfuse Me. This topic came up because Gates was in conversation with musician and director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, who, like Gates, is also an early investor in several plant-based food startups, such as Impossible and NotCo. Thompson, who hails from Philadelphia, even recently collaborated with Impossible to create a plant-based cheesesteak, of which former President Barack Obama is a fan. Obama, he told Gates. (Charlotte Elton)