Ezra Levant at Davos confronts Larry Fink, BlackRock’s CEO ($11T under management), over evasive answers on "woke" ESG/DEI policies, including ties to Trump assassination suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks. He clashes with Paul Ryan, who dodged questions despite political alignment, and John Kerry, now promoting Galvanize Climate Solutions—funded partly by coal-turned-green activist Tom Steyer—while flying private jets. Levant also exposes Pomba Food’s insect-based protein bars, approved in the EU since 2022, with opaque labeling (e.g., Alpha Tobias diapurinus), despite attendees’ willingness to consume them, raising ethical and transparency concerns amid WEF’s push for unconventional food solutions. [Automatically generated summary]
Hello my friends, I'm in Davos, Switzerland and I'm just amazed at what I've seen including my on-the-street walking scrum with Larry Fink.
He's the CEO of BlackRock and we scrummed him for nine minutes and he was not happy about that.
But I want you to see it, not just hear it.
To see it, you got to go to RebelNewsPlus.com, click subscribe, and you've got the video version of the show.
And I tell you, this is a crazy place.
I want you to see it.
That's RebelNewsPlus.com.
All right, here's today's podcast.
Tonight, we caught him.
Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock on the streets of Davos.
It's January 23rd, and this is the Ezra Levant show.
Shame on you.
You censorious bug.
I was in Washington D.C. on inauguration day.
It was thrilling for those who believe in freedom and populism and nationalism and smaller government.
And then I got on a plane on Tuesday and I arrived here in Zurich first, and then I took three trains to come up to Davos to the opposite place in the world, not geographically, but ideologically.
It's a World Economic Forum.
And they believe in all the opposite things to America first Trumpism.
They believe in globalism, not nationalism.
They believe in socialism, or probably more accurately, corporate socialism, a kind of fascism as opposed to the free market.
They believe in ideological environmentalism.
They believe in degrowth at the same time as they believe in making money.
It's a strange kind of capitalism.
And most certainly, they believe in censorship, whereas Donald Trump is taking steps to improve freedom of speech.
What a contrast going from Trump's Washington to Klaus Schwab's Davos.
There's some energy that has gone out of Davos.
I think people here have had two months since Donald Trump's win in November to sort of grieve over the changes that are coming to the world.
Joe Biden wasn't really active mentally.
He didn't really shape the government, but whatever cabal was orchestrating the U.S. government when he was mentally not up to the task, they were definitely the things that Klaus Schaub would admire and find common cause with.
When I started coming to Davos a few years ago, green schemes, environmentalism, carbon taxes, sustainability, those were the buzzwords.
Last year, there was a lot on stopping Trump and Elon Musk.
That wasn't, you know, perhaps what was in the signs, but that was on everybody's minds and lips.
Now they're focusing on AI, and a lot of the green schemes have sort of fallen out of favor here, at least officially, but it's the same globalist cabal running the joint.
We had an interesting visit on the street.
You know, that we apply for accreditation.
Of course, they always turn us down because we ask prickly questions.
So we wait outside the secure perimeter when the VVIPs come out onto the street and we try and recognize people and ask some questions.
And we were about to go.
It was the end of the day.
It was quite cold here.
And out of the corner of our eye, we spotted Larry Fink.
Who's that?
Well, you probably know him better as the CEO of BlackRock.
BlackRock has $11 trillion under management.
One of the largest investment firms in the world.
Now, that's laudable, I suppose.
Good for them.
Successful company, except they use that power to inject DEI right into the veins of the companies it invests in.
So, for example, last I checked, BlackRock owns about 80 billion dollars worth of shares of Google YouTube.
Okay, no problem.
But part of BlackRock's terms for massive investments is the companies they invest in take the woke policies of DEI, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
In the corporate sense, they use a different acronym, ESG, environmental, social, and governance.
But BlackRock, it's enormous, $11 trillion.
It's got a stake of just about anything on the stock market.
And Larry Fink, the big boss of BlackRock, uses that political power not to chase more return on investment for shareholders, but rather to shape the corporate world to turn it all woke.
And we caught up with Larry Fink on the streets, and he did not like our questions one bit.
Here, take a look at this.
Mr. Fink, are you going to follow Donald Trump's plan and get rid of DEI and ESG in your companies?
BlackRock really is the opposite of Donald Trump in so many ways.
Are you going to change it all in light of the U.S. presidency?
How has Donald Trump, have you talked to Donald Trump since he was elected?
Is the World Economic Forum a counterpoint to Donald Trump?
Why are you running away from simple questions?
Just answer a question.
Have you talked to President Trump yet?
Why are your bodyguards pushing away journalists, Mr. Fink?
They're simple questions.
Is it that hard to answer a question that you need bodyguards and to swerve through traffic?
Is the next four years going to be bad for business with Donald Trump in charge?
Is peace the last thing you want on this world?
Which makes more money for you, war in Ukraine or peace in Ukraine?
Ezra Levant, my name, Mr. Fink.
Did you just take a photo of you?
Am I supposed to be scared?
Is that a threat, Mr. Fink?
Are you used to bullying your way through life?
No, Is that how you've lived your entire life without having look at this?
Push back, mate.
Don't push me, bro.
Don't push me.
When was the last time you answered a question that you didn't know was coming?
Why are you so unaccountable?
Isn't that what you love about the World Economic Forum?
You control everything.
Why do you think you deserve so much power?
Hey, Abby, many.
Should I be scared now?
Which of your former directors do you want to run Canada, Mark Carney or Christy Freeland?
Don't push me, bro.
What?
What are they getting violent for, man?
I could push just like you get, man.
Look at these thugs.
They fund wars around the world and then you question them.
They try not only to intimidate you, but physically assault you.
What's with taking photos of journalists who ask you prickly questions?
Who's more powerful, you or President Trump?
Why do you think you're so disliked around the world?
Why are so many U.S. states divesting from your ESG schemes?
Why are you putting your ideology ahead of your investors with ESG, Mr. Fink?
Isn't that being disloyal to shareholders?
Putting your ideology ahead of rate of return?
Why do you think you're above accountability?
Is it because you're rich?
Well, that was last night.
Today, Avi and I had a bit of a morning after chit-chat about what we had just experienced and observed.
Here's my talk with Avi.
And by the way, we did this in front of the BlackRock Pavilion.
Take a look.
Avi, it hasn't yet been a full day since you and I had a walk-in talk with Larry Fink, the big boss of BlackRock, but already our video is being seen about five million times on Twitter alone.
It's incredible because I think a lot of people are waking up to who and what BlackRock really is.
And I guess it's everything that's represented at the web.
Yeah, you know what's funny is people on the left and the right have in common a distaste for BlackRock.
And I think it reminded me a little bit of when you and I had a walk-in talk with Albert Burla, the CEO of Pfizer.
Here's a reminder of what that was like.
Mr. Boorla, can I ask you, when did you know that the vaccines didn't stop transmission?
How long did you know that without saying it publicly?
Thank you very much.
I'm sorry.
I mean, we now know that the vaccines didn't stop transmission, but why did you keep it secret?
You said it was 100% effective, then 90%, then 80%, then 70%.
But we now know that the vaccines do not stop transmission.
Why did you keep that secret?
Have a nice day.
I won't have a nice day until I know the answer.
Why did you keep it a secret that your vaccine did not stop transmission?
Is it time to apologize to the world, sir?
To give refunds back to the countries that poured all their money into your vaccine that doesn't work, your ineffective vaccine?
Are you not ashamed of what you've done in the last couple of years?
Do you have any apologies to the public, sir?
Are you proud of it?
You've made millions on the backs of people's entire livelihoods.
How does that feel to walk the streets as a millionaire on the backs of the regular person at home in Australia, in England, in Canada?
What do you think about on your yacht, sir?
What do you think about on your private jet?
Are you worried about product liability?
Are you worried about myocarditis?
What about the sudden deaths?
What do you have to say about young men dropping dead of heart attacks every day?
I think one of the reasons that video did so well is that everyone knew Albert Burla and they knew he was getting up to no good, but he had never submitted himself to unscripted, unvetted questions.
Same thing with Larry Fink of BlackRock.
Everyone has sort of heard of him or BlackRock and they know he's up to no good, but he never puts himself in a position to answer questions he basically didn't approve in advance.
I think that's why our video yesterday did so well.
Yeah, like I said, there's a lot of people concerned for our welfare.
So we thought if we may as well double down.
We're this far in deep, so we'll come out here and we'll follow up because there is some interesting things we didn't get to ask him in that time, probably because, you know, there's a lot going on and to remember everything surrounding it, especially when you're getting pushed around by bodyguard.
Yeah, it's hard.
I mean, you and I sometimes wait for more than an hour for a V VIP.
And so we only have a matter of moments to jump in and start asking questions.
And it takes a little while to get the noggin jogging.
But you alluded to a weird thing when we were walking and the bodyguards were pushing us a bit and Larry Fink didn't have anything to say.
And he did something very strange.
He took out his personal cell phone and he took snapshots of our faces.
Me and you and one of our cameramen here.
Just take a quick peek at what that looked like.
Is peace the last thing you want on this world?
Which makes more money for you, war in Ukraine or peace in Ukraine?
As relance my name, Mr. Fink.
Did you just take a photo of you?
Am I supposed to be scared?
Is that a threat, Mr Fink?
Why do you think you deserve so much power?
Hey, are the Yamini?
Should I be scared now?
And I think that was meant to intimidate us in some way, although it's weird because we were going to put the whole video online.
We weren't screwing our Larry Fink because he knows the kind of fear he instills in.
Well, that's the thing.
And normally I'd say, what an idiot.
What a blowhard.
Come and get me.
We're doing public interest journalism on a public street, asking questions of public interest, public policy, like we were doing absolutely legitimate legal journalism, and he's just a coward.
But when you manage $11 trillion, you've got a lot of power.
I mean, he's got these personal thugs, so we show he's not shy about shoving people around.
And it was only afterwards that a friend reminded me, and this is what's so insane, and this is why I am 1% worried about Larry Fink.
You know the man who tried to assassinate Donald Trump?
The guy who came within an inch of murdering the president when he shot?
His name was Thomas Matthew Crooks.
And he appeared in a BlackRock promotional video.
And we never got to the bottom of that.
We never found out more about who was this guy.
And if BlackRock has within its larger family assassins about whom there is no trace, it's got a bit of an MK Ultra vibe to it.
Like BlackRock is so big and so powerful and involved in such like world-changing events.
They both finance, they both provide the weapons in wars, and then they get the contracts to rebuild the countries after those wars.
These are violent people.
So when Larry Fink takes our pictures and we know that Larry Fink had an actual attempted assassin in the larger BlackRock family, maybe he's going to give that photo of us to their little MK Ultra team.
And I know you say we were joking around that we have no suicidal thoughts, but it's true.
Peasants Tilt Towards Socialism00:02:00
Yeah.
And it's on the record now for everyone to see because, like I said, there is 1% fear.
I think that this would be a bit too crazy for him to do.
But you don't know the lengths in which he'll go, even out of sheer embarrassment of his own behavior yesterday being publicized so far.
So there is a few.
I don't know how it could lay out.
Don't know what he could do.
I do know we really upset it.
Yeah, I don't think that he's been subjected to scrutiny from the peasants maybe in 20 years.
And he thinks he rules this town and he thinks that only his people are allowed here.
Well, he made the mistake of stepping out of the high security perimeter.
The drawbridge came down.
He walked across the moat with the peasants and he heard a little bit from the peasants.
That's why the video's gone viral.
The questions that you and I asked him were questions that a million people have wanted to ask, but simply he wasn't allowed to.
I hope that he was just trying to intimidate us with those pictures.
But Thomas Matthew Crooks, who was in a BlackRock corporate video, tried to murder the president of the United States.
If you're willing to assassinate the president of the United States, you'd think nothing of harming a couple of citizen journalists.
Totally.
But that's not going to stop us.
WEFREPORTS.com.
All our videos all week.
In fact, I think we're getting so much content.
We're going to have enough to go past the actual week here on the ground.
So make sure to go there, bookmark.
And if you support our mission here and you support the fact that we're willing to talk and challenge even Larry Fink, even as he threatens us, ship in a couple dollars to help us cover the cost of just getting here because it has been a super expensive project, but I think it's worth it.
We don't have $11 trillion to manage here.
I manage $11.
Larry Fink manages $11 trillion.
I manage $11.
Well, this morning we were, you know, you never know who you're going to find here at the World Economic Forum.
John Kerry Debunks Obnoxious Comments00:06:53
Generally, as I say, they tilt to the left.
They tilt towards socialism, globalism, things like that.
But out of the corner of our eye, again, we spotted Paul Ryan.
I don't know if that name rings a bell.
He'll probably wind up being a footnote in history, but for a while, he was the Speaker of the House in the United States, and he was Republican.
In fact, he was the vice presidential candidate on the Republican ticket.
He lost.
Now, I saw him and I thought, well, what's he doing here at Davos at all?
He's a Republican.
And I thought, I wonder what he has to say about Donald Trump.
Because if he's a Republican at Davos, is he a fish out of water?
Did he have any congratulations to pass on to the president?
Here's what happened when I asked him those basic questions.
Mr. Ryan, can I ask you for your thoughts on Donald?
Give me a word on Donald Trump.
I'm good.
Are you optimistic that he'll be a good president?
I'm good.
I mean, I know you're good.
I'm not going to walk and talk interviews.
It's just not my style.
Well, just give me a word.
It sounds like you're resentful of the president.
It sounds like you're trying to put words in my mouth.
Well, then put your own words in your mouth.
You're good at what you did.
Well, I'm not because I'm not eliciting a good answer from you.
Well, why wouldn't you at least commend the president for his victory?
Yeah, I need you to send me the QR code so I can get in.
Yeah, well, I didn't check that email.
Let me set that with me in a second.
All right, I'll call you back.
You seem a little stingy.
All the world leaders are at least congratulating him.
You refuse to congratulate the president.
That seems...
No, I refuse to talk to you because you're being obnoxious.
I'm not being obnoxious.
I'm asking you a very simple, easy question.
Here's what I want you to do.
Go on Bloomberg yesterday and look at my TV interview and use theirs.
I think you're jealous.
I think you had your shot and you failed and you're sort of grudging towards Trump who won.
Is that wrong?
Hang on a second.
Yeah, there's right.
No.
Yeah, you got to send me the QR code.
Right.
Yeah, no, that's what I need just to get in.
All right.
Let me check that email.
Okay.
Are you still working out?
I'm trying to add it.
I'm not talking about how to entertain you're being obnoxious.
I mean, you're calling me obnoxious.
Actually, I think you're being obnoxious.
You're refusing to say even a grudging congratulations to the new president.
No, I'm just not going to talk to you.
Why?
Hang on a second.
All right.
I think you're a sore loser.
What are you even doing at a left-wing place like the World Economic Forum?
It's not very Republican.
Who are you meeting with?
Where's that secret?
Right now, I'm trying to navigate to my emails, so.
But what are you doing here?
This is a George Soros kind of place.
Is that your crew now?
Is that who you hang with?
Well, I don't think I was being obnoxious.
I just don't think I was being obnoxious.
Annoying, I'll plead guilty to that.
But wouldn't it be easy for Paul Ryan to have said, congratulations to the new president?
I hope he does well.
Just anything.
I mean, every leader in the world, left-wing or right-wing, has said the same.
Not Paul Ryan.
I think he's angry and maybe a little bit disgruntled that he didn't get a chance to be president when he could have been.
Speaking of politicians, my friend Abi Yamini and my colleague and friend Sheila Gunrid, obviously my friend too, they both bumped into John Kerry, who is a man about town here at Davos.
We always see him and he always walks around.
And to his credit, he takes some time to talk with us.
Elsewhere on our website, WEFREPORTS.com, you can see the longer interaction with him, including Sheila and Abby.
But I want to show just a short interaction that I had with him.
Remember that John Kerry was a candidate for president under the Democrats.
He lost.
He was made Secretary of State.
And then he became the climate ambassador.
He was the Secretary of State under Obama, and he was climate ambassador under Joe Biden.
But Joe Biden's gone.
And so John Kerry is not the climate ambassador for the United States anymore.
So what's he doing here?
Who's he representing?
Here's my short conversation with John Kerry about that interesting question.
Flying obviously private jets.
Are you disclosing your clients, Sarah?
Don't you think that's relevant?
You used to work for the U.S. government.
Who do you work for now?
Shouldn't you disclose it?
I work in several capacities.
Can you name them, please?
Well, if you'd like that, I'll have my office put them all out.
I'm skeptical that you will, sir, with all respect.
Can you tell me at least one of them?
Surely you know.
Look, I'm not going to put up with your ridiculous.
How's it regular?
It's not disrespectful.
I respect you, sir.
I'm asking who you work for because it's not known right now.
I work for Galvanize, Climate Solutions.
And how long have you been working with them?
Full-time, full-time climate, addressing the energy transition and working constructively with people.
And who's behind that organization?
Who funds it?
It's not funded.
It's a you should.
Are you a volunteer?
Tom Steyer is the president.
So he made his money in coal, didn't he?
Don't you think that's unusual that Tom Steyer made his money in coal and he's paying you?
I think that very.
Who said he's paying me?
Are you a volunteer, sir?
Tom Steyer?
He's king of coal.
He made his money emitting carbon.
The whole world is emitting carbon.
I thought you were against that sort of thing.
I am.
That's exactly what we're changing.
Did he buy an indulgence?
Is that what your project is?
Take care.
Isn't that funny?
John Kerry is here due to the largesse of a coal baron, Tom Steyer, who made his money in coal and now is a green activist.
That perfectly sums up John Kerry, who, by the way, admitted he came here in part on a private jet.
Hey, I want to show you one more thing.
We were just walking here today, and we came upon a guy offering freebies.
There's lots of places offering freebies, free hot chocolate, free toques, stuff like that.
And this guy was offering energy bars.
And I looked at them and they looked, you know, just like some energy bar.
Insect Protein Bars00:14:35
But he said verbally, it's made with insects.
And he said it sort of quickly.
I heard it immediately, but some others didn't.
I talked to him at some length.
Here's a guy who's actually following through on the Klaus Schwab exhortation to eat zabugs.
What do you think of this?
Tell me about what you're doing here.
Hi, I'm doing a promotion tour for a recently funded company that is doing these bars.
It's Pomba Food.
And we are producing upcycled food.
And well, this is our energy bar, which uses insect protein as a protein source.
Now, I want to be very fair to you, because you've invited me to talk to you.
When I hear you say that these are insect bars, I have a natural reflex to gag.
I think there's a human evolutionary reaction to things that are that historically have caused us sickness.
That's why when we see maggots, we almost throw up.
It's nature's way of saying, don't eat that.
That's bad.
Why would you want people to eat insects?
I just make your best case for what I think is an astonishing proposition.
Well, the thing is, I don't know if it is really an instinct or if it's just learned behavior that we have an aversion against these insects or against spiders or anything.
Because in other parts of the world, especially in Africa and Asia, many people eat many kinds of insects.
And so maybe we just need to get used to it.
Now, you said the word should.
Maybe we should get used to it.
Why wouldn't we eat beef and chicken and fish and vegetables?
Why should we?
Should is sort of a moral word.
It is something we ought to do.
If we can eat chicken and beef and fish and vegetables, why are you saying we should eat insects?
Well, it's not on every occasion that we can have beef and cattle and pigs and chicken.
For example, if there are a few resources in water or the food distribution for hay and stuff that these animals that we mentioned before need, then it can be challenging and then it can be easier to just feed the worms or the insects with some things that are very easy to store.
Or if you want to take the example that we will go to other planets and we will conquer Mars, for example, if we want to take pigs and cows with us to Mars, it will be difficult because of the space and because they need a lot of room.
And you can basically put an insect into the fridge, put it down to five degrees, and then wake it up again once you arrive.
And so that's why it can be more convenient to base our nutrition on insects than on mammals.
I have to tell you, your example is so extreme and fantastical and hypothetical because although Mars is in the news because Elon Musk is shooting rockets into space, we haven't landed on Mars, we haven't colonized Mars.
That's such an obscure reason why you're selling these or you're giving these away today.
What is your moral rationale for eating bugs today in 2025?
Not really a moral thing, just a possibility.
You know, it got allowed in the European Union in 2022 and in Switzerland shortly after four kinds of insects that can be used in human nutrition.
And so why not doing it?
It's a sustainable way to produce food.
And so why not doing it?
I mean, nobody's obliged to do it.
And so far, many people can afford beef and chicken.
So yes, feel free to eat it.
But at some point, it can be possible that it will be too expensive to buy these for people.
And so they have another opportunity to consume animal protein for less price.
Now, if I may, can I look at this?
So on the front it says energy, cocoa, cashew, performance, pumba, upcycled food.
I don't see the word insect.
Share the flavor.
So if I were like that lady just came by that says contains insect protein, but you know, you see it in bold letters Where?
There cashew nusa.
No, I mean the lower one here Alphitobius diap diapurinus.
Exactly.
No one I put it to you, not one in a thousand people knows what that means.
I don't think the words insects or bugs.
You call it upcycled food.
I'll bet you a hundred euros made with insect protein as a protein source.
And here's the way to our web shop.
You can order online.
We are so far not in retail.
How much sugar is in there?
Plenty.
It's an energy bar.
So like 16 gram.
Yeah, I'll try it.
Thanks, go ahead, enjoy it.
That container says insect protein, but the word insect protein, I don't see it on the wrapper.
Well, it's Alphitobius Diaperinus, but no one here knows what Alphitobius Diperinus means.
Do you know what Alphaopus Diperinus means?
Yeah, exactly.
Do you want to try an energy bar?
It's made with insect protein as a protein source.
Oh, that actually sounds healthy.
Yeah, it's very healthy.
It has a very uh good amino acid.
But it says luthanza.
Right, what you can wear.
It says just because it's a salt.
I thought it's a greenwashing.
Yeah, so that's actually cool.
Yeah, are you gonna try it?
Yeah, can you try it right now?
I want to see what you, what you, think of it.
I want to see my face expression.
I want to see if you like it or not.
You could have not told me that it's insects.
Well, I can't tell everyone because it's a new feature, the insect protein and uh, people sometimes have an adverse reaction.
So uh, so does it get some of?
Uh, very tasty and it's very healthy.
So i've been following this for a while now.
Okay, thank you, it's all right.
Make those protein bars yeah, a bit tasteless.
We have a protein bar in our web shop which has a lot more protein content, so this is the energy bar.
But uh yeah, the uh protein of this bar is also from insect and you asked me what it means and I don't know pumba.
Pumba is in the name of our brand.
Oh okay, said from the lion king the, the creature that ate insects.
Exactly exactly well, what do you think of it?
So you you, you had a bite, is it?
Are you gonna finish it or have you had enough?
So, because this is not the sugar coat things, right?
So, in general, those bars are not super tasty right, regardless if it's insects or whey protein, and this one is the same.
It's not the most tasty thing on the planet, but if I had to choose, I don't mind actually going for insects.
Thanks, man.
Yeah, you're welcome.
Have a nice day likewise.
All right.
Well, there you have it, a real-life taste test.
The lad says it's not particularly good, not particularly bad.
He eats the bugs.
Um, is there a rule in Switzerland or the European Union or anywhere in the world, that insect Here, it says, contains insect protein.
That's very clear to understand.
But that is not written on the bar.
Of course, in compliance with all the rules.
Okay, but what are the rules?
You are telling people verbally that there's bugs in here, but the wrapper does not say that.
Is there a rule in Switzerland that it has to be disclosed in a conspicuous way?
If it were so, then it would be written there, but it's not written there, so it's not necessary.
So the only, I mean, you're being very candid, and I see it there.
But if you were to sell this somewhere, if they didn't know what Alpha Tobias diaparinus meant, they wouldn't know.
They just wouldn't know.
probably not what kind and I don't know my genus and species that well What kind of bug is that?
It's like a mealworm.
It's a small form of a mealworm.
Do you eat these in your own life?
In your own private life?
Yeah.
I mean, it's a new thing, you know?
It's not that we have grown up with insects, not in this part of the world, as I mentioned before.
It's in other parts of the world where they eat up to 500 different kinds of species of insects.
Just in the Western world, this is a new phenomenon.
And so for me, too, I also only one or two years ago started consuming it, but for me, it's already something normal, yeah.
Now, in some parts of the world, people are extremely poor and they're even starving.
I'll tell you, if I was starving, if it was a matter of life and death, I would eat whatever was not poisonous to survive.
But as societies get wealthier, they don't have to eat extreme foods.
I'm just trying to understand the rationale.
And I mean, I've listened to everything you said.
And by the way, I very much appreciate you talking to me because I'm a critic and I'm a skeptic.
So I am listening carefully to what you have to say.
But so far, what I'm hearing is it's convenient if we go to Mars.
We may not have beef and chicken, so this is an alternative.
And in some very poor parts of the world, they eat bugs.
Are there other arguments for it?
As I mentioned before, you need a lot of resources to produce one kilogram of beef or pig meat.
You need thousands of liters of water, whereas with this, you need maybe 15 liters of water.
So it's a lot less resources that you need, and you don't need fresh pastry.
You can use old brand from the mill that is a leftover from the milling process.
Would you like to try it, please?
Come.
Sure.
It's a protein or energy bar made with insect protein.
That's great.
And I would say this is the right place to offer this because here, when you walk so much, you get into the meetings, you have so much of muscle exercise, brain exercise.
At the time, you are offering such an energy kind of a chocolate.
It's a great gesture.
You will very quickly get rid of your muscle pain because it's a big energy resource.
That's nice.
That's nice.
Can I ask you, sir?
And can I ask you if you would taste it on camera and tell me what you think?
Yeah, I can do that if you want.
Now, did you hear him say that there's insects in that?
I didn't hear that.
Okay, that's I came.
I joined late, actually.
I didn't know.
I said it's an energy bar with insect protein as a protein source.
Oh, is it?
Yeah.
How do you feel about that?
That's funny.
Now, Would you try it?
I think I won't.
I am skeptical as well.
Can I ask why you won't eat the bugs?
So, of course, I mean, if it is coming up with insects, that's not a thing which we really expect that because this is something we are here for.
We want to conserve.
We want to conserve the planet, but not by killing the insects.
That's not what we really expect from this.
All right, good luck.
Thanks for talking with me.
What insect do you have?
It's a worm.
It's a buffalo worm.
Do you want to try it?
Yes.
Will you try it here?
Can I watch you try it?
Yes, of course.
Did you hear what's in it?
Yeah.
You heard it's an insect in it.
It's made from worms.
What, what, what?
I didn't pay you?
It's very rich.
We combine it with the mate.
Perfect, perfect.
It's from Argentina, right?
Did you hear what it's made with?
Yeah.
It's made with coconut.
It's made with insects.
It's with worms.
That's what he told me.
Have you tried it yet?
How does it taste?
Very nice.
Did you hear what it's made from?
Insects.
And you're fine eating insects?
No.
Well, you're doing that now.
Like jocolate.
So, how do you feel about eating insects?
No, no.
Well, you're doing it.
It's like jocolate.
Okay, so that's how it tastes.
But you're fine eating insects?
No, Nothing.
Do you like it?
Yes, I like it.
Do you like the insects?
I don't know what they say or not.
It's like, you know, the, I don't know, they named it, like tatiles?
So you guys love insects.
You'll eat the bugs.
Thank you.
Thank you.
All right.
You heard it?
They'll eat the bugs.
So will you try it?
I won't, but I but I'm grateful for your time and I thank you for letting me interview you.
Is it an energy bar?
Yes, of course.
It's an energy bomb made with insect protein as a protein source.
Insect protein.
Insect protein, the buffalo worm.
Whole buffalo powder is in there.
Are you brave enough to try it?
Of course.
Of course, well.
Of course.
Let's see you.
I'd like your review, a food review.
Okay.
I'm very much vegetarian.
Well, are vegetarians allowed to eat insects?
I don't know.
I would try now.
Wow.
And my partner looked very funny at me from there.
Would you like to try an energy bar?
Enjoy it.
Insect Protein Dilemma00:04:05
Good.
So are you willing to leave vegetarianism behind to eat the bugs?
I'm not sure.
Well, you just did, actually.
I would try for sure.
All right, there you have it.
So far, seven people like the bugs.
This is an energy-regel with Insekten-Protein as a protein source.
We have more information here on the flyer and you can also buy them from our website.
This is in Zurich, so you can also buy them and send them to us.
Alright, I didn't have enough German to speak with him, but he might eat the bugs.
Well, I mean each to their own.
I live in a country where not only I'm from Canada.
Not only is marijuana legalized, but so are many hard drugs.
And if people can use hard drugs paid for by the government, surely they can eat the bugs.
But my one concern with you, my friend, which I've shared with you, is I don't think that there's sufficient disclosure on here to let people know what they're getting into.
That's just my concern.
I know that has nothing to do with you, but I don't think one in a thousand people knows that Alpha Tobias diapurinus is a bug.
Yeah, I mean, I understand you, but I think there is a very good legal system in Switzerland, which is very...
No, I'm not asking you the challenge.
I'm just saying I think it's very inconspicuous.
Can I ask you a question?
I understand it.
I'm not saying this is illegal.
I already think that probably many people think like you, but I think also it's a trend that it's picking up more and more speed.
And well, we are here on the forefront because there are not so many producers of insect-based food so far, but we are here and we are showing it to the world.
In Canada, our government gave millions of dollars to an insect farm called Aspire.
They later shut down.
Who is funding Pumba?
Is it a government?
Is it an NGO?
Who's behind Pumba insect bars?
I am not the founder of the company, so I'm not that much in the topic, but I think it's private investors.
I have one last question.
What does upcycled food mean?
I haven't heard that word before.
Upcycled is the bran and the milling process that we use to feed the insects.
So, otherwise would be either burned and turned into gas, because it's a leftover that can't be used for producing flour, or we use it to feed it to the worms and they...
So, you're saying you're feeding the worms something that would otherwise be waste?
Is that what you're saying?
Exactly.
All right.
Well, you've been very helpful.
You've answered all my questions with an eerie calm.
You're absolutely calm.
And, you know, those happy faces don't lie.
Those kids seem to like the bugs.
That Sikh gentleman, he didn't hear you when you said insects.
He didn't hear you.
You heard that he didn't hear me.
Well, I asked him.
I said, did you hear?
And so that's my worry is that someone will not knowingly eat the bugs.
Yeah, okay.
Yeah, it can happen.
It can happen if it's not labeled.
Yeah, I mean...
Are insects halal?
are insects halal um i think halal only is working with mammals or i don't know either I also don't know.
I'm sorry, but halal.
I'm not firm with the topic of halal.
Okay, I was just curious.
I don't think it's kosher.
Maybe I'm wrong on that.
I don't know my kosher rules that well either.
Well, listen, thanks again for talking with me.
And one of the criticisms of the World Economic Forum is that they eat fancy five-star meals and they tell ordinary people to eat the bugs, as Klaus Schwab would pronounce it.
But here you are, and people seem to be willingly eating the bugs.
So I'm slightly more confused than I was before, but I'm grateful to you.
People Eating Bugs00:01:31
Thanks very much.
Okay, it was my pleasure.
And yeah, enjoy your time at the Economic Forum.
Thanks.
What's your name?
Clemens.
Lemens, good to meet you.
What's your name?
Ezra.
Ezra, nice to meet you, too.
Likewise.
Bye-bye.
Yeah, I'm not going to eat the bugs, but I'm worried that a lot of people will, because unless you know the Latin name for the mealworm, and I can't even remember it, I said it about five times in the interview.
It's so obscure.
I don't think one in a thousand people knows what that Latin name for a mealworm is.
Nowhere is there a warning you are about to eat the bugs.
I think there's a bit of trickery involved there.
I think it's sort of gross, but I'm grateful to the guy for speaking with me so candidly.
Well, that's our show from Davos.
It's very interesting to come here, and I'm grateful to you for your support.
You know, we flew in six people.
Sheila, me, and Avi are the three journalists, and each of us had a videographer in attendance.
So it was a big operation.
We had to fly all the way to Zurich and then take trains up to Davos, and we had to stay one town over because all the hotel rooms in Davos are booked, so every morning we took the train.
It's a big logistical undertaking.
It's very expensive.
It's the most expensive project of our year, but I think it's one of the most important.
And it's become sort of a signature move for Rebel News.
So I hope you enjoyed it.
Again, for a lot more video content about our trip to the World Economic Forum, please go to WEFReports.com.
That's my show for today.
Until next time, on behalf of all of us at Rebel News around the world, including here at Davos, see you at home.