For many decades, Israel has promoted an image of itself as a beacon of sustainable development. A significant part of this visible facade is provided by its food technology industry, especially thanks to recent advancements in cell-cultured and lab-grown products.
Last April, the Israeli food technology company Celleste Bio allegedly produced the world's first lab-grown chocolate bars. The company advertises a patented technology that allows it to eliminate the 'costly dependence of the cocoa industry on fragile tropical forests.'
Celleste Bio has the support of Mondelez International, a multi-billion dollar parent corporation owning brands such as Cadbury and Oreo, which brings the possibility of lab-grown chocolate appearing on store shelves closer.
Israel often ranks among the leading global startup countries in food technology. Proponents of this industry argue that lab-grown products require fewer resources than traditional agriculture and can serve as an alternative to animal slaughter—all against the backdrop of the ongoing campaign of genocide and famine in Gaza.
'Food washing,' or using sustainable food sourcing methods to distract from human rights abuses, is a key part of Israel's broader greenwashing strategy. The state promotes initiatives presented as 'eco-friendly' to conceal human rights violations against Palestinians.
However, Israel's illegal occupation and destruction of Palestinian lands contradict the principles of climate justice, systematically damaging the environment. Israel's food technology industry, like other aspects of the state, has been built on the appropriation of Palestinian resources, undermining the Palestinians' own efforts toward sustainability.
The water and energy that Israel demonstrates as conserved are redirected from Palestinian communities, who are then denied access to their own natural resources.