The Strange Food Rule Mark Zuckerberg Has Lived By for Over a Decade

Plenty of tech billionaires have odd personal habits, but Mark Zuckerberg’s relationship with food stands out even by Silicon Valley standards. It didn’t start as a family tradition so much as a personal challenge, but more than a decade later, it’s still shaping how he thinks about eating, and even how he raises his own kids.

The Rule That Started With a Lobster

Back in 2011, Zuckerberg set himself an unusual yearlong goal: only eat meat from animals he had killed himself, and stick to a vegetarian diet the rest of the time.

His first kill under the new rule was reportedly a lobster, and from there he worked with local farmers to learn how to kill and butcher a chicken, a pig, and eventually a goat.

The point, as he explained it at the time, wasn’t shock value. He wanted to stay conscious of the fact that an animal has to die for a meal to happen, something he felt was too easy to forget when meat just shows up already packaged.

The challenge fit into a broader pattern for Zuckerberg, who has a habit of picking one unusual personal rule to follow each year.

A Dinner Jack Dorsey Won’t Forget

Years after the original challenge ended, the habit resurfaced in a story that’s become something of a Silicon Valley legend. Zuckerberg once invited Jack Dorsey over for dinner and served him a goat he had personally raised, killed, and had butchered, an evening Dorsey later described in detail during an interview.

According to Dorsey’s account, the goat spent roughly half an hour roasting in the oven while the two waited, and Zuckerberg seemed genuinely pleased with how the meal turned out once it was ready.

It’s the kind of dinner party story that only really works coming from someone who’d already spent a year building the skills to pull it off.

The Ranch That Takes It Even Further

That early challenge appears to have evolved into something much bigger. Since 2014, Zuckerberg has been assembling a large property on the island of Kauai called Ko’olau Ranch, where he now raises his own cattle rather than just the occasional goat or chicken.

Part of the operation involves feeding the cows roasted macadamia nuts to help them put on weight quickly, along with homebrewed beer that Zuckerberg says helps stimulate their appetite, with the animals reportedly given the choice between the beer and plain water.

He’s described the resulting beef as some of the highest quality he’s had, and his two older daughters have gotten involved too, helping him plant trees and care for the animals on the property.

Why He Keeps Coming Back to It

For Zuckerberg, the appeal seems to go beyond just food itself. He’s talked about needing a mix of serious, high-stakes work and lower-stakes personal projects to avoid burning out, and raising his own animals appears to fall firmly into that second category, something meaningful to him even if it doesn’t move the needle on his company.

It’s an unusual thread to run through a family’s relationship with food, but it’s a consistent one.

From a self-imposed challenge in 2011 to a working cattle ranch his daughters now help tend, Zuckerberg’s approach to meat has stayed rooted in the same basic idea: knowing exactly where a meal came from before it ever reaches the table.