Actor
Leonardo
DiCaprio
has
joined
the
advisory
board
of
Ecuadorian
beverage
company
Runa
after
making
an
investment
in
the
firm.
DiCaprio
joins
World
Wildlife
Fund
President
Yolanda
Kakabadse
and
former
US
Secretary
of
Agriculture
and
Executive
Director
of
UNICEF
Ann
Veneman
on
the
company's
advisory
board,
reports
variety.com.
He
participated
in
an
investment
round,
which
included
Marlon
Wayans,
Adam
Rodriguez
("CSI
Miami")
and
professional
tennis
players
John
Isner
and
Steve
Johnson.
Actor
Channing
Tatum
was
an
early
investor.
Runa
products
are
made
from
guayusa
caffeinated
tea
leaf
from
the
Ecuadorian
Amazon,
which
is
sustainably
produced
in
the
rainforest
by
3,000
indigenous
farming
families.
"I
am
so
proud
to
join
with
Runa
in
supporting
the
indigenous
people
of
the
Amazon," DiCaprio
said.
"The
future
of
these
communities,
and
many
like
them
across
the
world,
are
at
risk
as
their
native
lands
are
exploited
for
natural
resource
and
agricultural
development.
Sustainable
farming
practices
are
key
to
helping
ensure
a
brighter
future
for
so
many
local
people," he
added.
DiCaprio
has
committed
to
donating
his
shares
to
indigenous
community
groups
in
the
Amazon.
"We
must
all
do
everything
we
can
to
help
indigenous
and
local
people
who
too
often
suffer
the
worst
environmental
degradation,
and
are
most
at
risk
from
climate
change,"
said
"The
Revenant"
star.
"Empowering
them
to
stand
up
and
fight
back
against
the
outside
interests
that
threaten
their
survival
is
a
cause
that
must
be
championed,"
he
added.
He
won
the
best
actor
Oscar
for
"The
Revenant"
earlier
in
February
and
spoke
out
in
his
acceptance
speech
about
climate
change,
calling
it
"the
most
urgent
threat
facing
our
entire
species."
DiCaprio
is
a
longtime
supporter
of
environmental
organisations
and
has
sat
on
the
boards
of
the
World
Wildlife
Fund,
Global
Green
USA,
International
Fund
for
Animal
Welfare
and
the
Natural
Resources
Defense
Council.
Source:
IANS
English