#new Fast Fact: A Scientist suggested using bioengineered Ticks to make people allergic to meat and ‘save the planet’ while Bill Gates is funding a company that is genetically modifying ticks – now many are connecting the two
Gates has pushed hard for slashing meat eating in wealthy nations by switching to fake “synthetic beef,” while a separate bioethicist floated engineering human meat intolerance as a climate fix.
However, experts say claims tying this directly to Gates releasing genetically modified ticks are unproven conspiracy theories, even though real alpha-gal cases from lone star tick bites have exploded in the U.S.
- Matthew Liao, a New York University bioethicistis the one who made the comments:
“People eat too much meat. And if they would cut down on their consumption of meat… it would actually really help the planet.”
“But people are not willing to give up meat…they have a weakness of will… So here’s a thought… So possibly we can use human engineering to make it the case that we’re intolerant to certain kinds of meat, to certain kinds of bovine proteins.”
“And there’s actually analogues of this in life. There’s this thing called the lone star tick, where if it bites you, you will become allergic to meat… So that’s something we can do through human engineering.”
This idea appeared in academic circles around 2012 and was talked about publicly in 2016.
Then in 2021, Gates said rich countries should move to 100% synthetic beef to cut methane emissions from cattle.
“I do think all rich countries should move to 100% synthetic beef. You can get used to the taste difference… Eventually, that green premium is modest enough that you can sort of change the behavior of people or use regulation to totally shift the demand.”
He has invested in companies like Impossible Foods, Beyond Meat, and Upside Foods, but he said poor countries can keep traditional livestock.
450,000 Americans have ‘Alpha-Gal Syndrome’ caused by tick bites
Background on Gates tick funding:
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has provided multiple grants to support research on genetically engineering cattle ticks (specifically the Asian blue tick) to control populations that harm livestock.
The claim is that cattle ticks, specifically the Asian blue tick, can cause alpha-gal syndrome (AGS) in humans if they bite.
However, AGS is primarily associated with bites from the lone star tick in the U.S. and certain other tick species.
While Asian blue tick’s primarily feed on cattle, there is evidence that they can cause AGS in humans if bit, but no definitive studies have been published connecting the two.
In 2021, The Gates Foundation awarded $1.283 million to a UK-based biotech firm, for a 14-month study to adapt Oxitec’s “Friendly” genetic technology— used on mosquitoes and crop pests—for the Asian blue tick.
In 2023 an additional $4.8 million grant was given to Oxitec to advance development.
The Gates Foundation has also funded a 2015 meeting on cattle tick vaccines and over $17 million in grants to Clinglobal for tick-borne disease research in Africa.
