I am not an alarmist; however, the following is concerning. Consumers need to be aware of these ongoing projects and exactly how such research is being funded. In the video below, US Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky sounds the alarm against manipulating food. What Tennessee has done with regard to edible vaccines and more details on the research being conducted follow the video. Perhaps consider taking the time to voice your opinion on the matter to your representatives.
Bill HB 1894, was passed by the Tennessee Senate in a 23-6 vote on March 28 after the state House passed it 73-22 on March 4. It awaits the governor’s signature. The bill opposing mRNA in food was passed by the Tennessee legislature and awaits the governor’s signature. The bill comes in response to a University of California-Riverside research project looking into whether mRNA which targets pathogens could be implanted into edible plants, which would then be consumed. The research was funded by a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation–your taxpayer dollars! Local media described the bill as a move targeting “vaccine lettuce,” would classify foods modified to act as vaccines, as pharmaceuticals that essentially require a prescription.
UC Riverside associate professor of Botany and Plant Sciences, Juan Pablo, said “We are testing this approach with spinach and lettuce and have long-term goals of people growing it in their own gardens,” adding “Farmers could also eventually grow entire fields of it.” Another researcher, Nicole Steinmetz, said in the same release that they planned to use nanoparticles or “plant viruses, for gene delivery to plants.” A Kentucky company has already been “infecting growing tobacco plants with a genetically modified coronavirus” to see if it can produce antibodies for a potential vaccine, adding that the company “can already do this right now.”
We each must take responsibility for ourselves in our food choices. Speaking out is also a choice!
Cane Creek Asparagus & Company CSA 