Africa Needs GM Seeds & Chickens To Fight “Climate Change” Says Bill Gates

Fact checked by The People's Voice Community
Bill Gates

Bill Gates believes that Africa needs genetically modified (GM) seeds and chickens to fight “climate change” and put an end to hunger.

In remarks made during the Africa Climate Summit in September this year, Gates said “I started work on climate over two decades ago after I left my full-time work at Microsoft. I was focusing on fighting poverty and diseases. When I visited Africa, I saw two things – first, was how climate is already affecting agricultural output.”

InfoWars reports: He noted how the continent is dependent on farming and, given Africa’s location near the equator, said the continent is “already experiencing more [climate change] damages than other countries.”

Gates then went on to describe his visit to a farm in eastern Kenya and a conversation he claimed to have with a farmer named “Mary” about how the new GMO seeds and new approaches were helping her.

“She had drought-tolerant seeds that made a very big difference. She also had chickens that were bred so that they could be more heat tolerant. And because of those new tools that were empowering her, she was expecting to do well despite the tough climate challenge that she faced.”

“This is just one example but by helping with better tools – allowing farmers like her who are very innovative to do new things – we can minimize these damages.”

In an article published in News Addicts, author Hunter Fielding pointed out that Kenyan farmer “Mary” was not featured in the footage that Gates provided and had shown in the climate summit. There were no details provided about the nature of the conversation or any evidence that the conversation took place at all, or whether “Mary” even existed.

Fielding cited a 2021 article published by Scientific American titled “Bill Gates should stop telling Africans what kind of agriculture Africans need.” It described why the Alliance for Food for Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) – the largest social movement in the continent – was at odds with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and the Cornell Alliance for Science for their “insistence that GM seeds were healthy, productive and environmentally friendly.”

Fielding also cited AFSA’s 2022 “Open letter” to Gates, challenging a number of inaccurate claims on the global state of agriculture and food security that were featured in the New York Times and in the Associated Press. “In both articles, you radically simplify complex issues in ways that justify your own approach and interventions,” he said.

“We, 50 organizations focused on food sovereignty and justice worldwide, want you to know there is no shortage of practical solutions and innovations by African farmers and organizations. We invite you to step back and learn from those on the ground.”

“Magic” seeds and heat-tolerant chickens

The BMGF has funded corn crop researchers in Africa for more than a decade and in its sixth annual 2022 Goalkeepers report touted the promise of what Bill Gates calls “magic” seeds to help alleviate world hunger.

The seeds aren’t “magic” but genetically modified organisms (GMOs), particularly the sequencing genomes of particular seeds that play a very big role in farming in Africa – to tackle climate change and a key to ending hunger in Africa.

Very thorough safety procedures are followed in changing the genes of particular plants to make seeds that are pest-resistant, drought-resistant and flood-resistant as the rains come at different times.

Gates said the technology “reduces the amount of pesticides needed, raises productivity and can help with malnutrition with vitamin fortification.” And, for Africa, “this is going to make a huge difference as they face climate change.”

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal’s Rebecca Blumstein, Gates said the foundation is quite focused on smallholder farmers because they are the “linchpin to the continent’s economic success.”

Niamh Harris
About Niamh Harris 14899 Articles
I am an alternative health practitioner interested in helping others reach their maximum potential.