A Boston startup ArkeaBio has raised eyebrows and millions of dollars in its quest to develop a vaccine that would reduce methane emissions from cows. The company recently secured $26.5 million in Series A funding led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures an investment fund founded by Bill Gates.
While some view the idea of targeting cow farts and burps as a political punchline ArkeaBio and its investors see it as a serious issue with global implications — and dumb Western governments who will pay for it with taxpayer dollars.
Bill Gates designing a vaccine against… cow farts 🤡
Climate's the hustle of the century, up there with the "food pyramid" and central banking 🥳https://t.co/bMJd0CQ86S
— Peter St Onge, Ph.D. (@profstonge) May 12, 2024
The startup believes that a vaccine could provide a relatively low-cost and scalable solution to this problem, especially as global food demand continues to grow. However, the concept has also sparked debate, with some critics questioning the ethics and necessity of such an approach.
Bill Gates Investing in Vaccines to Stop Cow Farts
“We need to change cows,” he says.
The Microsoft co-founder and billionaire is the leader behind ArkeaBio, a Boston pharmaceutical company that seeks to vaccinate cows to prevent “climate change.”
What is truly alarming is… pic.twitter.com/7uR4LzFpjT
— Vigilant News (@VigilantNews) May 13, 2024
ArkeaBio’s funding round comes amid a broader push to address the environmental impact of livestock production. In Australia researchers from Curtin University are working to breed cows that naturally produce less methane while also exploring changes to animal feed and waste management practices.
A vaccine for cow farts, but they don’t explain how they’ll stop the grass producing the exact same amount of methane as it decomposes naturally.https://t.co/FlzGy0dBhO
— Probably Albert Croissant (@albertcroissant) May 16, 2024
ArkeaBio’s vaccine are likely to generate both interest and controversy, as the vaccine will almost certainly lead to government regulations and encroachments on agriculture and food production for all producers who work with cattle, big and small. While climate extremists aim to tackle the gastrointestinal processes of U.S. cattle — at the expense of U.S. taxpayers — debate on the overall “problem” the vaccine was created to solve has been essentially silenced as “settled science.”
