Bill Gates is once again meddling with the food supply—this time with a technology so extreme it could permanently alter nature itself.
His latest project, backed by $50 million in secretive funding, uses viral RNA to reprogram the DNA of staple crops like beans, corn, and tomatoes so they produce toxins inside their own cells—turning food into a weapon against insects, animals, and anyone who eats it.
And shockingly, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already rubber-stamped the experimental technology. No independent safety trials. No transparency. No labels. Just a quiet approval, clearing the way for these toxic “RNA crops” to enter farms, markets, and dinner plates across America.
Tarana Biosciences, which received $50 million in backing from Gates and Flagship Pioneering (the same firm that incubated Moderna), says it can design plants with “whatever feature they want.” The flagship goal: crops that produce their own internal pesticides, making every bite inseparable from the toxic compound it was engineered to create.
This goes far beyond traditional GMOs. Instead of altering DNA directly, Tarana uses RNA from viruses as a kind of genetic Trojan horse, delivering instructions that replicate inside the plant and switch genes on or off. Once sprayed or programmed into seeds, the modification spreads through the plant’s biology, making it self-defending—and permanently altered.
In 2023, the EPA approved the first-ever RNA-based foliar insecticide, Ledprona (Calantha), for use against the Colorado potato beetle. Developed by GreenLight Biosciences, it was fast-tracked with just a three-year review period—an unusually short window for a completely new class of agricultural biotech.
The EPA then declared these engineered RNA molecules to be “naturally occurring compounds,” neatly side-stepping GMO labeling requirements. In other words, consumers will have no idea when they’re buying food that has been biologically reprogrammed at the molecular level.
Scientists Raise the Alarm
Proponents tout RNAi technology as precise and biodegradable. But critics—including physicians and food safety advocates—warn there are no long-term human safety studies, and no clear understanding of how these viral RNA fragments may interact with human cells, gut microbiota, or vulnerable populations like children.
Environmental groups point out that the EPA withheld critical data, such as the length of the dsRNA molecules being used—information necessary to evaluate potential off-target effects on pollinators or other species.
Why It Matters
- These foods will not be labeled as GMO—robbing consumers of choice.
- They involve synthetic viral RNA, not traditional breeding.
- Plants themselves will manufacture pesticide compounds in their cells.
- The EPA has rubber-stamped the technology as “natural.”
As Florida lawmakers push to ban mRNA-like food technologies, the broader question remains: should private billionaires and fast-moving regulators be allowed to reprogram the food supply behind closed doors?
If Gates and the EPA succeed, the next time you sit down to dinner, you won’t just be eating food—you may be consuming the pesticide factory itself.