We came across a recent post on X claiming that the Gates Foundation is investing tens of millions of dollars into projects aimed at genetically modifying livestock. The post references a 2023 article from Natural News, a website known for promoting conspiracy theories and misinformation, particularly around health, science, and technology. The article alleges that the Gates Foundation is backing multiple projects to destroy the “global livestock supply with chemicals so it is no longer edible for the common man.”
The claim echoes broader, unverified narratives that have recently surfaced in local discourse around Bill Gates. Gates, an American businessman best known as the co-founder of Microsoft, is also recognised for his philanthropic work through the Gates Foundation—one of the world’s largest private charitable organisations, focused on global health, development, and education.
On 5 May 2025, Gates met with Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and announced that the Gates Foundation will be establishing an office in Singapore. This high-profile visit has sparked renewed public interest in his activities, along with a wave of commentary, some of which includes speculation or misinformation.
Given the boldness of the claim and the heightened attention on Gates’ presence in Singapore, we decided to take a closer look to assess the validity of Gates’ alleged efforts to influence, or perhaps modify, the world food supply.
The claims against Gates
The core allegations made against Bill Gates in the article are that he is attempting to control the food supply to the world’s poor by channelling millions of dollars into projects that genetically modify livestock, and by promoting the use of vaccines in animals to alter their genetics—ultimately making the food supply “toxic” and unfit for human consumption.
Is Bill Gates supporting a scheme that is trying to genetically modify livestock?
The article speculates that the Gates Foundation is trying to disenfranchise the world’s poor by controlling their food supply, pointing to its collaboration with an initiative known as UK Aid.
UK Aid is an office under the United Kingdom’s (UK) Department for International Development, aimed at funding initiatives to uplift the global poor. UK Aid and the Gates Foundation announced an agreement in 2019 to explore technology that could produce “super crops” through genetic modification, so that they could be more resilient to the effects of climate change.
While this research involves genetic modification, it focuses on increasing food production and resilience, not restricting access to food or rendering it toxic. The article’s claim that this partnership is evidence of an attempt to “control” or destroy the food supply is misleading and unsupported by evidence.
Notably, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government recently announced a reduction in international development spending from 0.5% to 0.3% of national income. Bill Gates has previously criticisedsimilar cuts, arguing that the government was not doing enough to support the global poor— an unlikely stance for someone allegedly working to limit their access to food.
Is Bill Gates trying to vaccinate animals to give them better genetics?
The article further asserts that Bill Gates aims to inject livestock with an increasing number of vaccines in order to give them “better genetics,” suggesting a hidden agenda to make the food supply toxic or unsafe.
However, this claim misrepresents Gates’ actual statements. In a 2018 interview, Gates discussed the Gates Foundation’s partnership with the UK Department for International Development (DFID)—an agency that has since been replaced by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. He described initiatives aimed at improving livestock survival rates in developing countries through the use of vaccines and better genetics, with the goal of boosting agricultural productivity and nutrition.
The term “better genetics” in this context refers to breeding approaches, such as identifying animals that naturally thrive in specific environments and selectively breeding them to strengthen livestock populations. It does not involve using vaccines to alter an animal’s genetic makeup, and Gates did not suggest that vaccines are being used to change genetics.
In addition, the Gates Foundation has invested millions of dollars in programs like the Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines (GALVmed), which works to develop and distribute affordable vaccines and treatments for livestock diseases in low-income regions. These efforts are intended to improve food security, not to compromise the safety of meat, eggs, or dairy.
There is no credible evidence to support the claim that these initiatives are designed to make the food supply toxic or harmful for human consumption.
Therefore, the claims that the Gates Foundation is attempting to control the food supply to the world’s poor by channelling millions of dollars into projects that genetically modify livestock, and by promoting the use of vaccines in animals to alter their genetics, are false. These allegations misrepresent the Foundation’s publicly available initiatives, which are focused on improving food security and livestock health in low-income regions through established scientific practices like selective breeding and disease prevention.
With heightened public attention on Bill Gates—especially following his recent visit to Singapore and the announcement of a new Gates Foundation office here—it is important to approach viral claims and sensational headlines with healthy scepticism. False claims often spread quickly, especially when they involve high-profile figures and complex topics like food systems, biotechnology, or global development. Being more critical of the information we encounter online helps create a more informed and responsible public conversation.
