Iowa GOP Congresswoman: Bill Gates’ Push to Eliminate Beef Would ‘Utterly Destroy’ U.S. Livestock Industry

Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) said Monday that Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates’ mission to have “rich countries, such as the United States and western Europe, eat 100 percent synthetic beef would “utterly destroy” the American livestock industry and hurt the economy.

“Bill Gates just proposed that the US move to 100% synthetic beef! That move would utterly destroy the American livestock industry and hurt our economy,” Hinson, a freshman congresswoman, wrote on Monday.

The Iowa congresswoman urged readers to sign her petition on handsoffourbeef.com.

Hinson’s petition follows billionaire Gates saying in a recent interview with the MIT Technology Review that having developed nations move to synthetic beef would reduce carbon emissions from livestock.

Gates explained:

For Africa and other poor countries, we’ll have to use animal genetics to dramatically raise the amount of beef per emissions for them. Weirdly, the US livestock, because they’re so productive, the emissions per pound of beef are dramatically less than emissions per pound in Africa. And as part of the [Bill and Melinda Gates] Foundation’s work, we’re taking the benefit of the African livestock, which means they can survive in heat, and crossing in the monstrous productivity both on the meat side and the milk side of the elite US beef lines.

So no, I don’t think the poorest 80 countries will be eating synthetic meat. I do think all rich countries should move to 100% synthetic beef. You can get used to the taste difference, and the claim is they’re going to make it taste even better over time. Eventually, that green premium is modest enough that you can sort of change the [behavior of] people or use regulation to totally shift the demand.

So for meat in the middle-income-and-above countries, I do think it’s possible. But it’s one of those ones where, wow, you have to track it every year and see, and the politics [are challenging]. There are all these bills that say it’s got to be called, basically, lab garbage to be sold. They don’t want us to use the beef label. [Emphasis added.]

Hinson added, “Sign our petition and stand against this radical policy to tell Democrats HANDS OFF OUR BEEF!”