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An American news anchor claimed that Impossible Burgers could be “implanted with chips” during a televised discussion on the rise of plant-based meat.
Producer Ilona Braverman made the unsubstantiated claim on the right-wing show Newsmax. She and host Eric Bolling were taking part in a segment called “meat eaters vs. vegans.”
In a clip shared on Twitter, Bolling noted that many people “can’t tell the difference” between vegan and meat burgers.
To this, Braverman responded: “This isn’t about the taste, though. It’s about knowing that you’re eating something that was made in a lab.”
Bolling then said: “If it tastes the same and it’s healthier…”
Braverman then referenced Bill Gates, who is well-known for investing in plant-based meat brands.
“The point is that this is made in a lab. Bill Gates has decided that all of us have to eat man-made meat,” she said.
“I want to eat something that’s real, that’s the real thing that came from the Earth, from the planet that was actually intended for us to be eating. Not out of a lab that’s made of I don’t know what – made of chemicals, implanted with chips – I don’t want to eat Bill Gates’ plate of fake meat,” Braverman continued, concluding that she’d “rather eat the real thing or nothing at all.”
Bolling then pointed out that Impossible Burgers are made with soy, which does indeed “come from the Earth.”
Are vegan burgers implanted with microchips?
Braverman’s claim was completely unsubstantiated; there is no scientific evidence to back it up.
However, this isn’t the first time Gates has been accused of trying to secretly plant microchips in people. During the pandemic, a conspiracy theory claimed that the Microsoft founder was inserting microchips into vaccines.
But, like the Impossible Foods claim, there was no scientific evidence to back up this theory. It has been fact-checked and debunked repeatedly.
The rise of plant-based meat
Despite Braverman’s views, plant-based meat has seen a staggering rise in popularity in recent years. The market was valued at $5 billion in 2021, and it’s expected to grow by 19.3 percent by 2030.
As well as Impossible Foods, other major plant-based protein brands include Beyond Meat, Heura, and THIS.
In February of last year, Bill Gates said we must move to “100 percent plant-based beef” to tackle the climate crisis.
But this claim is actually backed by science. Animal agriculture is responsible for at least 14.5 percent of emissions. Among the worst culprits is beef farming. This is due to the methane that cows produce, as well as the vast amounts of land the animals require.
“I do think all rich countries should move to 100 percent 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,” Gates said in an interview with MIT.
“So for meat in the middle-income-and-above countries, I do think it’s possible. But, it’s one of those where you have to track it every year and see, and the politics [are challenging].”
