How The Federal Government & Globalists Are Abusing Ranchers & The Military

Jun 19, 2024

As if the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Interior haven’t lined up to attack the American rancher enough, now comes the behemoth US Department of Defense (DOD) putting its spendthrift thumb on the scale to help billionaire entrepreneurs further muck up the waters of the cattle ranching industry.

A recent article by Rachel Spencer Gabel in Tristate Livestock News reports that eyebrows are being raised at the news that the US defense appropriations bill is slated to allocate up to $500 million in grant funding for the development of lab-grown meat products by the manufacturing firm BioMADE. This decision has sparked a contentious debate, with some questioning the need for such funding, the need for such a product, and other concerns about the effects on the environment, food safety, and the meat industry.

US Representative Don Bacon (R-NE) submitted an amendment to the Rules Committee on the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs & Related Agencies Appropriations Bill for 2025, which outlines the Department of Defense (DOD) funding. The amendment aimed to prohibit the use of DOD funds for developing or researching cell-cultured or cultivated protein, often referred to as "lab meat," for military rations. Bacon's amendment was rejected along with over 1,000 other amendments.

Despite the setback, Sigrid Johannes, senior director of Government Affairs with the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), said there would be continued attempts to block the funding.

Artificial Food Over Traditionally Grown Food

Only two companies in the United States have been approved to manufacture cultured products, making the price artificially high. Additionally, these products have not yet been approved for retail sale, raising questions about their safety and suitability for human consumption.

Johannes said:

"These products are not yet approved for grocery store shelves, yet we have DOD putting money into developing these products for military rations…I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say they're using our servicemen and women as test subjects for a product that still has a lot of nutritional questions hanging over it, plenty of environmental and safety questions hanging over it, and bottom line, just isn't needed."

Cell-cultured products are neither vegetarian nor vegan, leaving few consumer groups demanding the products. So, an overarching question is this: why are these products making their way to the marketplace without a clear consumer demand?

Johannes questions the need for a product so heavily processed and unproven, given the ability of US ranchers to supply the military with real protein. "America's farmers and ranchers do a good job of feeding the world already, and I'm a little bit confused why DOD is feeling the urgency to provide this kind of cell-cultured, lab-grown, ultra-processed product to our military," she said.

The two companies approved to manufacture cell-cultured protein are currently concentrating on a chicken nugget-like product that will likely be years from being available to the consumer.

Who Is Behind The Push

The "lab-grown meat" initiative, also known as cultured meat or in vitro meat, is a concept that involves growing animal cells in a controlled environment to produce meat without the need for raising and slaughtering animals. This initiative is backed by various stakeholders, including scientists, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and environmentalists.

Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft and a prominent philanthropist, has been a vocal supporter and investor in the "lab-grown meat" initiative. He has invested in several companies working on developing and producing cultured meat, such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. Gates has also used his platform to promote the benefits of lab-grown meat, highlighting its potential to address issues related to climate change, food security, and animal welfare. His involvement in the initiative stems from his broader commitment to addressing global challenges through technological innovation and sustainable solutions.

Along with Gates, several other elitist, profiteering billionaires have shown interest in and invested in the "lab-grown meat" initiative. Some of these individuals include:

Richard Branson: The British entrepreneur and founder of the Virgin Group who has invested in lab-grown meat startups, such as Memphis Meats and Mosa Meat.
Leonardo DiCaprio: The woke Hollywood actor and environmental activist who has invested in companies like Aleph Farms and Mosa Meat, both of which are working on developing cultured meat.
Sergey Brin: The globalist co-founder of Google who has personally funded the development of the world's first lab-grown burger, unveiled in 2013.
Peter Thiel: The co-founder of PayPal and Palantir Technologies, who has invested in lab-grown meat companies, such as Memphis Meats and BlueNalu, which focuses on producing cultured seafood.

A Correlation Between Lab-Grown
Meat & The Farmland Land Grab?

Not inconsequently, several other billionaires who have expressed interest in the lab-grown meat initiative have been acquiring significant amounts of US farmland.

In addition to Gates, who is the largest private owner of farmland in the United States, with over 242,000 acres of land across 18 states, according to a 2021 report by The Land Report, Ted Turner, the founder of CNN, owns through associated entities, approximately 2 million acres of land in the US, and Jeff Bezos, founder and former CEO of Amazon has purchased large tracts of land, including a 30,000-acre ranch in Texas and a 420-acre estate in Washington state.

Both Ted Turner and Jeff Bezos have expressed concern about the impact of human population growth on the environment and resources.

Turner, for example, has been involved in various environmental and conservation efforts, including the founding of the Turner Foundation, which focuses on promoting sustainable development and protecting ecosystems. He has previously commented on the need to stabilize the global population in addressing environmental challenges.

Similarly, Bezos has expressed concern about the impact of human population growth on the environment and has supported initiatives to address climate change and promote sustainability.

On the other hand, Bill Gates is not so obtuse about his support of population control. Gates has expressed concern about global population growth and its potential impact on the environment, resources, and living standards. He believes that unchecked population growth can exacerbate issues such as climate change, food and water scarcity, and inequality.

Further, Gates has focused on supporting initiatives that promote access to “family planning,” particularly in developing countries, arguing that empowering women and providing them with access to said family planning resources can lead to voluntary reductions in fertility rates, ultimately “stabilizing” global population growth.

And The Federal Government Is Complicit

If the targeting of ranchers by the globalist billionaire class wasn’t enough to kill off the industry – thus creating the profit motive for creating lab-grown meat, the policies of the US federal government under Joe Biden and Barack Obama have had serious negative impacts on American ranchers.

Both administrations implemented and enforced wholly unnecessary stricter environmental regulations, which made it more difficult for ranchers to obtain permits, access grazing lands, and use water resources.

Further, the eco-zealotry of the federal government's land management policies, such as the designation of national monuments and wilderness areas, have limited the amount of land available for grazing and other ranching activities. These policies, such as the Clean Power Plan and the Paris Agreement, aimed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (remember, CO2 is necessary for plant life to grow, including crops). These policies directly affected ranchers by increasing the cost of energy and fuel, which are essential for their operations.

Additionally, the Obama administration negotiated the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which negatively affected American ranchers by increasing competition from foreign producers. Although the US later withdrew from the TPP under the Trump administration, similar trade policies re-established under the Biden administration still impact ranchers today and, without a reversal, in the future.

Bill Bullard, CEO of the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund, United Stockgrowers of America, wrote in an op-ed regarding accurate labeling of imported meat products:

“We must take care of America first…until we the people stand up for ourselves, we will continue to see unelected officials – who are not accountable to the citizens of the United States, but rather to whichever Administration is in place – continue to erode our constitutional rights and privileges. It is time to reverse this disastrous course. No longer should the interests of foreign governments usurp our nation's sovereign right to maintain a safe and secure food production system. Domestic food production not only is a matter of food safety, it is a matter of national security.”

The same can be said regarding the cultivation of the lab-grown meat industry and the hostile takeover of US farmland and ranch land by nefarious acting billionaires who seek to profiteer through the production of artificial food products. That our federal government is in bed with this effort is nothing short of a crime…and one being perpetrated using our taxpayer dollars.