The Claim: Bill Gates Launched “Maggot Milk”
A July 8 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows an illustration of Bill Gates holding a large insect in a jar.
“Bill Gates launches ‘maggot milk’ to replace dairy products,” the message reads.
The post’s caption reads: “Gates announced a new food-like liquid product called ‘EntoMilk’ that he claims can replace animal milk. EntoMilk, by the way, is made from crushed maggots.”
The post was shared more than 100 times in a week. Other versions of the claim were shared on Facebook, Instagram and X, formerly Twitter.
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Our rating: False
The co-founder of the company that developed the milk alternative told Reuters that neither Bill Gates nor the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had any connection to the product. The company is not among the Gates Foundation’s publicly traded investment companies.
South African start-up launches EntoMilk
The caption of the Facebook post includes a link to an article that links Gates to the product without providing any evidence to support the claim. Instead, the article includes a video from 60 Second Docs, in which Leah Bessa, one of the creators of EntoMilk, describes her creation.
Bessa co-founded Cape Town-based startup Gourmet Grubb in 2017 and developed EntoMilk as a sustainable alternative to milk by blending black soldier fly larvae, according to a 2019 CNN report.
Fact Check:No, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation does not provide 88% of WHO funding
Bessa told Reuters that neither Gates nor the Gates Foundation were involved in the company. She did not respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY. The Gates Foundation declined to comment on the record. It does not include EntoMilk or Gourmet Grubb in its investment portfolio.
Gourmet Grubb has not been active on social networks EntoMilk’s now-defunct website mentions Bill Gates’ investment in “insect-based startups,” but claims no affiliation with him. Instead, the website lists the company’s partnerships with the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and the Technology Innovation Agency.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Lead Stories and Check Your Fact also denied this claim.
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