Scientists Are Attempting to Grow Covid Vaccine-Filled Spinach, Lettuce, Edible Plants To Replace Covid Injections
Millions of people who have refused to get an experimental mRNA vaccine may soon be forced to consume the gene therapy in their food.
Researchers at the University of California were awarded a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation developing technology that infuses experimental mRNA Covid-19 vaccines into spinach, lettuce and other edible plants.
The potential for splicing COVID-19 vaccines into food was echoed by former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn during a recent appearance on a podcast called "Thrivetime Show: Business School Without the B.S." In a viral clip shared to Twitter on Sept. 22, Flynn says he read an article where "they're talking about putting the (COVID-19) vaccine into salad dressings or salad."
As far-fetched as vaccine-infused spinach and lettuce sounds, the claim is not entirely unfounded.
Researchers at UC Riverside and its collaborating universities are working on potentially turning plants into edible vaccine factories. But they're not doing it for COVID-19 specifically, and such foods won't be available in your local supermarket anytime soon.
USA TODAY reached out to Vision Times and Flynn for comment.
Turning edible plants into vaccine factories
The National Science Foundation gave a UC Riverside research group $500,000 to study genetically engineering plants with mRNA, a molecule contained in the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines that is normally used by our cells to make protein.
The effort was announced in a Sept. 16 press release.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2021/09/29/fact-check-plants-not-being-modified-only-covid-19-vaccines/5887617001/
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