Bill Gates Is Funding Super Cow Project, PETA’s Going To Love Him

As one of the foremost philanthropists and humanitarians in the world, billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates has given people a lot of reasons to admire him. However, his past and present contributions might not spare him from the wrath of the animal rights group PETA. It was recently revealed that Gates is funding a project that would essentially produce a super cow, which would then be a source of food.

The research is currently based in Edinburgh, the BBC reports, where agricultural scientists are trying to conduct genetic engineering to change how cows produce milk and such. Eventually, Gates hopes that the project’s success could mean a solution for other farmers all across the world.

"There is great, world-class understanding here of both animal diseases and how we can treat it, and how we enhance the genetics so that you can get, say the same type of milk or egg productivity that we have in the UK," Gates told the publication.

"Getting anywhere close to that in Africa would be very transforming."

The billionaire also spoke with The Times and said that the super cows that could potentially be the results of this project would have enormous implications for poorer countries. Cows that are capable of producing significantly larger amounts of milk while also having the same rate of survival in hotter climates could feed villages for a long time.

On the other hand, some experts see this move as rather shortsighted. The global meat industry is known for being a huge contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. By providing the funding to an initiative that would only prolong this condition, Gates is directly contributing to climate change.

Curbing greenhouse emissions is a goal that many climate scientists have been advocating for. Aside from moving to renewable energy, drastically reducing the meat industry might also prove necessary.