Bill Gates wields powerful influence over global food and agriculture policy through his funding of a large number of organizations involved in agricultural development and policy making.
Eleven of just 12 people urging the UN to retain Agnes Kalibata, the president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), as its special envoy to the 2021 United Nations Food Systems Summit, were funded by Gates.
This is in stark contrast to those who opposed Kalibata: 176 civil society organizations and farmer groups, plus 500 additional signatories, called for withdrawal of her appointment due to her clear conflicts of interest with corporate actors.
Gates’ massive investments in global food production have failed to solve any real problems. The solutions he backs are “Band-Aid solutions” that only deepen the root problems.
Examples include the funding of the development of GMOs. These crops end up replacing local diversity with just a few GE varieties that don’t take local conditions into account. By pushing GE crops, malnutrition actually deepens, as biodiversity is reduced.
Gates is a perfect example of a philanthrocapitalist. He has “donated” tens of billions of dollars over the years, yet his net worth hasn’t dropped — it has doubled, and this is largely because his donations are treated as tax deductible investments.
