Bill Gates wants more breastmilk

In March 2021, a study on the use of human milk banks in response to COVID-19 was published in the International Breastfeeding Journal. The study argued that human milk banks, which distribute donated breastmilk, should be placed under the control of the World Health Organization (WHO), which would have authority over the banks during the pandemic “and beyond”. 

“The aim of this paper is to highlight the need for alignment with WHO guidance on infant feeding in the context of COVID-19, including the need to ensure that human milk bank services are included in the evidence-based package of services for vulnerable infants during the pandemic and beyond,” says the study. 

A year later, as the United States faces a catastrophic baby formula shortage, human milk banks are seeing an unprecedented surge in demand for breastmilk. 

According to CBS News, banks that were getting 1-2 requests a day for breastmilk are now fielding over a dozen calls a day. Requests from parents of babies who do not require intensive care have more than doubled, and milk banks nationwide are experiencing roughly a 20% uptick in demand, which is expected to keep rising. 

It remains to be seen if demand overtakes supply. But even if it does, there may be a solution. 

In 2020, just after the pandemic began, a company called BIOMILQ was founded. The startup specializes in producing environmentally friendly, artificial breast milk. Instead of being developed in a mammary gland, the milk would be produced in a lab. 

The company expects to get the product to market in three to five years, just in time to become a staple by 2030. 

The notion of creating artificial breastmilk to be friendly to the environment sounds like a dream come true for the World Economic Forum (WEF), the organization which outlined in detail the COVID-19 pandemic before it occurred. The WEF predicts that by 2030, food will be “redesigned to be healthier and less harmful to the environment.” 

It should be noted that the 2021 study which advocated for WHO control of human milk banks was sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 

“This statement was supported in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Grant Number OPP50838),” discloses the study. “The funding body had no role in the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data, or in the writing of the statement. The views and opinions set out in this article represent those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent the position of the funding body.” 

It should also be noted that the WHO itself is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is the WHO’s largest private donor and second-largest contributor, behind Germany. 

Also worthy of note is that one of BIOMILQ’s main financiers is Bill Gates, who invested $3.5 million in the company. 

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is also one of the WEF’s main partners. 

If someone were to play connect-the-dots, they might see a baby formula shortage driving people to human milk banks, which take on a vital, irreplaceable role in the lives of American families the longer the shortage continues. 

And if, at some point, demand for breastmilk outpaces supply, or the breastmilk itself is found to be contaminated with a deadly pathogen, the World Health Organization would need to step in and regulate the milk banks by managing them directly and rationing out the milk. 

Luckily, the WHO can save populations around the world with endless stores of BIOMILQ’s artificial breastmilk – great for babies and the environment. 

The WHO is happy, BIOMILQ is happy, and the World Economic Forum is happy. 

And Bill Gates is happiest of all.