DISINFO: British government funds propaganda to force people into eating insects
SUMMARY
A research centre supported by the British government is investigating how to persuade the population to eat insects using nudging techniques (psychological propaganda).
The National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC), which is co-funded by the government organisation UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), is trying to persuade the public to eat ‘meat alternatives’, writes Modernity magazine. This is being done under the pretext of reducing carbon emissions as part of the UK's ‘Net Zero’ agenda.
RESPONSE
The claim is demonstrably false. The British government granted £15 million to the UK's National Alternative Protein Innovation Center (NAPIC) to bolster the alternative proteins sector in the country, such as plant-based proteins, lab-grown meats and protein-rich algae. While insects are mentioned, there is nothing mandatory in these projects. Their goal is to boost innovation in low-emission food production systems, expanding consumer options in a more environmentally friendly way.
This disinformation story aims to promote a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about secret elites ruling the destiny of the masses. The ultimate goal of these messages is to undermine democratic institutions.
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives, such as claims that global elites depopulate the planet through epidemics, Satanism and LGBT rights, that the World Economic Forum’s goal is to create a global medical dictatorship, that globalists aim to radically reduce the world population to only half a million people, or that for centuries, the “golden billion” parasitized at the expense of other countries.