The U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass an amendment to block federal funding of vaccine research in plants. Members of Congress and others have expressed concern about research at the University of California, Riverside, that explores the production of mRNA vaccines in vegetables. Some on social media falsely claim that genetically engineered plants containing “edible vaccines” are about to enter the food supply.
Misinformation about the UCR research has circulated for over two years despite being debunked. Messaging may explain that while the eventual goal of the research is to grow certain edible vaccines in vegetables, these experiments are in very early stages and still many years from entering the market—if they ever do.
