Do People In Utah Want Vaccines In Their Salad?

Vaccinated Lettuce 

There was much eye rolling when a politician mentioned lettuce that had the vaccine in it that could be sold in grocery stores. It sounded like one of those outlandish stories to get people upset and maybe garner some votes. That is until you search for it on the internet. 

Turns out they biotechnicians have been working on plants and vaccines as far back as 2021. This is an article from the University of California. 

The project’s goals, made possible by a $500,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, are threefold: showing that DNA containing the mRNA vaccines can be successfully delivered into the part of plant cells where it will replicate, demonstrating the plants can produce enough mRNA to rival a traditional shot, and finally, determining the right dosage. 

Edible Vaccines

They talk about the benefits of delivering vaccines without a shot. I hate shots, so this seems like a good idea. However, I am not excited about anything being added to my vegetables that I am not aware of.

It would also be much cheaper to make. In this article from Pub Med they talk about the different fruits and vegetables they have looked at. 

Foods under such application include potato, banana, lettuce, corn, soybean, rice, and legumes. 

What Does Utah Think?

Is this a wonderful break through or does this make you nervous that normal produce could contain a vaccine? I assume there are rules to keep these from showing up in the produce aisle at Walmart unawares. 

This has to be bad for parents whose kids won’t eat vegetables. The child now has even more reasons for turning up their nose at their plate of green beans.