Google is seeking federal approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to release 32 million “good” mosquitoes across California and Florida.
The public health program, titled “Debug Project,” was created by Google’s parent company Alphabet a decade ago. It plans to release male mosquitoes carrying Wolbachia into the two states to mate with wild females without producing offspring, hindering the spread of the numerous deadly diseases the insect can carry and transmit to humans.
Wolbachia is a parasitic bacterium that disrupts reproduction: males carrying it mate with wild females, leaving them unable to produce viable offspring. It is completely harmless to humans as well, as it is already naturally occurring in many other insects. 
“This technique uses a naturally occurring bacteria and uses no chemicals, no toxins and doesn’t involve genetic modification,” Google stated on the <a href="https://debug.com/">website</a> dedicated to the project. “Similar approaches have been used to safely combat other pests for decades.”
The surplus of mosquitoes will not cause any more bug bites, as only females bite humans, possibly infecting them with West Nile, Zika, and yellow fever every year. The “good bugs,” as Google refers to them, would prevent the world’s deadliest disease vector from infecting millions and killing between 500,000 and 1 million individuals every year — by preventing the “bad bugs” from being born altogether.
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If passed, the Debug Project would unfold in two parts. The first year of the plan aims to release 16 million “good bugs” into Florida, with the remaining mosquitoes released in California the following year, in what is described as the Sterile Insect Technique. This avoids spraying pesticides statewide or altering the insect&#8217;s DNA, both of which have proven unsuccessful in stopping the spread of disease.
“Attacking mosquitoes with pesticides is unsustainable because they&#8217;re becoming less effective over time and can be toxic,” Google explains on the Debug Project <a href="https://debug.com/">homepage</a>. “We need a new approach.”
A decision on this project will not be made by the EPA until after the public comment period ends on June 5, 2026.

Aedes aegypti biting human skin

Tech Giant Lobbies To Unleash 32 Million Mosquitos Into America

Google

Insects

Science

Technology

Female lone star tick

The Tick That Makes People Allergic To Meat — And The Climate Cult Wants To Breed Trillions More

Disease

Food

Matt Walsh

meat

Opinion

Former President Donald Trump drew laughs and applause with an impromptu remark comparing mosquitos to &#8220;bad politicians that hate our country&#8221; during a town hall with Fox News host Sean Hannity on Wednesday.
Trump was in the middle of a sentence about President Joe Biden — and how quickly he had lost support in the polls after his disastrous debate performance in late June — when he paused to swat at what was apparently a mosquito.
<a href="https://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1724361346607000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1ZhyOQfEkxcMH_D1Ago3CQ">Tickets for “Am I Racist?” are on sale NOW! Buy here for a theater near you.</a>
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
*Mosquito flies in President Trump&#8217;s face*
President Trump: &#8220;I hate mosquitos&#8230; we want nothing to do with them — and we want nothing to do with bad politicians that hate our country, too.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/pFmHhYegem">pic.twitter.com/pFmHhYegem</a>
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1831503796868198502?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;He was down like 18 or 19 points after the debate,&#8221; Trump began waving his hand as if to swat something away. His expression changed then, and he smiled as he added, &#8220;I hate mosquitos, I&#8217;m surprised, I didn&#8217;t think we had — we don&#8217;t like those mosquitos running around. We want nothing to do with them.&#8221;
The crowd laughed and cheered, and Trump kept going: &#8220;And we want nothing to do with bad politicians that hate our country, too, if you want to know the truth.&#8221;
Trump also joked with Hannity about the fact that Fox News had offered to host a presidential debate on Wednesday — moderated by anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum — but that because Harris had refused to participate, they had opted for a town hall with Hannity instead.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Reminder that tonight was supposed to be the first presidential debate.
President Trump accepted the invitation.
Kamala Harris refused it because she is🐔 <a href="https://t.co/zFUsNL05ND">pic.twitter.com/zFUsNL05ND</a>
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/1831503676038324382?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 5, 2024</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Tonight — Fox offered a debate opportunity between you and Kamala Harris,&#8221; Hannity explained. &#8220;And I was not going to be here, but it was going to be Bret and Martha.&#8221;
<a href="http://www.amiracist.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.amiracist.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1724211156439000&amp;usg=AOvVaw2xQ8bdTcpfdrPBAzczIuck">WATCH THE TRAILER FOR ‘AM I RACIST?’ — A MATT WALSH COMEDY ON DEI</a>
&#8220;This was supposed to be a debate,&#8221; Trump agreed. &#8220;I would have preferred — I think [Hannity] is a nice guy but I would have preferred a debate.&#8221;
&#8220;Thanks a lot,&#8221; Hannity joked.
&#8220;But this is the best we could do, Sean,&#8221; Trump replied.

Donald Trump Holds Presidential Campaign Rally In Johnstown, Pennsylvania

‘I Hate Mosquitoes’: Trump Draws Laughs With Impromptu Comparison

2024 Election

Donald Trump

Elections

Politics

Sean Hannity

A statute allowing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/food" target="_blank" rel="noopener">food</a> producers to incorporate <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/insects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cricket</a> powder into flour-based products will go into effect on Tuesday in the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/european-union" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Union</a>.
The decision follows a review launched three years ago by the European Food Safety Authority regarding the use of partially defatted house cricket powder; the agency found that mass market consumption of the material is “safe under the proposed conditions” of use levels.
Cricket powder will now be permitted in a number of food products, such as multigrain bread, crackers, cereal bars, biscuits, beer-like beverages, chocolates, sauces, whey powder, soups, and other items “intended for the general population,” according to the new <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32023R0005&amp;from=EN" target="_blank" rel="noopener">regulation</a>. Cricket One, a company that <a href="https://www.cricketone.asia/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserts</a> that the insects are “nutritionally more efficient” and serve as a more reliable “source of alternative protein” than livestock, submitted the original application.
The regulation also referenced “limited published evidence on food allergy related to insects in general” and connected Acheta domesticus, the species of house cricket in question, to several “anaphylaxis events.” The European Food Safety Authority concluded that “consumption of this novel food may trigger sensitisation” to the insect’s proteins and recommended further study.
Because evidence linking cricket powder to allergic reactions is “inconclusive,” the European Commission decided that no specific labeling requirements should be included in the EU list of authorized novel foods, according to the regulation.
The New York Allergy and Sinus Centers has nevertheless <a href="https://www.nyallergy.com/cricket-allergy/#:~:text=Several%20allergic%20reactions%20to%20crickets,also%20a%20relation%20to%20cockroaches." target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> that “several allergic reactions to crickets” have been reported in the past two years. Individuals allergic to shellfish such as shrimp, crabs, and lobsters “may develop an allergy to crickets” because the species share many of the same proteins. “While crickets are considered safe and healthy to eat, for those who are allergic, they pose a serious threat,” the group said. “When ingested, crickets can cause anaphylaxis and other serious reactions.”
Proposals for the increased consumption of crickets and other insects occur as many policymakers voice concern about the impact of meat production on climate change. Amanda Little, a professor at Vanderbilt University, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vanderbilt-professor-says-bugs-including-fly-larvae-must-be-a-bigger-part-of-the-human-food-chain" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserted</a> that the acceptance of insect consumption in the EU would not “translate to bugs in your burgers and mealworms in your macaroni,” but rather allow them to become a feedstock for other protein sources.
The World Economic Forum has frequently raised the possibility of finding alternative food sources to decrease carbon emissions.
“Insects are a credible and efficient alternative protein source requiring fewer resources than conventional breeding,” said one <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/07/why-we-need-to-give-insects-the-role-they-deserve-in-our-food-systems/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> from the organization. “Studies suggest that for the same amount of protein produced, insects, mealworms in particular, require much less land than other sources of animal proteins. A study on crickets suggests they are twice as efficient in converting feed to meat as chicken.”
Another <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/02/how-insects-positively-impact-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">article</a> from the World Economic Forum claimed that the “demand for protein will exceed our ability to procure it” by 2050, even though similar claims from environmentalists have been repeatedly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bizarre-paganism-ben-shapiro-reacts-to-60-minutes-hosting-climate-alarmist-with-decades-of-failed-predictions" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disproven</a> over the past several decades.
&#8220;For our long-term survival, we&#8217;re going to need to increase our food output and decrease our carbon emissions at the same time,&#8221; the group said. &#8220;The answer requires real innovation about food production and what we think about food.&#8221;

Cricket powder insect for eating as food items made of cooked insect meat in bowl and wood spoon on white background it is good source of protein edible for future. Entomophagy concept.

European Union Approves Cricket Powder As Component Of Flour-Based Foods Despite ‘Inconclusive’ Allergy Data

European Union Approves Cricket Powder As Component Of Flour-Based Foods

Agriculture

European Union

Health

World

States in the eastern region of the United States are plagued by spotted lanternflies, which came from China and could cost the nation dearly as their infestation targets agricultural staples such as apples and grapes and spell trouble for loggers.
States already in danger include Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia. The first report of a lanternfly in the U.S. was made in Pennsylvania in 2014.
Dan Kenny of the Department of Agriculture of Ohio, <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-11208917/How-fighting-plague-lanternflies-states-spend-HUNDREDS-MILLIONS.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> that the insect “is sneaky. It moves around on products, cars and even rail cars. There is just so much opportunity for it to spread naturally or hitchhike.”
“We’ve seen it in hops, we’ve seen it in some of the grain crops that are out there, soybean and what have you,” Pennsylvania’s deputy secretary of agriculture <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/21/science/lanternflies-pennsylvania-crops.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in 2018. “It’s able to feed on many, many different things.”
“It’s not just an agriculture problem, this is truly an across-the-board commerce problem, because we are trying not to move it,” he added. “This is everyday people, this is the trucking company, the U.P.S. driver, the delivery guy.”
The flies emerge in late April until October; any surviving insects freeze to death in the winter. They feed mainly on Ailanthus, the “tree of heaven.”
The lanternfly eats over 70 types of fruits, trees and plants. A 2019 study <a href="https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/PlantIndustry/Entomology/spotted_lanternfly/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asserted</a> that the insect could cost Pennsylvania $324 million annually and over 2,800 jobs.
Maryland’s Department of Agriculture <a href="https://mda.maryland.gov/plants-pests/Pages/spotted-lantern-fly.aspx">lists</a> plants including grapes, black walnut, red maple, silver maple, eastern white pine, weeping willow, black willow, black cherry, sycamore as targets of the lanternfly. Meanwhile multiple counties in New York have reported seeing the insect, which presents a major problem, as its wine and grape industry engenders $6.65 billion annually along with 71,000 jobs.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection <a href="https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Forestry/Forest-Protection/Spotted-Lanternfly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> 47% of all forest trees in their state might be under siege from the insect.
“The speed that these things can attack a grape vineyard is pretty dramatic,” Jayson Harper, professor of agricultural economics at Penn State, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spotted-lanternfly-homeowners-extermination-cost/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">explained.</a> “The problem with grapes are they are very expensive to establish, and you think they will grow for twenty, thirty, forty years. It&#8217;s not like corn where, ‘I had a bad crop this year, but I&#8217;ll plant again next year.’”
An <a href="https://datastudio.google.com/u/0/reporting/b0bae43d-c65f-4f88-bc9a-323f3189cd35/page/QUCkC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interactive map</a> from New York State Integrated Management that was supplied by state regulatory agencies shows the affected counties across the nation.

Spotted Lanternfly in Jersey City, New Jersey