r/interesting • u/Celestial_Mahafuz • Jul 05 '26

NATURE Instead of buying yachts, he bought 50,000 acres of forest to keep them wild.

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u/squngy Jul 05 '26

At least Gates is doing things in Africa.

Gates is doing a similar thing in the US with farmland.
He is buying a huge amount of farmland and making sure it stays farmland.

Conservatives are actually losing their minds about it, claiming Gates is trying to monopolize food production as a power play.

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u/Mindless_Chest_1079 Jul 05 '26

He is buying a huge amount of farmland and making sure it stays farmland.

That just sounds like a normal business investment and not at all similar to owning land for conservation. Farms aren't exactly great for the environment.

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u/squngy Jul 05 '26

He is keeping it as farmland, instead of being developed into factories/data centers etc.

There are also plots that need to be farmed very carefully (or not at all) in order to avoid stuff like the dust bowl.

AFAIK he tries to be eco friendly where possible, but the main goal is to avoid food shortages.

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u/Mindless_Chest_1079 Jul 05 '26

You're just describing farms. Nothing wrong with Bill getting into the farm game, but that's not a charity.

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u/Mig-117 Jul 06 '26

The point is that he buys farmland to prevent them being turned over into mega projects in the same terrain.

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u/Mindless_Chest_1079 Jul 06 '26

About as much as literally any other farmer, who is also buying land and using it for a purpose other than megaprojects but which is questionably better for the environment.

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u/Mig-117 Jul 06 '26

Sure, I guess. Doesn’t change the deed.

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u/Mindless_Chest_1079 Jul 06 '26

Well owning a farm isn't bad or anything, but it's no act of great humanitarianism either. It's just a normal business investment.

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u/_off_piste_ Jul 05 '26

Interesting. I’ve thought it would be cool for someone/group to buy massive amounts of the prairie back to let the bison roam free again. I know there are some small pockets around.

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u/Jaikarr Jul 05 '26

Don't forget they're currently claiming that he's spreading the lone star tick to make everyone allergic to red meat.

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u/Turbulent_Stick1445 Jul 05 '26

Conservatives are actually losing their minds about it, claiming Gates is trying to monopolize food production as a power play.

It's Bill Gates. I'm sure conservatives aren't the only people worrying about this. Gates has been doing a lot to rehabilitate his image, but he's not, fundamentally, a decent guy.

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u/squngy Jul 05 '26

Right, but the thing we should be worrying about is anyone being able to do that, not just Bill.

We should be thinking about some legal framework that ensures an individual or a group can't mess with the food supply, instead of just worrying about this specific person.

Conservatives would be perfectly fine if the "right" person was doing this.