Online content falsely claiming vaccines can be distributed through the food supply has circulated for years and a new series of posts repeated claims that mRNA vaccines are being given to shrimp to alter human DNA upon consumption. However, these vaccines are unavailable for use in shrimp, and mRNA vaccines, which do not interact with human genes, cannot be absorbed through food consumption.
"mRNA is now officially in pork and shrimp to alter your DNA and get you 'vaccinated'. Zero labels," a June 14, 2026 Facebook post claims.
Keyword searches trace the claim to nutritionist and Saskatchewan farm executive John Graff who spoke in 2024 during a virtual conference hosted by Vaccine Choice Canada -- an advocacy group that spearheaded legal action against the Canadian government's coronavirus response (archived here).
During the presentation, Graff made numerous unsupported claims about mRNA vaccines being distributed through food and limiting the human body's ability to fight cancer.
Claims about shrimp and vaccines resurfaced in widely shared Instagram, Threads and X posts in 2026.
Graff told AFP on July 2 that he stood by his claims in the video. He referenced a researcher who published a paper claiming mRNA vaccines cause cancer, which the journal retracted (archived here). He also cited and testimonies from the National Citizen's Inquiry (NCI), an organization unaffiliated with the government that examined Canada's Covid-19 response. AFP previously fact-checked claims...
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