Video: Bill Gates-Funded Picnic Facility Catches Fire in the Netherlands

Picnic is a grocery delivery company funded by Bill Gates that uses electric vehicles and promotes sustainability. In 2021, the Amsterdam-based company raised €600 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

A large Picnic facility located in Almelo, Netherlands, caught fire in the middle of the night on Monday.

The reasons for the incident remain unknown, even though some social media users linked the fire to the ongoing farmers’ protests in Holland. Some of the demonstrators, according to The Counter Signal, believe that Gates "may be partly responsible for pushing additional climate laws."

The video of the fire emerged on social media, with the flames engulfing the entire facility.

Last year, the grocery company landed a whopping €600 million investment from the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, pushing forward a goal to become "the most sustainable" grocery firm in Europe.

The sudden fire at the Picnic facility comes amid Dutch farmers protesting against environmental laws that envisage cutting gas emissions and could potentially shut down many farms. According to the protesters, the laws unfairly target farmers instead of focusing on other major industries, like transportation and aviation, that also contribute to harmful emissions.

The Dutch government, in turn, seeks to cut nitrogen and ammonia emissions by 50% by 2030. The country's prime minister, Mark Rutte, has said that protesters should express their discontent in a civilized way, condemning the recent road blockades and saying that "it's not acceptable to intimidate officials".