The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is on a mission to secure influence over every aspect of American life. Most of us are familiar with China’s push to steal our intellectual property, undercut our job market and brainwash our children on social media. But the area where China has arguably been the most aggressive has been its initiative to gain a foothold over American agriculture.
This not-so-silent takeover is partially fueled by large-scale land acquisition. Currently, the CCP owns an estimated 349,442 acres of agricultural land – which is 82% more than the year prior.
The growing Chinese takeover of American farmland is a crisis.
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Thankfully, conservative leaders in recent years have identified this dangerous trend and are starting to push back, particularly in GOP-led states. While conservative legislators and governors across the country are taking action to stop adversarial nations from buying U.S. farmland, we must recognize that there’s a much broader issue at play here – China’s end goal is not confined to land ownership.
The Chinese Communist Party has been buying up a massive number of acres of farmland, especially in the past year. FILE: A farm field and chimney rock, Scotts Bluff National Monument; Scottsbluff, Nebraska. (Hawk Buckman/Design Pics Editorial/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The CCP is deploying new tactics that extend its economic grip into American agricultural manufacturing, where Chinese companies are aiming to dominate the production of essential crop science products.
The first step to preventing America’s food supply from being further taken over by the CCP is to protect and support our American agricultural manufacturers who choose to keep their operations on U.S. soil, create American jobs and contribute to local economies. Protecting U.S. farmers and the products they need to feed America is the next step in addressing the long-term threat China poses to our food supply.
We cannot cede our food production process to the CCP – or it will give one of our top adversaries immense leverage over one of the most essential sectors of our economy. After witnessing how the CCP handled the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in one of its government labs, we know that the CCP cannot be trusted to be transparent about what is being added to our food.
There has been much excitement from conservatives about the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda, which President Donald Trump has implemented after making it a central pillar of his 2024 campaign platform. If we don’t take steps to curb China’s efforts to undermine our food supply, then we risk reversing that good work.
Protecting American manufacturers is also key to Trump’s America First agenda. And we need the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress to help him in this fight. But Trump needs leaders in the states to continue carrying out his America First agenda, too. State leaders must join the fight to stop the CCP threat and protect American agriculture.
Governors need to establish protections for American agricultural manufacturers to eliminate the CCP’s influence on our food supply and ensure we prevent good-paying American jobs from being outsourced.
New legislation in Georgia, Iowa, and Missouri is designed to do just that. The legislation, put forth to establish protections for U.S. agriculture manufacturers, is an America First policy that other states should be replicating. If this legislation protecting our farmers is not passed, we are setting up the CCP’s takeover of our food supply and are creating a serious national security threat for ourselves.
We cannot cede our food production process to the CCP – or it will give one of our top adversaries immense leverage over one of the most essential sectors of our economy.
Winning this fight, however, will not be easy. Trial lawyers in all three states are engaged in an aggressive lobbying campaign against these respective anti-CCP bills. These lawyers have managed to buy off so-called conservative state legislators in each of these states through sizable campaign contributions.
State legislators who are actively working against these bills on behalf of the trial lawyers are turning their backs on the very people they swore to protect and represent. What’s more, those who refuse to support these protections for American workers and for our food are choosing to put America last and are counteracting Trump’s tough-on-China and pro-American agenda.
We need more than just rhetoric; we need decisive and proactive steps taken by leaders in the states to stop the CCP’s encroaching and dangerous influence. Georgia, Iowa and Missouri are leading the charge with legislation to protect American farmers and the U.S. food supply – they deserve our complete support.