Don’t Let America’s Enemies Get Control of Our Food Supply

The Chinese communist government isn’t exactly friendly to America. So why would we let them take control of our food supply?

America is an agricultural powerhouse—forty percent of the nation’s land is farmland, and these farms not only feed American citizens but people all over the world. We can’t safeguard our agricultural strength if we’re selling our farmland to our strategic rivals. 

This isn’t just hypothetical. China’s control of American farmland “increased from $81 million in 2010 to $1.8 billion in 2020,” according to the USDA, a more than twenty-fold increase, and some of this farmland sits next to “military bases and other critical U.S. infrastructure.” 

Fortunately, many lawmakers are opening their eyes to the threat. State representatives in Texas, Florida, and Arkansas have “proposed laws banning citizens of China from buying land, homes and other buildings in the United States,” and such measures may also be coming to other states. On a national level, bipartisan Congressional groups are pushing for legislation that would stop China, as well as some other American rivals, from “purchasing U.S. agriculture companies.” 

Granted, the numbers regarding Chinese land purchases aren’t telling a tale of doom just yet. Americans still own an overwhelming majority of U.S. farmlands and forests that are not public land—ninety-seven percent in total. Foreign regimes and entities own only three percent of America’s farmland, and not all of it is in the Chinese Communist Party’s (C.C.P.) hands. But if Beijing continues to accelerate its purchase of American soil at the same breakneck pace that less than three percent could balloon relatively quickly. 

Land-grabbing is part of Beijing's playbook. Chinese companies are, in one way or another, ultimately under the control of the communist regime, and they aren’t just targeting the U.S. In just one decade, Chinese companies gained control over a total amount of foreign land equivalent to the size of some small countries. 

The countries that sold their land to China are discovering that their new owners are milking their acquisitions for China’s benefit with little thought for anyone else. In Myanmar, for example, Chinese firms have extended their tendrils into the country’s important banana farming sector, and banana exports have increased astronomically from 2013-2020. It’s no surprise that “most of the produce goes to China,” because the C.C.P.'s land  purchases are strategically chosen to grow Chinese power abroad and to benefit itself. 

We also see the threat of this harmful relationship developing between the U.S. and China. In 2013, a Chinese company bought Smithfield Foods, the U.S.’s largest pork producer. And when the COVID-19 pandemic started, Smithfield “increased pork exports to China even as the United States experienced widespread meat shortages due to supply chain disruptions.” China’s increasing ownership of American land poses a growing risk to our food security.

We already notice the growth of Chinese influence over other parts of American society–Hollywood, for example. China recently became the world’s largest box office. That means, of course, that many Hollywood executives will ditch their principles for a piece of this pie–whether that means sidelining Richard Gere for his advocacy for Tibet, removing China as Red Dawn’s villain, or studiously avoiding any mention of Taiwan. (Honorable mention to Top Gun: Maverick for bucking that particular trend.) 

This toxic influence should teach Americans an important lesson: the C.C.P. only cares about the C.C.P., and it’s a very bad idea to give Chinese communists influence within our borders. It’s less like having a snake in your bosom and more like inviting a Komodo Dragon into your living room. 

What would happen if the U.S. were drawn into a conflict with China over Taiwan, given Beijing’s increasing saber-rattling against its democratic neighbor? The COVID-19 lockdowns showed the fragility of U.S. supply chains—how much worse would the situation be in a conflict between the world’s two biggest superpowers? 

This risk will only increase as time goes on. As CSIS points out, U.S. farmers are aging, and potentially sixty-six percent of farmland “will change hands over the next decade as farmers retire, meaning that more land could become available for foreign purchase.” Unless the U.S. takes action, that farmland may end up under Xi Jinping’s control.  

Americans need to pay attention to China’s interest in our farms–we can’t afford to have an opponent like the C.C.P. controlling our food supplies.