Farm Bill’s Gift to China and National Security Threat to Us

China and our other adversaries are not just aiming at our military infrastructure but at the everyday essentials we take for granted.

Many of you saw in a recent Dr. Phil interview with former US President Trump the alarming issue with Chinese Communists buying strategic swaths of land around US military bases. This is not the only land-based threat the Chinese Communists pose from within America’s borders. In the landscape of modern warfare, China and our other adversaries are not just aiming at our military infrastructure but at the everyday essentials we take for granted – like our food. Our food supply stands as a glaring vulnerability—a weak point that, if compromised, could thrust our society into utter chaos. China has already set its sights on our food supply, and alarmingly, many Americans, including elected officials, fail to recognize the Trojan Horse that’s in our backyard. Now, it’s gone from the shadows to inside the House of Representatives’ Farm Bill.

The Farm Bill—recently passed out of the House Agriculture Committee—contains language known as the “EATS Act,” an altered version of H.R. 4417, led by Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-IA. This insidious clause gifts Chinese-owned Smithfield Foods more control over our agriculture at the expense of states’ rights and America’s farmers. Surprisingly, members of my own party are pushing it.

Here’s what the EATS Act would do: It eradicates state and local control over agriculture, allowing foreign conglomerates to operate without restriction in our communities. If the EATS Act eliminated state and local authority over agriculture, it would allow companies like Smithfield Foods to synchronize their American production practices with how they do it in China.

In China, so-called pig skyscrapers are commonplace. These facilities resemble industrial sized wet markets where hundreds of thousands of pigs are crammed together on each floor. Such places are rife with diseases from daily pig waste and could be where our ongoing avian flu crisis jumps to pigs and then humans. In an April 2020 report based on a three-year study, the Animal Welfare Institute identified Smithfield Foods as one of the worst slaughter plants in the US, which explains their preference for reduced oversight that the EATS Act provides.

Consolidation is also a major threat to our food supply. The hog farming industry in Iowa has seen significant consolidation over the past few decades, leading to a decrease in the number of small, independent farms. Most of Iowa's hog farms disappeared between 1982 and 2017 due to the expansion of large factory farms, known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). This trend has continued, with one-third of the remaining small hog farms in Iowa disappearing from 2007 to 2017. Four companies control 60% of the pork industry, with China’s Smithfield Foods being the largest. Hog farms in Iowa are under its control, either directly or through contracts. If Smithfield Foods could operate without restriction, it would consume the remaining traditional and multi-generational American pork producers.

The more we let our supply chains become consolidated the more they are vulnerable to Chinese direct supply chain disruptions and cyberattacks. A 2021 ransomware attack on JBS, a Brazilian

company, who controls a fifth of America’s beef industry, forced them to temporarily close production facilities in Australia, Canada, and the United States. Another cyberattack in 2021 threatened to impact 40% of all grain producers in the country who used the same software. We all know that China actively engages in cyber warfare. Why then would we allow China to put our food supply at risk and give them more direct ways to attack the sustainability of our nation?

If China’s Smithfield Foods gets its way and the Farm Bill passes with the EATS Act intact within it, we are facing a ticking time bomb that will irreversibly change rural America and threaten our food security. That’s why I am disheartened that so many Republicans have not vocally opposed this Farm Bill provision and why I am equally dismayed by those who seem blind to the Chinese threat to our food supply.

I am troubled by Rep. Ashley Hinson from Iowa’s 1st Congressional District for her stance on food control, potentially providing China with a path to monopolize America’s food industry. Iowa's 1st Congressional District, a pivotal agricultural hub, plays a crucial role in leading the nation in pork production. Annually producing over 30 million hogs, Iowa is consistently at the forefront of this industry, as reported by the Iowa Pork Producers Association and the National Pork Board. This sector serves as a cornerstone of Iowa's economy, contributing billions annually.

Instead of granting more concessions to the Communist Chinese government over our food supply, we should promote more competition and diversity within our agricultural sector. Encouraging a variety of American food producers and reducing reliance on a few large entities mitigates the risks associated with cyberattacks and supply chain disruptions. Policies that support small and mid-sized farms, local food systems, and sustainable agricultural practices are essential for creating a robust and resilient food supply. Smithfield Food already has a substantial presence in the state, with facilities in various cities and employing around 4,000 people. The new change not only gives more control to Chinese communists over our nation’s food, but it also gives them influence over jobs in Iowa at a time when we should be incentivizing American businesses to hire Americans.

Food security is foundational to our national security. As Alfred Henry Lewis famously observed, “There are only nine meals between mankind and anarchy.” This profound statement highlights the fragile nature of our food supply and the swift descent into disorder that any significant disruption could cause, especially by foreign adversaries. This risk escalates dramatically when we permit China to own and control more of our food supply.

Eliminating restrictions on their operations in our country—specifically the EATS Act language in the Farm Bill, which removes nearly all protections—places us in a perilous position, starting with the pork sector, where China can dictate what food Americans can eat, how much food is available and how much American consumers must pay to feed their families. Giving a monopoly on food to China should be a non-starter in agricultural policy and a red-line issue for legislators that all should pledge never to support. It’s up to all of us to remain informed, be vocal and demand accountability from or representatives.

Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn (U.S. Army, ret.)