First appearance on Fox: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Florida) is asking the House Agriculture Committee to vote down the Agricultural Trade Suppression Act of 2024. farm bill Citing concerns that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) will continue to control the U.S. pork industry.
“The Chinese Communist Party has been covertly infiltrating the U.S. agricultural industry for some time now,” Luna told Fox News Digital in a statement.
Luna sent a letter to the commission on Friday saying the EATS Act could undermine state laws and agricultural production standards, benefiting foreign companies while posing a threat to U.S. farmers involved in the pork industry. We plan to warn you if there is.
“If the House Agriculture Committee adopts this harmful proposal, it will harm thousands of American farmers and increase control over the U.S. domestic pork industry, especially Chinese-controlled U.S. pork production. “It will greatly benefit foreign-owned farms owned by the Beijing Communist Party (CCP),” Luna wrote.
Republican bill to protect U.S. agriculture from China moves forward with strong bipartisan support
Republican Anna Paulina Luna of Florida will give a speech. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Opponents of the bill, like the Humane Society of the United States, say the bill would “lead to extreme confinement of layer hens, calves, and breeding pigs, while threatening the welfare of other animals.” They argue that this would effectively repeal the region’s animal welfare laws. These laws deal with cruel puppy mills, the slaughter of horses, dogs and cats for meat, and wildlife trafficking. ”
Luna agreed.
“The EATS Act is designed to overturn the will of American voters who have chosen to adopt a series of measures through ballot initiatives and state legislation to give more space to animals raised for food production. It’s just a veiled attempt by a foreign company,” Luna said. His letter reads: “The EATS Act proposes relaxing standards for the care of these legally established animals, and the Chinese government, which has strong control over U.S. hog production, stands to benefit greatly. be.”
Nearly 200 Democrats join Republicans to block China from buying rural land
Several Republicans joined Luna in the letter, including Matt Gaetz, Jeff Van Drew, Byron Donald, Andy Biggs, Nancy Mace, Matt Rosendale, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Bob Good. signed.
They write that they are “gravely concerned about the infiltration of U.S. pork production by foreign adversaries, primarily the Chinese Communist Party.”
Smithfield Foods, a Virginia-based pork producer, is wholly owned by the Chinese Communist Party and controls nearly 26% of the U.S. pork market, the letter said. Major meat producers also support the EATS Act.
Pigs in a cage on a farm on the outskirts of Hanoi, June 2, 2022. (Nyack Nguyen/AFP via Getty Images)
“Brazil-based agribusiness giant JBS controls an additional 14% of hog production. This means that just two foreign companies control the production and distribution of 40% of the U.S. pork supply. “It means we’re doing it,” Luna added. “This level of foreign domination is unprecedented in other areas of American agriculture. Rather than do their bidding in the next Farm Bill, we should seek to reduce this level of infiltration in our pork industry. , so we can restore the dominance of domestic agriculture “pork producers of our homeland.” ”
A GAO report in January detailed findings about the Biden administration’s failure to track Chinese investments in U.S. farms.
Biden administration fails to track China’s ownership of U.S. farmland: government watchdog
Hay bales are stored in a shelter at Al Darla Farms in McMullen Valley on October 17, 2023 in Wenden, Arizona. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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The report found that the Department of Agriculture (USDA) did not consistently share timely information. Data on foreign investment U.S. agricultural land required under the Agriculture Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA). Additionally, the report said Pentagon officials told investigators that the USDA needed to provide more up-to-date and specific AFIDA data on a regular basis.
As of 2021, foreign investment in U.S. farmland has increased to approximately 40 million acres, according to the latest data from the USDA. moreover, Chinese agricultural investment In the US, it increased tenfold from 2009 to 2016 alone.
FOX News’ Thomas Catenacci contributed to this report.
