Why Are We Selling Farmland to China?

[Geee]

Red State

“This land is your land and this land is my land

From California to the New York island

From the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters

This land was made for you and me.” ~ Woodie Guthrie

Was it? Was this land “made for you and me,” or was it also made for foreign countries to buy up?

According to a May 28, 2019 article in US News & Report, nearly 30 million acres of U.S. farmland were owned by foreign countries as of that date. Insane? It gets worse. The number of foreign-owned acres of farmland had tripled in just 21 years — having stood at 10 million acres in 1998. Those who have been most concerned? Small- and medium-sized farmers, of course. Who didn’t see that coming?

Now it gets really insane.

China — yes, China — is among those foreign countries snapping up American farmland as fast as they can. As Politico reported last week:

Chinese firms have expanded their presence in American agriculture over the last decade by snapping up farmland and purchasing major agribusinesses, like pork processing giant Smithfield Foods.

By the start of 2020, Chinese owners controlled about 192,000 agricultural acres in the U.S., worth $1.9 billion, including land used for farming, ranching and forestry, according to the Agriculture Department.

[Valin]

@Geee

 

Yes....And? Anyone else remember the Huge Terrible Awful Crisis when A Japanese company bought Rockefeller plaza? 

Quote

During a speech to the Heritage Foundation earlier this month, former Vice President Mike Pence talked about the issue, as noted by Politico. “America cannot allow China to control our food supply,” Pence said, urging Joe Biden and Congress to “end all farm subsidies for land owned by foreign nationals.”

They own some buildings. If things get Really Bad with the PRC, they won't even own that.

BTW I can see the BDS types using this same concern (if that is the word I want) over Israeli companies buying property in America. Or American companies partnering with Israeli companies. Can You Say Intel...Iron Dome?