The number of foreign investments into American land may surprise many people. According to the USDA, 35.2 million acres of U.S. farmland were owned by foreign investors in 2019. While that is a small number overall, making up 2.7% of farmland in the U.S., the number grows each year, begging the question of how much American soil is too much for foreigners to own. In fact, the U.S. is one of the few countries worldwide that allows foreign holdings of acreage.
According to the USDA, 35.2 million acres of U.S. farmland were owned by foreign investors in 2019.
The U.S. government has already taken note of possible national security risks from our global competitors’ acquisition of farmland across the United States. Foreign reach into the American food system could open the U.S. to covert attacks designed to cripple our economy, spread malicious viruses, and support other nefarious acts to harm the United States.
China’s Interest In US Farmland Raises Concerns
According to a recent study published by U.S.- China Economic and Security Review Commission, China’s Interests in U.S. Agriculture: Augmenting Food Security through Investment Abroad, some of the most significant concerns lay with China.
For example, the report states, “...If further consolidations and Chinese investments in U.S. agricultural assets take place, China may have undue leverage over U.S. supply chains.”
Simply Google China's Belt and Road initiative if you need examples of why Chinese undue leverage is terrible for the U.S. or, for that matter, any nation-state in the world.
Even more shocking, a Chinese company, the Fufeng Group, based in Shandong, China, recently purchased land in North Dakota.
While that doesn’t sound bad in its own right, the U.S. Department of Defense houses some of the nation’s most sophisticated aerial drone technology at Grand Forks Air Force Base, just 12 miles from the now Chinese-owned farmland.
Grand Forks Air Force Base is also said to house what one ND senator referred to as “...the backbone of all U.S. military communications across the globe.”
This could be purely a coincidence. However, when you factor in the Belt and Road Initiative and the Chinese National Intelligence Law of 2017, which states that Chinese organizations and citizens must “support, assist and cooperate with the state intelligence work...”
This land acquisition is likely an attempt to spy on and/or steal the U.S.’s advanced drone technology and listen to our top-secret communications. Whether they want to or not, these Chinese companies are legally obligated to conduct spy tradecraft on behalf of China’s Ministry of State Security or face harsh penalties from the Chinese government.
China isn’t the only entity in the world at work to unseat the U.S. as a world leader. Many other nations work to dethrone us daily. Even our billionaire citizens have agendas to change national policy and traditional American values solely to pad their investments.
This leaves many wondering, how can I do my part to help protect America?
