Bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House and Senate to protect the nation’s food supply from foreign entities.
Congresswoman Ashley Hinson tells Brownfield the Securing American Agriculture Act would reduce the country’s reliance on markets like China.
“China could pull that trigger at any time and decide to not ship key parts of our animal feed, some of the nutrients and those things that go into our food supply. When I look at that, I think there’s a huge vulnerability for our country.”
Lawmakers say the bill will better protect food supply chains by directing the Secretary of Agriculture to publish an annual assessment on U.S. dependency on critical ag products or inputs from China.
Hinson, a Republican from Iowa, says losing access to key inputs could reduce productivity, increase food prices, and undermine food security.
“We need to make sure we’re figuring out where all our vulnerabilities are and then also taking a look at what can be done to make those here.”
The legislation was introduced by Republican Pete Ricketts of Nebraska and Democrat Elissa Slotkin of Michigan in the Senate, and by Hinson and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois in the House.
EDITOR’S TAKE:
You wouldn’t think it would be necessary to require legislation to be strategic when it comes to critical national security interests like agriculture. That said, this proposed legislation would be a positive step. Requiring federal departments to itemize and track critical ingredients and infrastructure is sorely needed. The covid pandemic was able to shine a very bright light on the issue of our strategic vulnerability. Some of us have long voiced the need to protect certain key infrastructure for the production of food, medical equipment, computer chips, military equipment and parts, etc.
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