Food security needs the same attention as national security, a senator said
Republican and Democrat senators and house representatives are working together on a bill to protect American agriculture China.
Senators Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) along with House Reps. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) and other colleagues, introduced the Securing American Agriculture Act on March 11.
The bill calls for the secretary of agriculture to provide an annual report “of United States dependency on critical agricultural products or inputs from the People’s Republic of China…”
The U.S. spends heavily on Chinese ag and related products.
In 2022, for example, America purchased almost $10 billion of agricultural products from China. In 2024 the U.S. imported more than $26 million worth of fertilizer from China.
China is also a major supplier of vitamins C and B6 used in animal feed.
China produces almost 80 percent of the world’s vitamin C supply.
This bill is necessary to ensure the U.S. agriculture industry can react if China chooses not to do business with America.
“If China decides to shut off U.S. access to these critical inputs, our food production would be in jeopardy,” Rep. Hinson said in a statement. “I’m proud to reintroduce this bipartisan bill that exposes and counters China’s grip on agricultural inputs to strengthen domestic manufacturing and food security.”
In addition to creating an annual report about U.S. and Chinese ag relations, the legislation mandates the secretary of agriculture take additional steps.
The ag secretary would be required to provide recommendations about how to mitigate threats from China and to act to reduce barriers to domestic input production.
At least one ag organization has voiced support for the bill.
Taking the steps to collect information on the U.S. and its dependency on Chinese ag goods, and to make the necessary adjustments, is prudent, the American Feed Industry Association says.
“Without good data, our nation’s leaders are essentially shooting in the dark, unable to determine where they can make meaningful impact – whether by boosting domestic production or securing alternative suppliers,” AFIA President and CEO Constance Cullman said in a statement. By supporting the Securing American Agriculture Act, we can give federal decision-makers a clearer shot at guarding the United States from potentially catastrophic animal welfare, food or animal food security or economic consequences."