How China is buying up America's food supply

American Thinker ^ | 05/05/2020 | Ziva Dahl

[SeekAndFind]

A Sioux Falls meatpacking plant was forced to close when it became the epicenter of COVID-19 in South Dakota. Three weeks after executives from its Chinese owner, WH Group, visited the plant, a month after President Trump’s ban on travel from China, nearly 600 of Smithfield Foods’ 3700 employees tested positive for the virus, as have 135 additional people in close contact with employees.

Smithfield Foods was started in 1936 by a family in Virginia. Today, the Chinese own Armour and the famous Smithfield hams, together with the most quintessential American brand of all -- Nathan’s Famous hot dogs, with its iconic annual eating contest.

In 2013, Smithfield Foods was bought by the Shanghui Group, later rebranded as the WH Group, for $4.7 billion. It remains the largest total acquisition of a U.S. company by the Chinese. With that purchase, the Chinese owned one in four pigs raised in the U.S. and, by adding 146,000 acres, continued to be the world’s largest buyer of American farmland.

The purchase was underwritten with a $4 billion Bank of China loan facilitated by the Chinese Communist Party. The deal was an integral part of the CCP’s 2011 five-year plan to improve the Chinese economy with purchases of overseas farmland and food processing companies. Food is poised to become the oil of the 21st century, with demand increasing for a scarce resource. The CCP identified meat processing as a strategically important industry and, with the Smithfield acquisition, China gained access to the world’s most advanced animal processing technology. Former Smithfield CEO Larry Pope said, “In many respects, this is carrying out the (Chinese) government’s five-year plan, which is to improve the quality and the security of their food supply.”

The Chinese consume half of the world’s pork production

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Its outrageous that we allow them to buy these companies.

Food, Medicine, Personal Protection Equipment, etc. we’ve outsourced all of them to China.

[blam]

Beef Prices Explode To Record High As More Stores Limit Meat Purchases

I just left Wal-Mart no limits on meat purchases and the ground chuck I bought (10 pounds) was the same price ($3.78 lb) that it was two weeks ago when I bought the same thing. I didn't see any limits on anything in the store.
There were blank spots on the store shelves though.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Trump has spent the past 3.5 years decoupling us from China and doing a magnificent job of it. Hopefully he will fully complete the transition in his second term.

[jetson]

What Moxy.

[PghBaldy]

Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush and Obama. Did ANY of them try to stop this? Did any warn of this?

[woodbutcher1963]

I doubt they flew in on American Airlines.

Did these border closures apply to people flying in on private jets ? Yes, I am sure you have to present passports when you land at LAX, SF or Sea/Tac. However, people who are billionaires get much different treatment than you and me.

[PIF]

“In many respects, this is carrying out the (Chinese) government’s five-year plan, which is to improve the quality and the security of their food supply.” while taking other country’s supply and land for their own.

Divest all US Chinese owned business now - nationalize them, then give them back to the original owners or something

[tcoxaz]

Here’s a suggestion: confiscate the Chinese owned property and businesses in the US as payment for CV19 economic destruction. It’s a start.

[ridesthemiles]

Who profited from the same? I’d say it was the owners of the company that sold it”””

There is an old adage:

“There is a price for everything.”

I don’t know if Smithfield family were looking for a buyer or if China came along & just offered so much they gave in.

However, these kids of sales to foreign companies need more scrutiny, IMO.

I was shopping last Friday & went from Wal-Mart to local strip mall with large grocery store.

Man followed me in my 1976 Chevy 1 ton dually truck. He parked next to me & immediately started to tell me ‘He needed to buy my truck”.

After an interesting 45 minute conversation, I finally convinced him that MY truck was NOT FOR SALE-—at any price.
He was even more surprised to find an 80 year old female at the wheel & to find out why I even owned such a truck in the irst place.

[EC Washington]

Who profited? 2013 - Obomber! Investigate Smithfield’s political contributions, board seats, consultants contracts, etc.

For all we know, Hunter Biden is Director of Hog Breeding...

[saintgermaine]

While China is taking advantage of our stupidity, our brilliant politicians along with the news media are more interested turning this country as quickly as possible into a socialist paradise. And so the slide down hill of a once great nation continues. It is nice to have the biggest and best aircraft carriers along with the best planes etc. or be the first ones on Mars. Unfortunately you cannot eat any of that stuff.

[GOPJ]

...became the epicenter of COVID-19 in South Dakota. Three weeks after executives from its Chinese owner, WH Group, visited the plant, a month after President Trump’s ban on travel from China, nearly 600 of Smithfield Foods’ 3700 employees tested positive for the virus, as have 135 additional people in close contact with employees.

Did we allow Germany and their Nazis thugs to buy our food companies during World War II?

[AAABEST]

China is a cancer - our politicians acting as the vectors for the carcinogen.

If we don't get our cut it out now, it will metastasize and go terminal.

[GOPJ]

This piece is an important clue...

[Liz]

The monumental disaster of the US-China Relations Act is becoming clearer.It was Bill Clinton’s last (cough)
"presidential accomplishment," the historic moment when a Democrat president of the greatest superpower of all time,
sap-happily handed its demise to a backward country, poised to strip America of its intellectual and
technological superiority.

==================================

SOURCE functionhttps://dailycaller.com/2016/09/02/flashback-bill-clinton-collected-donations-then-us-missile-tech-shipped-to-china/

(Lobbying a president at a WH gala was unheard of till the greedy Me-First Clintons came to town....)

Pres Clinton was lobbied at a WH gala by big buck donor Bernard L. Schwartz, CEO of Loral Space & Communications Ltd......

First Clinton made sure to collect donations ........then he shipped Loral's US missile tech to China.

JOHNNY CHUNG: "Gotta put coins in---ka-ching---to make Clintons do something.

[bobrlbob]

Positive or Sick with virus. there is a difference

[reformedliberal]

...the same price ($3.78 lb) that it was two weeks ago when I bought the same thing. I didn’t see any limits on anything in the store.
____________________________________

I observed the same a week ago, locally.

The headline is aimed at producing panic>>>hoarding>>>actual shortages.

Not only is it possible to keep freezers full by replacing items one or two at a time, which is also more efficient for power consumption, this is a good time to utilize all those meat-stretching recipes that feed the most with the least. We all have them and, if not, the web is full of of similar recipes. They are tasty, healthy and usually don’t take a lot of prep time.

This will correct itself in time, but only if we do not all run out and buy 50# every week.

Meanwhile, anyone who can buy at a small local butcher with lockers for rent, can ease the strain on the centralized supply chain.

[Roman_War_Criminal]

China does this regularly to American and European companies operating over in that hell hole country.

We should absolutely do the same here.

[Roman_War_Criminal]

Another advantage is our oil production and stockpile.

They have to import every almost every last drop of energy for their nation.

[catnipman]

when things settle out a bit, nationalization of china’s U.S. food holdings under the auspices of the DPA would be a great retaliatory act ...