A bill that outlaws land sales to foreign countries to help protect the nation’s food supply is still awaiting Governor Newsom’s signature to become law.
In the meantime, the Washington Examiner reports that the Central Valley is where two-thirds of the nation’s fruits and nuts are grown.
“Food can, and is, being used as a weapon like we’re seeing in Ukraine,” says the bill’s author, state Senator Melissa Hurtado.
“Recent reports have shown that a nation could get leverage by acquiring agricultural land and creating bioweapons that impact our food chain.”
The bill would exempt land owned by a foreign government before January 1st.
It would also direct the state’s Ag Department to release annual reports on the amount of foreign farmland utilized, the type of usage, and “any legislative, regulatory, or administrative policy recommendations in light of the information from the annual report.”
Bill supporters say foreign investments in ag land put U.S. food security at risk.
