Imagine this: a foreign nation invades the United States with military force and seizes corn and soybean fields or takes control of the farm land that grows wheat and oat crops. What if they forcibly occupied national meat processing plants, cattle herds, and grain silos, claiming ownership of the United States food supply chain? It is a scary thought, but one that must be considered.
As the saying goes, “Possession is 9/10th of the law," and thus it is imperative that the United States knows exactly who has control of our food supply chain. The reality is, foreign nations don’t need tanks, planes, and paratroopers to gain control of America’s food network. This influence can be accomplished just as effectively and obscurely through byzantine webs of owned LLCs, joint ventures, financing arrangements and leadership positions.
Most people don’t think twice about where their food comes from; some might check a label for “Made in the USA," and that’s the end of it. Shoppers don’t consider who's funding the manufacturing of the food they eat or who owns the land from which it is harvested. The fact is, the U.S. food distribution system isn’t controlled totally by the U.S.
Organizations like the USDA are keeping watch to protect America’s food supply, and they are privy to the threats that lurk in the U.S. farm-to-table network.
Is the security of food the next line of national defense?
America’s food chain is just as vulnerable as the defense industrial base.
From land ownership to food manufacturing plants, adversaries are accessing the U.S. food supply through foreign ownership, control and influence (FOCI). America is only just beginning to realize that our food system is a national security issue — and it requires immediate attention and technology.
The investigation and analysis of who really has access to the U.S. food supply means diving into millions of documents and publicly available information, which is a daunting task for a government agency, unless they use AI.
America's Food Chain is a Blind Spot
To the average person, agriculture seems mundane, and innocuous. This lack of vigilance is exactly why the food chain is an easy target. Food is something every person needs and, as witnessed during the COVID-19 shutdown, interruptions in the food distribution channels cause havoc on the stability of the country.
The dependency on the food supply and consequential panic due to food restriction is being extorted by bad actors. From seed distributors to farm land ownership and agricultural researchers, threats exist. Adversaries gain information, placement, and access once embedded in the U.S. agriculture supply chain which can be as dangerous as munition.
The way an adversarial nation maintains influence or control is often opaque and buried under layers of information, making it challenging to uncover connections. As recent articles have highlighted, agencies like the USDA are committed to revealing risk in the food network and leaning on technology to help.
Foreign Influence is Already Infiltrating U.S. Agriculture
This isn’t hypothetical. A recent analysis done by Argus for Supply Chain Influence shows how Chinese state-owned giant COFCO has quietly expanded its U.S. footprint through hidden ownership and partnerships. Here’s how they’ve done it:
COFCO purchased Dutch company Nidera, gaining U.S. grain and oilseed export operations in Illinois, Connecticut, and Wisconsin, providing access to the U.S. market in multiple states.
Additionally, COFCO connects into the supply chain and onto your plate via WH Group (the Chinese parent of Smithfield Foods) and through ties with Syngenta Corporation. The BBQ staple, Nathan’s hot dogs, or bacon on the breakfast table, all have a tie to China if they are part of the Smithfield family of brands.
Obscure connections exist as well with indirect influence through subsidiaries and acquisitions. Investments in companies like China Mengniu link back to Kansas City–based West Agro Inc., embedding foreign influence deep in American agribusiness. COFCO acquired agricultural units from Hong Kong’s Noble Group, further broadening its indirect control in U.S. food markets.
COFCO is one example of foreign influence and many exist but have yet to be fully exposed. The U.S. agricultural ecosystem is intertwined with foreign state-backed actors in ways most Americans never see.
More shockingly, most Americans don’t even realize the threat exists and that it is a critical concern for national security.
Understand the agricultural ecosystem
The national security concern doesn’t stop with food manufacturing and distribution, risks exist with farm land ownership. Foreign companies have been quietly buying land close to strategic sites and agricultural sites, making the U.S. vulnerable to espionage and crop contanmination. A recent 60 minutes episode outlines the biggest concerns when it comes to Chinese farm land ownership. USDA’s National Farm Security Action Plan, designed to protect farm land and farmers, is proof that farm land ownership threats exist.
Seeds, pesticides, and genetically-modified food sources are shaped in labs today. Until recently, these labs and their researchers have not been scrutinized for potential malign influence. A recent NPR article highlights the USDA has cut the number of researchers from “countries of concerns," which acknowledges threats exist in agricultural research pipelines.
How the food gets from the ground to the grocery store is also a vulnerability. Once a farmer or manufacturer ships the product, it is now in the hands of the transport company and distribution ecosystem. Visibility into who manages those access points is as important as who’s producing the product. Access to food distribution and logistics can be a major advantage for adversarial nations with bad intent, and the average American is unaware that these points in the food supply are at risk.
It is time for vigilance.
There is no need to close the door on all foreign investment or collaboration when it comes to America’s food supply, but the U.S. must be vigilant. Focusing on securing the agricultural supply chain is now a national security issue and it’s time for agricultural supply chain transparency and proactive measures. Fortunately, AI tools, like Argus, are helping federal agencies and the Department of Defense increase transparency in America’s food network and the defense industrial supply chain.
Most Americans don’t know who really owns the farmland down the road, the warehouse outside of town, or the seed patents in the lab. But the government agencies that monitor them should, because control over food is control over people and a national security vulnerability.
With the help of AI, federal agencies can identify farmland purchases near sensitive areas, food hubs and warehouses that are owned by foreign entities, and investments of concern in U.S. agricultural markets.