ICYMI: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Leads in Letter Fighting Against Foreign Control of the U.S. Pork Industry

Washington, D.C. – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 8, 2024
Contacts: Abigail Hills, abigail.hills@mail.house.gov; Melvin Soto, melvin.soto@mail.house.gov

Yesterday,  Congresswoman Luna led a letter, along with nine other members co-signing, to the House Committee on Agriculture opposing the inclusion of the Ending Agriculture Trade Suppression (EATS) Act, H.R. 4417, in the 2024 Farm Bill. 

Members co-signing on the letter include House Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-VA, as well as Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), and Tim Burchett (R-TN). 

“The Chinese Communist Party has been stealthily encroaching on the U.S. Agriculture Industry for some time now. Look no further than H.R. 4417, the EATS Act, which would prioritize CCP-controlled farms over American farms. If included in the upcoming Farm Bill, it would hurt thousands of American farmers and give more agricultural power to our foreign adversaries.

I was proud to lead this letter and join several of my colleagues in calling on the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Agriculture to oppose the inclusion of the EATS Act or any similar legislative language that would give substantial control of the U.S. pork industry to the CCP. 

It is beyond time for Congress to stand up for U.S. farmers and confront the influence China has on the U.S. Agriculture Industry,” said Congresswoman Luna. 

“This latest expression of opposition by lawmakers to the EATS Act underscores that House conservatives have sniffed out EATS as a backdoor maneuver to strengthen China’s grip on American agriculture and to allow that county to import its high-rise factory farms to the United States,” said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy.  “The EATS Act probably doesn’t have a single Democrat favoring it and, given the conservatives signing the latest anti-EATS Act letter, I doubt it can attract even a simple majority of House Republicans to favor it.”

“Rep. Luna and her colleagues in Congress fighting against EATS are heroes to the American producers that Joe Biden’s Secretary of Agriculture has sold out to foreign conglomerates,” said Jonathan Buttram, President of the Alabama Contract Poultry Growers Association and Treasurer at the Organization for Competitive Markets.“We call on Agriculture Committee leaders and members to send the EATS Act back to China where it came from.”

“We applaud Rep. Luna for her tremendous leadership and the Members of Congress who’ve joined the effort to kill the EATS Act, which would only strengthen China’s grip on American agriculture,” said Taylor Haynes, president at the Organization for Competitive Markets and founder Wyoming Independent Cattlemen’s Association.“American family farmers are in peril facing a David and Goliath situation. These brave Members of Congress are empowering us to win.” 

“As American farmers, we have a duty to feed our nation with food that is safe and produced in the best possible manner,” said Mike Schultz, founder of the Kansas Cattlemen’s Association and vice president at the Organization for Competitive Markets. That means standing together in the face of Chinese threats like these. This isn’t just about the one industry. It’s about every one of us and the very plates on our kitchen table.”

“Recently, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller called out the EATS Act as an attack on states’ rights, and now we see a rising tide of opposition to the measure by the most conservative lawmakers,” said Marty Irby, president of Competitive Markets Action and board secretary for the Organization for Competitive Markets.  “The Chinese-controlled Smithfield controls a quarter of U.S. pork production, and the EATS Act gives a lift to its efforts to expand its already enormous footprint on U.S. soil.”