Once again the alarmist voices of US mouthpieces warning of bad China, but what is the US doing to itself (or them to us)?
And you can do the same exercise using the subject of bioweapons, energy .. you name it.
Are these people morons or do they think we are?
China’s efforts to achieve food security represent a threat to the US, according to an American federal agency focused on trade with Beijing. Officials warn that Chinese firms could attempt to steal intellectual property, cut into Washington’s foodstuff exports profits, undermine supply chains, and even target America's genetically modified crops with biological warfare.
A report issued this week by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission centers on “China’s interest in US agriculture” and states that Beijing is “augmenting food security through investment abroad” after facing “challenges” in recent years.
BUT ...
The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it would expand a program that pays farmers to leave land fallow, part of a broader, government-wide effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. The new initiative will incentivize farmers to take land out of production by raising rental rates and incentive payments.
AND ...
In total, Gates owns approximately 242,000 acres of farmland with assets totaling more than $690m.
And Bill Gates’ new book How to Avoid a Climate Disaster positions himself as a thought leader in how to stop putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and how to fund what he has called elsewhere a “global green revolution” to help poor farmers mitigate climate change.
When pressed during a book discussion on Reddit about why he’s gobbling up so much farmland, Gates claimed, “It is not connected to climate [change].” The decision, he said, came from his “investment group.” Cascade Investment, the firm making these acquisitions, is controlled by Gates. And the firm said it’s “very supportive of sustainable farming”. It also is a shareholder in the plant-based protein companies Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods as well as the farming equipment manufacturer John Deere.
Arable land is not just profitable. There’s a more cynical calculation. Investment firms are making the argument farmlands will meet “carbon-neutral” targets for sustainable investment portfolios while anticipating an increase of agricultural productivity and revenue.
The principal danger of private farmland owners like Bill Gates is not their professed support of sustainable agriculture often found in philanthropic work – it’s the monopolistic role they play in determining our food systems and land use patterns.
And you can do the same exercise using the subject of bioweapons, energy .. you name it.
Are these people morons or do they think we are?
Chinese food security push poses threat to US – report
Chinese efforts to achieve food security through foreign investment could be dangerous for the United States, a new government report said
www.rt.com
China’s efforts to achieve food security represent a threat to the US, according to an American federal agency focused on trade with Beijing. Officials warn that Chinese firms could attempt to steal intellectual property, cut into Washington’s foodstuff exports profits, undermine supply chains, and even target America's genetically modified crops with biological warfare.
A report issued this week by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission centers on “China’s interest in US agriculture” and states that Beijing is “augmenting food security through investment abroad” after facing “challenges” in recent years.
BUT ...
A program that pays farmers not to farm isn't saving the planet
A decades-old program that pays farmers to leave land fallow is being heralded by the Biden administration as a climate solution, but environmentalists don’t see it that way.
www.politico.com
The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it would expand a program that pays farmers to leave land fallow, part of a broader, government-wide effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. The new initiative will incentivize farmers to take land out of production by raising rental rates and incentive payments.
AND ...
Bill Gates is the biggest private owner of farmland in the United States. Why? | Nick Estes
Gates has been buying land like it’s going out of style. He now owns more farmland than my entire Native American nation
www.theguardian.com
In total, Gates owns approximately 242,000 acres of farmland with assets totaling more than $690m.
And Bill Gates’ new book How to Avoid a Climate Disaster positions himself as a thought leader in how to stop putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and how to fund what he has called elsewhere a “global green revolution” to help poor farmers mitigate climate change.
When pressed during a book discussion on Reddit about why he’s gobbling up so much farmland, Gates claimed, “It is not connected to climate [change].” The decision, he said, came from his “investment group.” Cascade Investment, the firm making these acquisitions, is controlled by Gates. And the firm said it’s “very supportive of sustainable farming”. It also is a shareholder in the plant-based protein companies Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods as well as the farming equipment manufacturer John Deere.
Arable land is not just profitable. There’s a more cynical calculation. Investment firms are making the argument farmlands will meet “carbon-neutral” targets for sustainable investment portfolios while anticipating an increase of agricultural productivity and revenue.
The principal danger of private farmland owners like Bill Gates is not their professed support of sustainable agriculture often found in philanthropic work – it’s the monopolistic role they play in determining our food systems and land use patterns.
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