Dem Assemblyman Santabarbara: China’s Farmland Grab Has Flown Under the Radar and We Need to Ban It

On Wednesday’s broadcast of the Fox Business Network’s “Cavuto: Coast to Coast,” New York Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara (D) called for a ban on purchases of farmland by entities owned by China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela and stated that China’s farmland purchases have flown under the radar.

Santabarbara said, “This has been sort of flying under the radar. … Of course, this stems from just the tensions on the global stage, with China being more and more aggressive with each news cycle here.”

He added, “We do not want countries that are on the foreign adversary list — there is a list that is determined by the secretary of commerce that these are countries that have engaged in conduct that threatens our national security. What more do you need than that…to put this in place when you see things like spy balloons flying overhead, surveying our land here in the United States, when we see, just here in New York City…unauthorized police outposts right in New York City? … This is behavior that threatens our national security. But, of course, we’re not just talking about China here, there [are] other countries on that list like North Korea, Russia, and other countries that [have] already been deemed to be a threat to national security. We need to protect our food supply.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett