Fascism Comes to the Farm
It's no longer "feed the world" because some might be "adversaries"
On July 8th, the US Department of Agriculture issued a policy to make all USDA research “America First” in hopes it:
. . . ensures the enduring strength of United States agriculture and prevents American taxpayer dollars from supporting countries of concern or other foreign adversaries who want to undermine our national security. America First policy avoids the expenditure of American taxpayer funds to help foreign competitors out-produce, out-compete, and out-innovate the United States.
Our adversaries increasingly seek to spread their influence across the globe at the expense of the United States. Foreign researchers, businesses, and governments often use resources provided by USDA for their own purposes that are not in the best interest of the United States. Foreign recipients of U.S. funding may obscure their foreign affiliations and hide their true intent to transfer American inventions, intellectual property, and knowledge to foreign adversaries. Foreign competitors benefit from USDA-funded projects, receiving loans that support overseas businesses, and grants that enable foreign competitors to undermine U.S. economic and strategic interests. Preventing this is the responsibility of every USDA employee.
The full PDF is here, and it’s quite a read.
I’d heard rumors of this for weeks, but people were too afraid to share anything — another sign of fascism on the farm.
Also, don’t miss Joy’s post today about another type of farm fraud. Talk about junk food . . .