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House Agriculture Committee Examines the Relationship Between Agriculture and National Security

Washington, November 4, 2015
Washington, D.C. - Today, the House Agriculture Committee held its first in a new series of hearings to examine the relationship between agriculture and national security. In the opening hearing, members and witnesses examined the threats and vulnerabilities to agricultural security as well as the economic significance associated with such threats.

Members of the Agriculture Committee recognize the challenges faced by American agriculture and the need to build a stronger coalition among rural and urban interests that not only support agriculture policy, but also understand the role U.S. agriculture plays in maintaining a strong U.S. economy and stability around the world. With fewer and fewer Americans connected to production agriculture, many in Congress fail to recognize the importance of sound farm policy to our national security.

“The bottom line is that a nation that can feed and provide for itself is inherently safer than a nation that cannot. The United States is blessed with an abundant and safe food supply thanks to more than 2 million farmers and ranchers who dutifully tend to their fields and pastures. Many countries around the globe periodically, or constantly, face the threat of food instability that leads to hunger and starvation. By surveying these global issues, as well as domestic threats like pests, disease, and economic threats, it’s easy to see the interconnectedness of a stable food supply and national security. I want to thank our distinguished panelists for sharing their wealth of knowledge and experience and for giving us an enhanced global perspective of the importance of maintaining and protecting a safe food supply,” said Agriculture Committee Chairman K. Michael Conaway.