SACRAMENTO, CA – Senator Melissa Hurtado (D-Bakersfield) released the following statement after her bill, Senate Bill 224, the Food and Farm Security Act died in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“In times of insecurity, America has risen to the challenges of providing a more secure and equitable future for all. Securing the future of our food and farms in California is about preserving the American Dream, while maintaining and enhancing the leadership role California plays in the world, including providing food. Those that want to create fear about this piece of legislation are on the wrong side of history. This bill is not about party politics or identity politics, it is about the geopolitics of food and securing the future of Californians and all of those that rely on our food production around the world.” 

“While I lament the failure of Senate Bill 224, our efforts in this space will continue and I will announce additional actions our office will take in the coming weeks. I will begin with an invitation for a film screening of “the Grab” on June 5^th at the Crest Theater in Sacramento. I also want to thank the family farmers who testified in support of SB 224 as their expressed concerns were impactful. We owe them and their families answers, which is why I remain steadfastly committed to this issue and will work to enhance our understanding of the role foreign owned governments may play in our energy and water facilities and agricultural land.”

Foreign investors held an estimated interest in nearly 37.6 million acres of U.S. agricultural land as of December 31, 2020—an increase of over 2.4 million acres from December 2019—this represents 2.9% of all privately held agricultural land in the United States. Since 2015, foreign holdings of agricultural land have increased an average of nearly 2.2 million acres annually.

California has just over 40 million acres of privately held agricultural land, with 2.7% of that land held by international owners. California plays a monumental role in both the American and global food supply chains, making it imperative that we gain a strong understanding of exactly how ownership of our agricultural lands are positioned.

SB 224 would have put California in control of its food supply chain by preventing foreign governments, not individuals, from purchasing agricultural land, and required an annual report on foreign ownership of California’s resources.

Senator Melissa Hurtado currently represents the 16th Senate District in the California Legislature, which includes portions of Fresno, Tulare, Kings and Kern Counties. Hurtado is Chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, and a member of the Environmental Quality, Health, Human Services, and Natural Resources and Water Committees, and Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies. 

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