They urge legislation to support personal privacy and food security.
Representative Jason Crow of Colorado stated at last week’s Aspen Security Summit that Russia and China are developing biochemical weapons that could target specific people. He cautioned that submitting samples of DNA to private companies may inadvertently provide valuable information to America’s adversaries. He said that sites like 23andMe could pose immense national security risks.
“You can’t have a discussion about this without talking about privacy and the protection of commercial data because expectations of privacy have degraded the last 20 years,” Congressman Crow explained. “Young folks actually have very little expectation of privacy, that’s what the poll and the data shows. And people will very rapidly spit into a cup and send it in to 23andMe and get really interesting data about their background and guess what? Their DNA is now owned by a private company that can be sold off with very little intellectual property protections or privacy protections.”
In addition, Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa said that threat of a biochemical attack will not just hit humans specifically, but also the food supply.
“So not necessarily those specific human targets with a particular type of weaponized biological weapon, but also if we look at food security and what can our adversaries do with biological weapons that are directed at our animal agriculture, at our agricultural sector,” Senator Ernst explained.
The Congressional members urged their colleagues to adopt legislation that could enhance protections for Americans’ personal information, including healthcare, DNA, and consumer patterns. They also promoted the addition of food security to the realm of national security in order to place more attention on America’s food supply chain.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For members of both chambers of Congress as they seek to enhance protections of privacy and food supply.
- For Representative Crow as he highlights the dangers of DNA collection companies.
- For Senator Ernst as she tries to ensure the safety of the food supply chain as part of national security.
Sources: One America News, Axios
