Smithfield Foods is a huge pork production company founded in Virginia in 1936. They employ some 46,000 people worldwide and sell to grocery store chains, McDonalds and Denny’s, 
among others. They are about as American as, well, as Shanghai? You won’t hear this on CNN, but the
 Chinese purchased this company several years ago, so they now control 25% of all U.S. pork production.

At the time of sale, the CEO of Smithfield, Larry Pope, assured employees, the hometown and
 press that the sale had nothing at all to do with the Communist government. It was just another sale to 
another company, and everyone would benefit and be happy. That wasn’t true. One very thorough 
reporter traveled to China and interviewed the CEO of the company that purchased Smithfield. The
 reporter has him on camera admitting the Communist government does in fact have a controlling stake 
in the company and issues directives to the purchasing company. They must follow these orders and
 guidelines without question. The government stays at some distance from the daily workings of the
 company, but keeps a close eye on them and ultimately controls how they run.

When the reporter returned to the U.S. he showed the video to Mr. Pope, who feigned shock and
 amazement at this revelation. The truth is Mr. Pope stood to gain about $27 million in bonuses from the
 sale and continued on as CEO. He just lied about it.

The Chinese are worried about feeding a huge 
population that is ever-increasing and already consumes half of the world’s pork. They have gone on a 
global spending spree and now own considerable holdings in the U.S. of all descriptions. Their
 admitted goal is to overtake the entire world and become the one and only superpower. They openly
 admit to being willing to do anything it takes to accomplish this goal.

Before you go to the checkstand 
at Walmart, turn the package over and read the fine print. You will be shocked at the number of
 products that come from China.

David Burns

Pendleton