WHO Is Pulling the Strings?

By Congressman Dan Newhouse

A year into living with the ramifications of a global pandemic, it is clearer now than ever before how important science is to our decision-making – and how quickly it can get tossed to the side in lieu of more politically expedient “truths.” When other countries join the fray to undermine our nation’s stability, annoyance quickly gives way to alarm. China is leading the latest attack against America with one goal in mind: to undermine our nation’s food supply. Alarming, to say the least.
 
China is asking the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare the COVID-19 virus as transmissible via food and food packaging with no evidence to support such a conclusion. And the WHO is listening.
 
Central Washington is one of the most agriculturally rich and diverse regions in the United States, and we know firsthand how fragile our nation’s food supply chain can be. Over the past year, men and women throughout our communities and across the country been working diligently to keep food on our tables and on grocery store shelves. China’s latest onslaught threatens these efforts and the overall security of our national food supply chain.
 
It shouldn’t come as a surprise; President Trump withdrew the United States from the WHO for a reason. For years, China has been working to increase its sway over the WHO, and rather than condemning China for its slow response and coverup of the virus, the WHO praised China for setting “a new standard for outbreak response.” With a relationship like this, it’s no wonder the WHO is allowing China to dictate what “truths” should be believed.
 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food & Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other global regulatory bodies have continued to underscore that there is no credible evidence to support the transmission of COVID-19 via food or food packaging. Further, other trading partners such as New Zealand, Canada, and the EU say they’re unclear on China’s methodology and have seen no solid evidence that their products carried the virus. If the WHO follows China’s suggestion, it would not only undermine confidence in U.S. food production and packaging, but it would have a lasting impact on domestic producers and processors who play a vital role in the global food supply chain.
 
I recently led a bipartisan letter with Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), signed by more than a dozen of our colleagues in Congress, urging the Biden Administration to reject China’s baseless claims and – instead – continue to rely on the facts by recommending an independent investigation to review the “scientific evidence” submitted by the Chinese government.
 
Since coming to Congress, I have had the honor of representing our agricultural producers, advocating for strong trade agreements, and securing the tools and resources our state needs to remain at the cutting edge of agricultural innovation. Never did I think we would need to tell the World Health Organization, a body dedicated to protecting public health and “guided by the best available science,” to stop letting political influence dictate its decisions. It’s far past time for the WHO to wake up and do its job.