Re: Watertown Daily Times | Ag secretary selection gets mixed reactions

[Guest guest]

This came across on another list I am on - you can go here to sign a

petition against him.

Please sign petition to reject Sec. of Ag. Tom Vilsack

Please sign at http://www.stopvilsack.org

It only takes two seconds and can help us reach the goal of 100,000

signers..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 17, 2008

CONTACT:

Organic Consumers Association

Ronnie Cummins

Pesticide Action Network

Gilje

Organic Consumers Association:

Vilsack Not " Change We Can Believe In "

WASHINGTON, DC December 17, 2008 Today's announcement that former Iowa Governor,

Tom Vilsack, has been selected as the new Secretary of Agriculture sent a chill

through the sustainable food and farming community who have been lobbying for a

champion in the new administration.

" Vilsack's nomination sends the message that dangerous, untested, unlabeled

genetically engineered crops will be the norm in the Obama administration, " said

Ronnie Cummins, Executive Director of Organic Consumers Association. " Our

nation's future depends on crafting a forward-thinking strategy to promote

organic and sustainable food and farming, and address the related crises of

climate change, diminishing energy supplies, deteriorating public health, and

economic depression.²

The Department of Agriculture during the Bush Administration failed to promote a

sustainable vision for food and farming and did not protect

consumers from the chemical-intensive toxic practices inherent to industrial

agriculture. While factory farms and junk food have been subsidized with

billions of tax dollars, the US industrial farm system has released massive

amounts of climate-destabilizing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere

and increased our dependence on foreign oil.

The Secretary of Agriculture is responsible for directing the U.S. Department of

Agriculture and its $97 billion annual budget,including the

National Organic Program, food stamp and nutrition programs, agriculture

subsidies, and the Forest Service.

While Vilsack has worked to restrain livestock monopolies, his overall record is

one of aiding and abetting Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations

(CAFOs, also known as factory farms). Vilsack¹s support for unsustainable

industrial ethanol production has already caused global corn and grain

prices to skyrocket, literally taking food off the table for a billion people in

the developing world.

" We fear that this signals Obama's intentions to rely upon corporate solutions

and biotech " quick fixes, " forcing farmers to continue on the

pesticide treadmill, rather than creating food systems that nourish people,

support family farmers and regenerate natural resources, said

Gilje, Executive Director for the Pesticide Action Network. ³We oppose the

confirmation of Tom Vilsack to this post, especially at a time when

so much is at stake for the future of food and farming in America. "

Over the past month, Organic Consumers Association members have sent over 20,000

emails to President-Elect Obama¹s Transition Team, calling for

the appointment of a Secretary of Agriculture who would develop and implement a

plan that promotes family-scale farming, a safe and nutritious food

system, and a sustainable and organic vision for the future.

" Obama's choice for Secretary of Agriculture points to the continuation of

agribusiness as usual, the failed policies of chemical- and

energy-intensive, genetically engineered industrial agriculture, " said Cummins.

" Americans were promised 'change,' not just another shill for

Monsanto and corporate agribusiness. Considering the challenges we collectively

face as a nation, from climate change and rising energy costs

to food insecurity, we need an administration that moves beyond 'business as

usual' to fundamental change before it¹s too late, " concluded Cummins.

Vilsack's business as usual positions have included the following:

· Vilsack has been a strong supporter of genetically engineered pharmaceutical

crops, especially pharmaceutical corn.

· The biggest biotechnology industry group, the Biotechnology Industry

Organization, named Vilsack Governor of the Year. He is also the founder and

former chair of the Governor's Biotechnology Partnership.

· When Vilsack created the Iowa Values Fund, his first poster child for economic

development was Trans Ova and their pursuit of cloning dairy cows.

· The undemocratic 2005 seed pre-emption bill was the Vilsack¹s brainchild. The

law strips local government¹s right to regulate genetically

engineered seed.

· Vilsack is an ardent supporter of corn and soy based biofuels, which use as

much or more energy to produce as they generate and drive up world

food prices, literally starving the poor.

The OCA has launched http://www.stopvilsack.org

<http://www.stopvilsack.org/> to mobilize hundreds of thousands of people to

oppose Vilsack's Senate confirmation through an online petition.

Additionally, OCA's nationwide network of 850,000 organic consumers are urging

members of Congress to move beyond business as usual and implement a

comprehensive strategy for organic food and farming in 2009 and beyond.

###

Zinn

National Campaign Coordinator

Organic Consumers Association

[Guest guest]

pOLLY,

Thank you for taking the time to send this. I've been caught up with

the requirements of the season and almost deleted the whole digest

today. Thanks again.

Lucinda in PA

>

> This came across on another list I am on - you can go here to sign a

> petition against him.

>

> Please sign petition to reject Sec. of Ag. Tom Vilsack

>

> Please sign at http://www.stopvilsack.org

>

> It only takes two seconds and can help us reach the goal of 100,000

> signers..