President Elect Obama and Believable Change ? Vilsack Appointment and USDA

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From : The Oakland Institute Reporter

An Action Alert from the Organic Consumers Association

Organic Consumers Association : Vilsack Not "Change We Can Believe In"

Go to http://www.stopvilsack.org to oppose Vilsack's Senate
confirmation through an online petition

WASHINGTON, DC : 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.

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). Vilsack's 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 Kathryn Gilje, Executive Director for the Pesticide
Action Network. We 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 Obama©–s 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 it's 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 Vilsack's
brainchild. The law strips local government's 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 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.

The Oakland Institute is an independent policy think tank working to
increase public participation and to promote fair debate on critical
social, economic, and environmental issues. www.oaklandinstitute.org