Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Say NO to Vilsack For Agriculture Secretary!

I try not to be too political here on the blog but I did want to bring this issue to your attention. I think we are at a crossroads in this country as far as farming is concerned. We can either chose to hand our food supply over to big Agribusiness or we can demand that our politicians protect our food, our farmers and our green space. I think Vilsack is a giant step in the wrong direction. 

If after reading what follows you agree, please consider signing the petition linked below.

From the Organic Consumers Association:

Despite a massive public outcry, including over 60,000 emails from the Organic Consumers Association, President-Elect Obama has chosen former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack to be the next Secretary of Agriculture. Similar petitions circulated on the internet by OCA's allies, including fooddemocracynow.org, Pesticide Action Network, and the Center for Food Safety have generated an additional 60,000+ supporters, making Vilsack perhaps the most controversial and unpopular Obama cabinet appointment.

While Vilsack has promoted respectable policies with respect to restraining livestock monopolies, his overall record is one of aiding and abetting Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) or factory farms and promoting genetically engineered crops and animal cloning. Equally troubling is Vilsack's support for unsustainable industrial ethanol production, which has already caused global corn and grain prices to skyrocket, literally taking food off the table for a billion people in the developing world.

The Organic Consumers Association is calling on organic consumers and all concerned citizens to join our call to action and block Vilsack's confirmation as the next Secretary of Agriculture. Please help us reach our goal of 100,000 petition signatures against Vilsack' nomination. Sign today! Your email will be sent to your Senators and the President-Elect's office.


More information on why organic farmers are opposing Vilsack's appointment:



Want to help us get the word out? Blog or Twitter this link. 
http://tinyurl.com/9m386x

6 comments:

Maggie said...

Thank you for posting this, Susan. My (shamefully) head in a hole re: news self wouldn't have known otherwise.

Hillary said...

I AGREE! I posted about this on my blog a few weeks ago. I was so surprised (and sorely disappointed) by Obama's choice for Ag Secretary.

As I was talking to my politically-savvy dad about it, he told me that this is probably Obama's way of getting the agribusiness/ethanol lobbyists off of his back right off the bat. Agribusiness has so much money and, therefore, so much pull in Washington, it's hard to imagine that we, as voters, will be able to make a difference. Nevertheless, I'm signing the petition.

Thanks for getting the word out!

Turtle said...

having grown up on a small farm, i agree (and signed!)

Anonymous said...

In the interest of balance and making an informed decision, I thought I'd post a link to http://www.supportvilsack.com/ which has a lot of Sustainable Ag's thought leaders' support.

Susan said...

Cornelia, this is my blog and I am not required to present a "balanced" view. I have made an informed decision- despite your implication to the contrary- and do not believe that Vilsack is the right choice for Secretary of Agriculture.

Thanks for sharing your point of view. Even though I disagree with it, I don't assume it's uninformed.

Anonymous said...

You should also voice your opinion at:
http://change.gov/
which is Obama's website.

You will be heard there!