Civil Eats

Within hours of former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack’s nomination as agriculture secretary, the web was humming with well-documented critiques of his troubling affinity for genetically engineered crops, Monsanto, and other agribusiness interests. Some expressed outrage, others surprise, after mounting a vigorous, 55,000-plus strong online petition effort to nominate a more progressive pick who would promote sustainable food and farming.

Obama’s pick of Vilsack offers more proof of the incoming administration’s unwavering centrism – meaning they’ll need to hear from sustainability and food justice advocates, and other progressive forces, early and often. Read More

Today President-elect Obama announced that former Iowa governer Tom Vilsack, who has a history of dealings in favor of agri-business, will be his Secretary of Agriculture.  This is a disappointment for many grassroots organizers and food policy activists, who had hope that the President-elect and his team would take a leaf from the petition, signed by over 55,000 individuals, which suggested sustainable and qualified choices for the position and represented a true change for the way the government views food production in our nation.  It is clear that while our new president will bring much needed change to how we do business in other realms in Washington, that food has not yet become a part of that equation. Read More