Pick for Sec'y of Ag. supports GE food..

15 years ago

as well as pharmaceutical crops.

Vilsack is an ardent support of corn and soy based biofuels, which use as much or more fossil energy to produce them as they generate, while driving up world food prices and literally starving the poor.

He supports ethanol.

He is known as a friend to Monsanto.

see and sign:

PETITION: "Stop Vilsack's Confirmation as Secretary of Agriculture"

at

http://www.care2.com/news/member/363754298/989157

* Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack's support of genetically engineered pharmaceutical crops, especially pharmaceutical corn:

http://www.gene.ch/genet/2002/Oct/msg00057.html

http://www.organicconsumers.or...rugsincorn102302.cfm

* The biggest biotechnology industry group, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, named Vilsack Governor of the Year. He was also the founder and former chair of the Governor's Biotechnology Partnership.

http://www.bio.org/news/pressr...ewsitem.asp?id=200...

* When Vilsack created the Iowa Values Fund, his first poster child of economic development potential was Trans Ova and their pursuit of cloning dairy cows.

* Vilsack was the origin of the seed pre-emption bill in 2005, which many people here in Iowa fought because it took away local government's possibility of ever having a regulation on seeds- where GE would be grown, having GE-free buffers, banning pharma corn locally, etc. Representative Sandy Greiner, the Republican sponsor of the bill, bragged on the House Floor that Vilsack put her up to it right after his state of the state address.

* Vilsack has a glowing reputation as being a schill for agribusiness biotech giants like Monsanto.

http://www.organicconsumers.or...es/article_15573.cfm

ellenr

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Comments (13)

marshallz10
15 years ago
We cross posted on this selection. I am appalled.
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ellenr22 - NJ - Zone 6b/7a
Original Author
15 years ago
I voted for the man, and I find each of his cabinet picks worse than the one before!

ellenr
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Many of the things mentioned, are from previous safety failures in farm management. He considers his farm clean to process meat. Uninspected, unobserved, the animal and meat handling could be anything! I have seen home butchering done in the barn aisle, carcass dropped onto an old bloody sheet or canvas to cut up for packages. No washing of the butcher person, he is wearing his overalls, old muddy barn boots as he wrestles the half and other portions onto some boards across sawhorses to cut up. Open air, lots of flies on the meat, because it is a warm spring or fall day. Flies come on over from the paddocks of contained animals amd manure in them. Yep, I REALLY want to get my meat from him! Actually, I no longer accepted dinner invites from those folks after helping with some job or just visiting!! You would never know about that "handling method" as you buy those little meat packages. Whining writer could do as others do, sell the portions of animal. Then he will have animal processed at the butcher location, customers pick up the finished product from the Gov't. inspected, licensed facility. It is not going to cost him any more at all. Gov't. Inspected can mean a lot of things, they are not all equal. However the place and methods get looked at now and again, better than nothing. Hiring regulations are to protect the worker. If a farmer or his family members use tools that are elderly, questionable with no safety guards or bad wiring, that is a family choice. Hired help should not be forced to work under those conditions. Power tools, by their design, are not something you let small kids or younger kids use. They come with manuals of safety, handling instructions that no one reads, to protect the user. Do the farm employers take time to do safety training of these employees, to use the various tools? Not often, if at all. Everyone already "knows" how to do farm stuff!! Kids seldom will argue with an elder person if told to do a job. Kids do not have the experience to spot dangers or understand the problems that might occur in doing a job the wrong way. They don't often think, period! Kids want to earn money, are not going to worry about the dangers they place themselves in, while doing that job. Plus kids forget what you said, ignore the directions they were given before, THINK for themselves. Original thought by kids might add to the dangers!! Their "kid brains" just work that way! Part of growing up is brain development, which can't happen before brain is ready to grow that way. Actual body development may hinder kids in trying to do things, they have different visual fields, motor skills. They often can't help how they think and react, just an age thing. Each grows up at their own speed, should not be grouped by age in all cases. Big size or older age, is NOT mature in body or thinking!! Adult farm workers may not read well, or have used this kind of tool or machine before. They SHOULD be shown how to use it, have the guards and safeties in place to protect them. I can't believe how often the safety features are over-ridden or removed to make it easier to get hurt. Yet it happens ALL THE TIME. I guess you have to protect people from themselves because they will hurt and kill themselves if not supervised. I will agree there are many conflicting and peculiarly written laws in farming. Still were always written for a good, original reason. Farming is about the most dangerous occupation in the US. I think deep-sea fishing is number one. So many places and ways to get hurt in any farming operation. Even if just reading the laws makes you think about your lack of meeting the rules, you might CHANGE a couple things to be better/safer, for yourself. As we live in the setting, we lose our discerning eye for danger. No longer see the repaired cords, long extensions run to get power in a location, double plugs on an outlet, jury-rigging to keep a tractor running, instead of REALLY fixing it right. Just keep rounding up the loose animals, not fixing fence. Climbing the ladder with missing or cracked treads. Not turning off the tractor to unhitch the wagon by ourself, on the hill, with brakes we never repaired. Taking constant chances, which so far have not broken the odds of survival. Yet stuff like this IS a source of danger, we have become used to it or ignore the dangers. The Gov't. gets involved because this thinking is so prevailing, bad stuff never is fixed, endagers the hired help. Not acceptable as safety in Industry, or on the "old farm" either. People die with ignoring safety. The original writing is totally a rant, no one gets to do everything his own way, anyplace. Many nations are much more strict than the US. The food chain is very vulnerable anyplace in the length. It does need checking, to keep things somewhat safer than you would ever see with self-governing along the way.
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OMG. None of those except for the Cheerios would make it in the door at my house. We get stuff like Barbara's and Kashi. The best way, IMO, to make grilled cheese: 1. bread, sliced thin cheese or shredded cheese, and butter. These are the essential ingredients. I like to jazz it up if it's just me eating it and add things like: Rosemary Sourdough bread, goat cheese, havarti cheese, tomato, arugula, prosciutto, etc... Anyway, the basic method is this: Butter both slices of bread, one side only. In a non-stick skillet on medium high place the bread butter-side down until it's melted and the bread is golden toasty and buttery. Turn the bread over, immediately add the cheese and top with the other slice. Both buttered sides are now on the inside of the sandwich (and melting the cheese). Lower the heat on your pan and get a lid that just fits over the top of the sandwich, creating a little tent. Put the lid over it for 30 seconds, flip the sandwich, repeat. Remove the lid. This helps to flash-melt the cheese. Take some more butter, pick the sandwich up with the spatula, and place the pat of butter in the pan and put the sandwich on top of the butter. Move the sandwich around, cook until that side is golden brown. Flip, repeat, serve. I like to add thin sliced tomato after when I'm cooking a basic sandwich. I don't like cooked tomato. But you can add your other ingredients at any time. The basic idea, for me, is to avoid soggy bread and have thoroughly melted cheese. The mayo, when I use it, is used on the outside of the bread in the first step, flipped to the inside. So the cheese is on the cooked mayo side when the sandwich is finished and the outside is buttered. My DH hates cooked mayo, but I think it really adds good flavor. You don't need a lot, just a very thin layer, enough to turn golden on the bread. Serve with really good mustard or ketsup or tomato soup.
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peter_6
15 years ago
Looks like a bad one; but we shall have to wait and see whether he reacts suitably in the larger context. My pick would be Michael Pollan. Regards, Peter.
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justaguy2
15 years ago
He is an IOWA guy so maybe his politics reflect that. Now that he is on a national stage his policy may differ. Time will tell.
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ellenr22 - NJ - Zone 6b/7a
Original Author
15 years ago
Actually cabinet members are picked *because of* their views, not in the expectation that their views will change.

The cabinet selections (in all areas) simply reflect the president's views.

ellenr
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dchall_san_antonio
15 years ago
Too bad we can't get this reflection of their views before the election.
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wayne_5 zone 6a Central Indiana
15 years ago
It is not surprising that a large industry such as agriculture would be led by conventional thinking. The same goes for the head of the FDA. My, we are not likely to get leadership that reflects alternative health or primarily organic thinking. The numbers, power, influence, and money stats are just not there
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ellenr22 - NJ - Zone 6b/7a
Original Author
15 years ago
"Too bad we can't get this reflection of their views before the election."

Many of us are not surprised by Obama's centrist, rightist views.
BUT,
who else would one vote for?

The trouble is in our choices.

ellenr
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paulns
15 years ago
"The cabinet selections (in all areas) simply reflect the president's views."

Obama's background is thoroughly urban, from what I've read. Sounds more like he's ignorant about, and/or uninterested in, agriculture and accepting bad advice.

When US politicians talk about 'energy independence' and not depending on 'foreign' oil they gloss over the fact of American companies mining Alberta's tar sands, said by some to be the single greatest ecological disaster in the world.
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ellenr22 - NJ - Zone 6b/7a
Original Author
15 years ago
Obama is enough of a "take-charge" person that he would get advice from people who are 'competent' in their fields. I of course do not consider Vilsack or anyone with his views as competent but according to the mainstream thinking, they are.

Perhaps Obama is not the man you wish he were.

Obama is a politician an opportunist, about getting power for himself and his friends, not about building a better world. If he were about the latter, all his choices (Cabinet) would be different.

There is certainly a wealth of innovative, creative, brilliant people out there, who could have helped him REALLY make a change, not a cosmetic change.
He would have picked Van Jones for example.
With all the momentum he had/has, he had a singular opportunity to turn global destruction around.

This opportunity will not come around again, by the end of the era of Obama, people will be so totally disillusioned, they will not learn that they could have had it otherwise.

That takes work, not relying on a "leader".
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adirondackgardener
15 years ago
>Obama is a politician an opportunist, about getting power for himself and his friends, not about building a better world. If he were about the latter, all his choices (Cabinet) would be different.

If politics was the subject of this forum and not completely off-topic, I'd tell you that I totally disagree with you.

If it wasn't completely out of the scope of what this forum is meant for, I'd tell you that you are clueless about how a leader in a virtually evenly-divided nation has to serve and accomodate all citizens, not just the most extreme of his party.

If I thought the moderators of this forum wouldn't boot me off for responding to your turning the Organic Gardening Forum into your political soapbox, I'd say you've had your head up your butt too long if you think that anyone could turn this country around to your liking overnight.

But politics is not what this forum is meant for, so I guess I'll just keep my mouth shut. If you're going to use these forums for Obama-bashing for the next 8 years, you can rest assured that I will be the one insisting that the moderators give you the boot, ellen.

Merry Christmas.
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ellenr22 - NJ - Zone 6b/7a
Original Author
15 years ago
Too late adirondackgardener, to "Keep your mouth shut", as you say. As usual you have put your foot in it.
I have forwarded your post to the moderators, since obscenity is frowned upon here.
Guess you'll be the one leaving.
bye, bye.

But I do like the way you express your Christmas spirit. It is very uplifting. ;>
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organicguy
15 years ago
EllenR,
With all due respect, I don't see where adirondackgardener used any obscenity, and he is entitled to disagree with you, is he not.
For what it's worth, I am not an Obama fan and the school is still out on what he will or will not do. He hasn't even taken office yet. I have serious misgivings with his politics and positions, and deep concerns where he will lead the county.
That being said, this forum is about organic gardening and not politics. If the folks here represent a cross section of political opinions here in America, you will find about as many who disagree with you, as those who agree. This would make for entertaining political
debate and banter that could go on forever and benefit no one. So please, lets get back to gardening which is what this place is all about. Let's talk about real manure rather than the policical manure.

Ron
The Garden Guy
http://www.TheGardenGuy.org
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Pick for Sec'y of Ag. supports GE food..

Comments (13)

marshallz10

ellenr22 - NJ - Zone 6b/7a
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peter_6

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dchall_san_antonio

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ellenr22 - NJ - Zone 6b/7a
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paulns

ellenr22 - NJ - Zone 6b/7a
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adirondackgardener

ellenr22 - NJ - Zone 6b/7a
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Pick for Sec'y of Ag. supports GE food..

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