The Canary Report

Vilsack surprises critics

Posted on May 02, 2009 by Susie Collins in Blog, Food, Home & Garden, Policy

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack adds a garden at the USDA and asked all USDA offices to put in gardens, too.

The Demoines Register reports Tom Vilsack’s approach as ag secretary surprises critics.

Washington, D.C. – The World War II-era poster that faces Tom Vilsack’s desk should provide a clue that he may not be the kind of agriculture secretary expected of a former governor of Iowa, the land of big, high-tech grain and hog farms.

The poster says: “Let’s All Grow Vegetables.”

In his first 100 days in office, Vilsack has surprised his early detractors, who feared he would be too close to agribusiness.

In what is supposed to be a symbol of the Obama administration’s new priorities, Vilsack started an organic vegetable garden in front of the Agriculture Department near one of the more prominent spots for tourists in Washington, the subway stop that serves the Smithsonian museums.

In another key move, Kathleen Merrigan, a university professor who helped create the national program for certifying organic food, was installed as deputy secretary at the USDA.

Vilsack also demonstrated an early willingness to take on the USDA’s traditional constituency among conventional farm interests. He called meatpackers in and told them to adhere to more strict procedures for labeling pork and beef from foreign sources, and he pitched a proposed cut in farm subsidies as vital to funding better nutrition for poor children.

“He has a much broader understanding of agriculture and food systems than I think some of his critics had expected,” said Ben Lilliston of the Institute for Agriculture and Food Policy, a group that advocates a shift to smaller-scale, diversified farms that rely less on chemical inputs and biotechnology.

Lilliston said the USDA’s organic garden is a powerful symbol showing that the department now “recognizes and values the importance of people growing their own food and connecting with food in a deeper way.”

Link to full story at The Demoines Register.

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Tags: Food, Garden, Organic, USDA