Tom Vilsack meets with staff members on Tuesday September 20, 2016 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
'A Terrible Decision': Progressives Denounce Biden Pick of 'Mr. Monsanto' Tom Vilsack as Ag Secretary
"We need a USDA Secretary on the side of everyday people. If this is not the fox guarding the henhouse, it's pretty damn close."
President-elect Joe Biden's reported decision to nominate Tom Vilsack to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture was met with immediate backlash from progressives, who argued the former Iowa governor's industry-friendly record as Obama's USDA chief should have disqualified him from returning to the role.
A coalition of environmental organizations and sustainable farming advocates had urged Biden to choose Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) to head the Agriculture Department, but the president-elect opted instead to nominate Fudge as his secretary of housing and urban development.
"Rep. Marcia Fudge would have been a historic first at USDA--a secretary on the side of everyday people, not corporate agriculture lobbyists," George Goehl, director of progressive advocacy group People's Action, said in a statement late Tuesday. Goehl called Biden's selection of Vilsack "a terrible decision."
"We need a USDA secretary on the side of everyday people who rely on the department in rural, urban, and suburban communities."
--George Goehl, People's Action
Critics of Vilsack, who served as governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007, have pointed to his failure to confront Big Ag during his time as USDA chief in the Obama administration.
Journalist Branko Marcetic wrote for In These Times over the summer that "while his tenure wasn't uniformly bad--Vilsack resisted Republican attacks on food stamps and upped federal support for organic food--he angered progressive groups by letting poultry factories self-regulate, speeding up the approval process for GMO crops, shelving new regulations on big agriculture at the industry's behest, and stepping in to craft an industry-friendly national GMO-labeling bill intended to replace a pioneering stricter standard in Vermont."
"The move," Marcetic noted, "helped earn him the derisive moniker 'Mr. Monsanto' and the enmity of many Bernie Sanders supporters at a time in 2016 when he was shortlisted as one of Hillary Clinton's potential running mates."
Prominent civil rights organizations have also raised alarm over Vilsack's record on issues of racial justice, pointing specifically to his department's treatment of Black farmers and his 2010 firing of USDA official Shirley Sherrod after she was smeared by far-right publication Breitbart.
"It would be a slap in the face to all Black people for this administration to appoint him," Corey Lea of the Cowtown Foundation, an organization that advocates for Black farmers, wrote in a letter urging Biden not to select Vilsack.
The Washington Post reported that during a meeting with Biden on Tuesday, NAACP President Derrick Johnson told the president-elect directly that "he did not want Vilsack to be given the agriculture job."
Goehl of People's Action also highlighted the Sherrod firing and added that during Vilsack's tenure as secretary, USDA "foreclosed on Black farmers after they complained about discrimination."
"We need a USDA secretary on the side of everyday people who rely on the department in rural, urban, and suburban communities," Goehl said. "Instead, we're getting a revolving-door appointment. If this is not the fox guarding the henhouse, it's pretty damn close."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. Our Fall Campaign is underway, and we need your help. To power our newsroom through the rest of the year, we need to raise $125,000 by midnight on October 31. So if you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
President-elect Joe Biden's reported decision to nominate Tom Vilsack to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture was met with immediate backlash from progressives, who argued the former Iowa governor's industry-friendly record as Obama's USDA chief should have disqualified him from returning to the role.
A coalition of environmental organizations and sustainable farming advocates had urged Biden to choose Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) to head the Agriculture Department, but the president-elect opted instead to nominate Fudge as his secretary of housing and urban development.
"Rep. Marcia Fudge would have been a historic first at USDA--a secretary on the side of everyday people, not corporate agriculture lobbyists," George Goehl, director of progressive advocacy group People's Action, said in a statement late Tuesday. Goehl called Biden's selection of Vilsack "a terrible decision."
"We need a USDA secretary on the side of everyday people who rely on the department in rural, urban, and suburban communities."
--George Goehl, People's Action
Critics of Vilsack, who served as governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007, have pointed to his failure to confront Big Ag during his time as USDA chief in the Obama administration.
Journalist Branko Marcetic wrote for In These Times over the summer that "while his tenure wasn't uniformly bad--Vilsack resisted Republican attacks on food stamps and upped federal support for organic food--he angered progressive groups by letting poultry factories self-regulate, speeding up the approval process for GMO crops, shelving new regulations on big agriculture at the industry's behest, and stepping in to craft an industry-friendly national GMO-labeling bill intended to replace a pioneering stricter standard in Vermont."
"The move," Marcetic noted, "helped earn him the derisive moniker 'Mr. Monsanto' and the enmity of many Bernie Sanders supporters at a time in 2016 when he was shortlisted as one of Hillary Clinton's potential running mates."
Prominent civil rights organizations have also raised alarm over Vilsack's record on issues of racial justice, pointing specifically to his department's treatment of Black farmers and his 2010 firing of USDA official Shirley Sherrod after she was smeared by far-right publication Breitbart.
"It would be a slap in the face to all Black people for this administration to appoint him," Corey Lea of the Cowtown Foundation, an organization that advocates for Black farmers, wrote in a letter urging Biden not to select Vilsack.
The Washington Post reported that during a meeting with Biden on Tuesday, NAACP President Derrick Johnson told the president-elect directly that "he did not want Vilsack to be given the agriculture job."
Goehl of People's Action also highlighted the Sherrod firing and added that during Vilsack's tenure as secretary, USDA "foreclosed on Black farmers after they complained about discrimination."
"We need a USDA secretary on the side of everyday people who rely on the department in rural, urban, and suburban communities," Goehl said. "Instead, we're getting a revolving-door appointment. If this is not the fox guarding the henhouse, it's pretty damn close."
President-elect Joe Biden's reported decision to nominate Tom Vilsack to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture was met with immediate backlash from progressives, who argued the former Iowa governor's industry-friendly record as Obama's USDA chief should have disqualified him from returning to the role.
A coalition of environmental organizations and sustainable farming advocates had urged Biden to choose Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) to head the Agriculture Department, but the president-elect opted instead to nominate Fudge as his secretary of housing and urban development.
"Rep. Marcia Fudge would have been a historic first at USDA--a secretary on the side of everyday people, not corporate agriculture lobbyists," George Goehl, director of progressive advocacy group People's Action, said in a statement late Tuesday. Goehl called Biden's selection of Vilsack "a terrible decision."
"We need a USDA secretary on the side of everyday people who rely on the department in rural, urban, and suburban communities."
--George Goehl, People's Action
Critics of Vilsack, who served as governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007, have pointed to his failure to confront Big Ag during his time as USDA chief in the Obama administration.
Journalist Branko Marcetic wrote for In These Times over the summer that "while his tenure wasn't uniformly bad--Vilsack resisted Republican attacks on food stamps and upped federal support for organic food--he angered progressive groups by letting poultry factories self-regulate, speeding up the approval process for GMO crops, shelving new regulations on big agriculture at the industry's behest, and stepping in to craft an industry-friendly national GMO-labeling bill intended to replace a pioneering stricter standard in Vermont."
"The move," Marcetic noted, "helped earn him the derisive moniker 'Mr. Monsanto' and the enmity of many Bernie Sanders supporters at a time in 2016 when he was shortlisted as one of Hillary Clinton's potential running mates."
Prominent civil rights organizations have also raised alarm over Vilsack's record on issues of racial justice, pointing specifically to his department's treatment of Black farmers and his 2010 firing of USDA official Shirley Sherrod after she was smeared by far-right publication Breitbart.
"It would be a slap in the face to all Black people for this administration to appoint him," Corey Lea of the Cowtown Foundation, an organization that advocates for Black farmers, wrote in a letter urging Biden not to select Vilsack.
The Washington Post reported that during a meeting with Biden on Tuesday, NAACP President Derrick Johnson told the president-elect directly that "he did not want Vilsack to be given the agriculture job."
Goehl of People's Action also highlighted the Sherrod firing and added that during Vilsack's tenure as secretary, USDA "foreclosed on Black farmers after they complained about discrimination."
"We need a USDA secretary on the side of everyday people who rely on the department in rural, urban, and suburban communities," Goehl said. "Instead, we're getting a revolving-door appointment. If this is not the fox guarding the henhouse, it's pretty damn close."