Organizing for America | April Pierson-Keating's Blog: no Vilsack, no Monsanto

no Vilsack, no Monsanto

By April Keating - Nov 20th, 2008 at 8:55 am EST

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Tags: agribusiness, energy, GE, genetically engineered crops, Monsanto, vilsack

Six Reasons Why Obama Appointing Monsanto's Buddy, Former Iowa Governor Vilsack, for USDA Head Would be a Terrible Idea

Six Reasons Why Obama Appointing Monsanto's Buddy, Former Iowa Governor Vilsack, for USDA Head is a Terrible Idea
OCA, November 12, 2008

Nov. 12, 2008

* 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.org/gefood/drugsincorn102302.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/pressreleases/newsitem.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. Sustainable ag advocated across the country were spreading the word of Vilsack's history as he was attempting to appeal to voters in his presidential bid. An activist from the west coast even made this youtube animation about Vilsack
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmoc4Qgcm4s
The airplane in this animation is a referral to the controversy that Vilsack often traveled in Monsanto's jet.

*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.

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crap thx for posting this | Report to Admin

By Food Fascist Nov 20th 2008 at 9:01 am EST (Updated Nov 20th 2008 at 9:01 am EST)

Monsanto is the devil, plain put. See the Future of Food everyone,you dont even know what you are eating and 90 percent of Americans have no idea what Monsanto has done around the world, causing Farmers to commit suicide, and the consolidation of the seed supply and the simon barsiniser approach to stealing land and lives. Jesus,you know I am really not liking these appointments. I like Tom Dashcel, and Gibbs, and I think that if Rahm Emmanual is kept as the Sargent at Arms Chief of Staff and is relegated to just scaring the Republicans that;'' be okay, but Judas will be in the Oval office just the same.....put down the Abe Lincoln books President Elect.....read the modern analysis of the history books instead............

Greetings from Iowa | Report to Admin

By Hussein The Hope Monger Nov 20th 2008 at 9:13 am EST (Updated Nov 20th 2008 at 9:13 am EST)

The Clinton administration was friendly to these initiatives too.

Published on Monday, July 24, 2000 in the San Francisco Chronicle
'Going Backwards:
Clinton Administration Appoints A Former Monsanto Corp. Lobbyist To Represent US Consumers On Genetically Engineered Food Issues'
by Tom Abate

Leading consumer and environmental groups are fuming because the Clinton administration has appointed a former Monsanto Corp. lobbyist to represent U.S. consumers on a transatlantic committee set up to avoid a trade war over genetically engineered foods.

Link

Personally, I'd like to see more new faces and fresh ideas, but remain suportive of the President-Elect.

Re: Greetings from Iowa | Report to Admin

By Hussein The Hope Monger Nov 20th 2008 at 9:14 am EST (Updated Nov 20th 2008 at 9:14 am EST)

And we all remember from primary/caucus season, that Hillary Clinton's Rose Law firm had Monsanto as a client....

where's the change? | Report to Admin

By David P Nov 20th 2008 at 9:49 am EST (Updated Nov 20th 2008 at 9:49 am EST)

This stuff is just scary. I mean it already seems like things are being watered down and twisted and concessions being made. I mean correct me if I'm wrong but Barack Obama won a convincing victory didn't he. The talking heads on TV keep saying this is a center right country, well I dont think that's true, we couldn't have won so convingly if it was, and people do not want to be eating GE foods if they knew the potential downsides to them.Why are we not advancing progressive issues and appointing people who will support them right from the get go here?

A part of me just died | Report to Admin

By Zachary from Austin, TX Dec 17th 2008 at 5:31 pm EST (Updated Dec 17th 2008 at 5:31 pm EST)

I could live with the other appointments. Honestly, Robert Gates has some good ideas to slim down the military and make it fit today's circumstances, and his position is of such a high profile that Obama will have a lot of reign over him. But presidents don't generally pay much attention to agricultural policy. Vilsack will have room to implement many of his policies without input from above. I don't know a whole bunch about him, but from what I've read he doesn't understand the fundamental shift that needs to occur in American food production. I can't believe Obama made such a lazy and ultimately harmful choice. Salazar doesn't seem like such a good pick either. He should take his hat off when he's inside.

Sadly No One is Listening to Us | Report to Admin

By Jacob from La Jolla, CA Dec 19th 2008 at 10:54 pm EST (Updated Dec 19th 2008 at 10:54 pm EST)

I guess there won't be any change when it comes to Agribusiness, Franken Foods, and Monsanto's unbridled evil now that Lobbyist Vilsack has been appointed. In fact, I don't see any change coming anymore. Just more corporate control. I should have know better than to "believe". Our country died on 11/22/1963.

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