Cabinet Appointments
Obama Punting on Agriculture Reform?
By Jonathan Weber, 11-30-08
While Obama's centrist cabinet appointments on the economy and national security have been well-received in most quarters, there could be a lot more dissent if he goes ahead with one of the current front-runners for Agriculture Secretary, reports Jonathan Hiskes at Crosscut.Citing The Hill, Hiskes says that Reps. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) are the leading contenders for Agriculture - and that both are representative of the status quo.
Agriculture reform is both a budget issue and a social issue as the organic- and local-food movements gain momentum. Indeed, reform of irrational subsidy programs and various types of incentive schemes that favor chemically-oriented agribusiness over family farms is potentially a great opportunity for Obama and his message of change. We don't know Peterson or Sandlin, but when it comes to Ag, we definitely support change.
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Don't forget that the Sec of Agriculture also oversees the Forest Service and the management of 192 million acres of national forests and grasslands where issues such as logging, grazing, oil and gas development, mining, biodiversity, wilderness, endangered species, clean water, etc are front and center.
Our experience with Rep Stephanie Herseth Sandlin on public lands and forest issues is that she's much more in-line with GOP philosophy/policy than with any concepts of sustainability, protection and restoration.
Well, I hope Sandlin or whoever gets in realizes the present production methods have been the only black ink exports we've had. I would be for removing all subsidies if all countries were saddled with the rules and safetey issues for food production as we labor under. The excess we the u.s. creates is what allows countries that have little economic stability to eat. I fear the left. When I heard William Clinton in a speech ,outloud , say we need to get rid of all farming and ranching and import all our food I was gripped with the knowledge that we are controlled by persons who really don't lilke farmers and ranchers. So if we end up with someone who acctually feels farmer ranchers of all ilk are valuable I will breathe a sigh of relief.
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