News Blog
Vilsack Says USDA is for “Eaters” Too and He Gets a To-Do List
By Courtney Lowery, 2-06-09
 |
|
 | |
|
Maybe it won’t be “agribusiness as usual” afterall under new Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.
In the Washington Post this week, Vilsack tells reporter Jane Black, “… I absolutely see the constituency of this department as broader than those who produce our food—it extends to those who consume it.”
But, the most promising quote is this:
He added that educating school administrators, parents and children is essential in effecting change. To that end, he said, he supports establishing school and urban community gardens, long at the top of the wish list for activists.
“We want to make a better connection between what kids eat and knowing where it comes from,” he said. “I’ve seen it in my own family. If you educate kids at an early age, you can have a tremendous impact.”
Meanwhile, The Ethicurean (a great resource for food news and discussion, by the way) has developed a list of “action items” for the new USDA:
Part 1 of the list highlights some of the best recommendations. Click here for Part 2.
- Make the USDA once again the “people’s department” with staff that answer to citizens before corporations.
- Start supporting diversified, decentralized food systems right now, and stop risking American lives by encouraging all our eggs to be put in one basket (or hamburger in one plant, peanuts in one processor…).
- Stop using the nation’s kids as a garbage disposal.
- Give us clear information about where our food comes from and how it was produced.
- Start protecting us from food gone wrong, and GE crops gone wild.
Like this story? Get more! Sign up for our free newsletters.
Comments