Help Obama and Help Organic Standards

Posted by A. Caleb Hartley on January 15th, 2009 filed in organic

The Senate began confirmation hearings for appointment of biotech and biofuels booster Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture yesterday. According to Environment News Service, “Vilsack had no problem winning over both Democrat and Republican members of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee during his confirmation hearing,” but he is not so popular among those who follow organic food standards, both growers and consumers of organic food.

The Organic Consumers Association has decided not to fight this appointment, but is taking a more positive approach – calling on people to pressure Obama to draft Jim Riddle as the head of the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), the department that oversees organic food, farming, and standards. Riddle is an organic farmer from Minnesota, former Chair of the National Organic Standards Board, and a longtime advocate for sustainable and organic farming. With Riddle heading up the AMS, farmers markets, Community Supported Agriculture, transition to organic programs, and the National Organic Program will finally receive the attention, technical assistance, and funding they deserve.

Sign the Organic Consumers Association petition online, and help ensure that you will always know what is actually in the food you are putting in your body, and that you will have a choice to eat healthy, pesticide-, herbicide-, and bio-engineering free food far into the future.

Namaste,
A. Caleb Hartley

---

Do you eat organic? Have you thought about it? What are your thoughts on bio-engineering? Heat up the comments with your opinions!

Popularity: 10% [?]