From City Soil to System Change
The Department of Agriculture should renew its mission as “the people’s department,” as President Lincoln called it when he created it. That’s the argument made by Ricardo Salvador from the Union of Concerned Scientists and food writer Mark Bittman in a New York Times opinion piece last week.
Phil Lempert, the “supermarket guru” and food trends editor for NBC’s Today Show, describes the NYT article in this video in case you don’t subscribe or have used up your free reads.
The Farm Bill is the primary agriculture policy document in the nation. It’s passed roughly every five years. The last one was signed into law by Trump in December of 2018, so the next one is due in 2023. Lots of info here: What Is the Farm Bill?
The first hearings in the House for our current law were held nearly a year before the bill was passed. I don’t know how long before that the prep work began, but I don’t think right now is too soon to try to get up to speed.
On Tuesday, David Scott (D-Ga) was chosen as the House chair for the agriculture committee, replacing Collin Peterson (D-Minn) who lost his bid for re-election. Here’s how Mother Jones and The Hill reported the news.
A politician’s staff matter, also. Scott’s former chief of staff, Gary Woodward, left in early November for a position at H&R Block, so I’m guessing that means there’ll be some changes, but this is who’s listed on his site now:.
This arrived with my email today, as part of an announcement for a series of virtual talks with more than 50 prominent organic farmers, scientists, and climate activists. Chellie Pingree, quoted above and said to be under consideration for Biden’s secretary of agriculture, is one of the speakers . You can read more about the symposium by following this link, but it’s those data that I found chilling. 12,000 lobbyists! $350 million a year!
American Farmland Trust (AFT), a national non-profit, is reaching out to left-leaning political wonks with a paid message in Politico that we need to unify behind a push for regenerative agriculture, and the preservation of farmland and farms, for the sake of all of us, including the climate.
No, regenerative agriculture isn’t being oversold — it’s being underutilized.
John Piotti. “A green future for agriculture all Americans can get behind.”
So what do you think? Did AFT manage to make the subject sexy enough to attract attention? I found their suggested next moves for the incoming administration interesting :
The news I’ve seen about possible picks for Biden’s Secretary of Agriculture has coalesced around one issue: Heidi Heitkamp. She’s considered a frontrunner, but progressive groups hoping for serious change in U.S. food production are concerned she’s too closely allied to the status quo. So, lots of drama. This is a tremendous opportunity to do what I do best — get lost in the weeds, but instead of allowing myself to be drawn in, I’m going to leave you with a couple of links to follow if you’re so inclined. I, however, will be moving along in my attempt to sketch the political landscape.
For Heitkamp: The Grand Forks Herald argues that Heitkamp’s an advocate for rural issues, she knows agriculture, and she’s chummy with Biden and Harris, but suggests she might be opposed by environmental groups. So true.
Against Heitkamp: Food Tank sums up the opposing view.
Middle of the Road: Feedstuffs doesn’t take sides and says, “None of the major commodity groups – including the sometimes more progressive groups like the National Farmers Union and the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition – have formally endorsed any of the discussed candidates.”
And this, right here, looks like the nut of the issue to me (from Mother Jones): “Heitkamp’s emergence soon after the election as the favorite for the position hints that Biden remains pulled to the centrist, corporate-friendly policies that have characterized his whole career. Whereas choosing Fudge would show an openness to making good on the transformational promises that propelled him to the job he has coveted for decades.”
Choosing Heitkamp might look like playing it safe, but in the face of the climate crisis, playing it safe may just be playing the wrong game altogether.
Biden will choose a new secretary of agriculture to replace Sonny Perdue as head of the Department of Agriculture. It’s one of 15 departments in the executive branch of the U.S. government. Department heads, usually called secretaries, also serve as members of the president’s cabinet.
There seems to be some agreement that these three women are the top contenders:
Other names that have come up are:
I wonder why Tom Kirkman didn’t get a nod. He did a bang-up job on Designated Survivor.
City Farm Policy 