Food Democracy Now - Stop Big Ag in the White House - Say no to Monsanto

Stop Big Ag in the White House - Say no to Monsanto - CropLife

During the campaign, President Obama talked about closing the revolving door between powerful corporate interests and government service. And now we're finding that he hasn't lived up to his word.

Last month, he nominated two “Big Ag” power brokers--Roger Beachy and Islam Siddiqui--to key government positions, putting agribusiness executives in charge of our country's agricultural research and trade policy. Please join us in telling the President that this isn't the change we were hoping for: we don't want Big Ag running the show any more.

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Subject: Dear Friend, A serious breach of trust has occurred. During his campaign, President Obama spoke routinely about closing the revolving door between powerful corporate interests and government service. And now we are finding he hasn't lived up to his word. Click here to keep to Big Ag out of the White House: http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/65?akid=.40351.cHSwz9&t=1&source=taf Last month, Obama nominated two “Big Ag” power brokers--Roger Beachy and Islam Siddiqui--to key governement positions, putting agribusiness executives in charge of our country's agricultural research and trade policy. As the former head of the Donald Danforth Plant Research Center in St. Louis, MO, Beachy has led a long career of promoting failed GMO technologies and working closely Monsanto. Now the head of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), Beachy controls where research funds are spent in the U.S. This is not good news for proponents of sustainable and organic agriculture. For his part, Siddiqui, who last month was nominated to be the Chief Agricultural Negotiator at the Office of the US Trade Representative, has been a registered pesticide lobbyist and most recently the Vice President of Science and Regulatory Affairs at CropLife America. In a previous stint at the USDA, Siddiqui was responsible for trying to set the national organic standards to allow irradiation, sewage sludge and GMOs to be considered "organic." Fortunately, over 230,000 outraged Americans rose up and stopped this. Most recently, Siddiqui's CropLife MidAmerica sent First Lady Michelle Obama a letter saying that her "organic" garden made the pesticide lobby group "shudder". Who would have thought months later that President Obama would be trying to give a lobbyist like Siddiqui a job? While Beachy is already at work at the USDA, Siddiqui must be confirmed by the Senate. We have until Nov. 4th, (when the Senate Finance committee will vote) to make a difference. Please join us in telling the President that this isn't the change we were hoping for: we don't want Big Ag running the show any more. Click here to add your voice. http://fdn.actionkit.com/go/65?akid=.40351.cHSwz9&t=1&source=taf Please forward this email to 5 of your friends and ask them to sign up at Food Democracy Now!. Let's keep Obama honest about who he puts in positions of power. Thank you.

Here is the letter that we will deliver on your behalf to President Obama asking him to stand up for a sustainable future and keep his campaign promises.

“Dear President Obama,

We urge you to withdraw the nomination of Islam Siddiqui as Chief Agriculture Negotiator and to reconsider your support of Roger Beachy as director of the new National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Siddiqui is CropLife’s current vice president of science and regulatory affairs, and until last month, Beachy was the head of Monsanto’s de facto nonprofit research arm. As two textbook cases of the “revolving door” between industry and the agencies meant to keep watch, Siddiqui and Beachy’s industry ties demonstrate that both men are too beholden to corporate agriculture to serve the public interest.

As parents, farmers, advocates, scientists and people who eat food, we remember your promise on the campaign trail: “We’ll tell ConAgra that it’s not the Department of Agribusiness. It’s the Department of Agriculture. We’re going to put the people’s interests ahead of the special interests.” We, the undersigned, are writing to hold you to that promise.

Please click here to read the full text of the letter.
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