Report: Vilsack to return as Agriculture Secretary
In a pick criticized by environmental groups but supported by produce advocates, president-elect Joe Biden has reportedly chosen former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to return to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The 69-year-old former governor of Iowa led the USDA under president Barack Obama between 2008-2016.
Vilsack participated in the United Fresh Produce Association’s Washington Conference Sept. 23 as an advocate for Biden. At the virtual event, Vilsack said Biden would support immigration reform that would provide agriculture with a safe and legal workforce. Vilsack also said a Biden administration would take steps to protect soil and water and seek to reduce disruptions to agriculture caused by climate change.
“United Fresh is pleased to see Secretary Vilsack return to USDA,” Tom Stenzel, United Fresh CEO, said in a statement. “Under his steady leadership we worked together to further the gains of the industry and broaden access to fresh fruits and vegetables, particularly for children.”
Stenzel said many issues will receive attention over the next four years, from trade to climate change.
“Given the COVID-19 pandemic, it is vital that we have experienced leaders who can hit the ground running to ensure that there is a seamless transition from the Trump administration to the Biden administration, including making sure that the supply chain is utilized to address the immense and immediate food insecurity needs being faced around the country — and there is no one more familiar with how to make USDA work for the American people than Tom Vilsack,” according to Stenzel’s statement.
The Organic Trade Association said in a statement that the group looks forward to working again with Tom Vilsack as U.S. Agriculture Secretary.
“He knows the importance of clear and consistent organic standards, and the responsibility of the USDA to support the unique public-private partnership that has made the organic sector successful,” the group said.
“The Organic Trade Association looks forward to working with Mr. Vilsack to reinvest in organic agriculture and move our nation toward economic stability for farmers and rural communities, improve access to healthy food and foster a more climate-friendly system of farming.”
‘Safe pick?’
According to NPR.com, Vilsack is seen by Biden as a “safe” pick to lead USDA. Traditional farm organizations had been pushing Biden to pick former Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, while progressive and reform-minded Democrats had urged Biden to select Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio.
Instead, Biden has chosen Fudge for secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
Biden’s choice of Vilsack drew immediate criticism from environmental groups.
“We are deeply disappointed that President-elect Biden appears to have selected an agribusiness lobbyist with a tarnished record on civil rights, consolidation, and the environment as his USDA secretary,” Kari Hamerschlag, deputy director of Friends of the Earth’s Food and Agriculture Program, said in a statement.
Hamerschlag said Vilsack must be willing to transform the USDA “to support a more diversified, regenerative, healthy and just food system.”
Jaydee Hanson, policy director of the Center for Food Safety, called the Vilsack pick a “huge step backwards.”
“While serving as secretary under President Obama, Mr. Vilsack supported chemically-dependent industrial agriculture that resulted in millions more pounds of pesticides released into the environment, contaminating our water and soils and harming human health and wildlife,” Hanson said in a statement.
