Unsatisfied with names that the President Elect has floated for the position of USDA Secretary, we've decided to offer another name for consideration over at Fair Food Fight.
Fair Food Fight wants to make sure that Barack Obama does not overlook James A. Riddle for a prominent position in the USDA. Please sign our Online Petition and get this important organic food and sustainable farming advocate on the Obama Team's short list.
(You can read more about Jim at that link, too.)
Jim Riddle's unique experience is vital for the next Department of Agriculture, particularly when it comes to the fastest growing segment of the US agriculture, organic foods.
We all knew the 20% growth that organic ag has enjoyed over the last decade-and-a-half wasn't necessarily good for the young industry, particularly with "growth-at-all-costs" officials like Barbara Robinson as administrators over the National Organic Program. Robinson might be a perfectly capable ag economist, I don't kow, but she did not come to the USDA with a background in organic inspection, organic farming, organic policy, or the drafting of organic standards. Like others in the Bush administration, her appointment was baffling.
As a result of her incapabale administering -- which allowed bad actors in the organic dairy industry to keep their organic certification, long after the USDA was forced to admit that standards had been violated -- organic food and farming has lost credibility. Perhaps organics never should have entered under USDA jurisdiction, but we're past that argument. The industry now needs strict and credible oversight to repair its repuation.
Furthermore, like most Bush administration officials, Robinson saw herself as a loose-handed overseer of her charge (the young USDA Organic Program, which began October, 2002), and from my point of view, has struck an adversarial pose with the organic producers and consumers. The Bush administration, whose resaon for being is to deregulate, found itself in the ironic position of shepherding the organic industry, which wanted, needed, and asked to be regulated. Indeed, strict regulation is what built the organic brand: Integrity, trustworthiness, and third-party oversight.
Jim Riddle, who has been involved intimately with the rulemaking phases of organic standards creation, would be a phenomenal USDA official, especially in Ag Marketing Service, the National Organic Program, or (we can dream) USDA Secretary.
The federal government can no longer afford to appoint USDA officials who have no idea what the organic industry is, what drives its consumers, or who refuse to regulate it seriously. While organic growth has tapered off during the recent ecoomic slowdown, it's still the fastest growing segment of the USDA and needs to be administered as such with an experienced hand. So head over to Fair Food Fight, read about Jim's background, and help us...
DRAFT JIM RIDDLE TO THE USDA!
**Big Props to Hardhat Democrat who pitched Jim Riddle to Daily Kos on Thanksgiving Day.