OMG everybody! We won! We did it! Obama announced today that he will nominate Kathleen A. Merrigan for Deputy Secretary of the USDA. She was among the Sustainable Dozen requested as high level USDA appointees by the Food Democracy Now campaign. I just dug through some of her past publications (detailed below) and she's a dream come true!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
EDUCATION:
- PhD in Environmental Planning and Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Master of Public Affairs, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas
- B.A. in Political Science and English, Williams College.
CAREER:
PUBLICATIONS:
- Merrigan, K. and M. Bailey. (2008) Implementing Farm-to-College Programs: Lessons Learned at Tufts University. Nutrition Today (40)4 160-165.
- Merrigan, K. (2007) North American Governance. In I. Taylor and K. Barrett (Eds.), Genetically Engineered Plants: Decision-Making Under Uncertainty (pp. 207-228). Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press, Inc.
- Merrigan, K. (2007) The Conservation Security Program: Insight and Recommendations Based on the New England Experience, Hearing before the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, U.S. Senate, Jan. 17, 2007, available at http://agriculture.senate.gov
- Lockeretz, W. and K. Merrigan. (2006) Ensuring Comprehensive Organic Livestock Standards, Proceedings of the 1st IFOAM International Conference on Animals in Organic Production, available at www.ifoam.org
- Merrigan, K. (2005) Organic Food Regulations: Part Art, Part Science. In C. Hassler (Ed.), Regulation of Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals: A Global Perspective (pp. 69-78). Ames, Iowa: Blackwell Press.
Organic Livestock Standards
Merrigan's report on organic livestock standards is nothing short of FANTASTIC! However, the paper notes that it is a list of standards used around the world and that not everybody agrees on one standard. Therefore, while I wish I could say the paper was a recommendation of comprehensive organic standards for livestock, it looks like it is more of a brainstorming list of all of the facets that might be covered by organic standards.
Some of the standards included in the paper are:
- Choosing breeds that resist disease or other health problems and do not need "mutilations" i.e tail docking. Recommendation to choose indigenous breeds and breeds adapted to local conditions and organic production systems.
- Natural reproduction.
- Sick animals must be treated, even if this means loss of organic status
- Disease prevention should be based on diet and exercise (as opposed to sub-therapeutic antibiotics)
- "All organic standards require meeting each animal’s nutritional needs, severely restrict feeds of animal origin, prohibit growth promoters in feed, restrict vitamin and mineral supplements, prohibit/restrict feeding of pure amino acids, establish preferential or exclusive use of organic feeds, or require access to pasture and roughage (at least for ruminants)."
- Young mammals must get colostrum and milk (if not maternal milk, preferably organic
milk from their own species)
- Animals must have enough space to exercise and permit natural behavior
- Tethering is restricted or prohibited
The paper goes on with specifications for each animal, for example, restrictions on keeping calves in individual boxes, cows must be fed a diet that prevents acidosis, poultry may not be kept in cages, forced molting should not be done to laying hens, sows may not be kept in farrowing crates, and pigs should live in an area that allows natural behaviors like rooting.
Testimony to Senate Ag Committee on the Conservation Security Program
First of all, this is a GREAT program and I'm glad to see that Kathleen Merrigan supports it. As she puts it "The Bottom Line: CSP Works." She calls it (and programs like it with "green payments") "the future of of agricultural support." In other words - instead of paying for maximum yield as we do now, which often leads to terrible treatment of our air, water, and soil - under CSP we pay farmers for good stewardship of the earth. This isn't a program where we pay farmers not to grow crops. Instead, we pay farmers for conservation practices on working lands.
Another good point from Merrigan's testimony is her statement that most of CSP's challenges arose from lack of funding. It's a great program that has been miserably underfunded - good to see she thinks so too. Merrigan calls for full funding.
The paper covers case studies of 8 farms in several New England states. The farms ranged from 8 to 1800 acres and included dairy, potato, cranberry, apple, beef, and conventional and organic vegetables. These farms received payments ranging from $8/acre/year and $45/acre/year depending on the number of conservation practices being done on a farm and the average regional rental rate for farmland.
The stewardship practices rewarded fell into 9 categories (expected to soon be 10, with a public relations category added). These categories include: pest management, nutrient management, soil management, and water management.
She notes CSP's intent to "reward the best and motivate the rest" and its inability to do so due to lack of funding. If the program isn't even available to most farmers, how the heck is it going to motivate them to change their conservation practices if they have no chance of participating in the program?
She also notes complexity in the program that serves as a barrier to its successful implementation. She requests that the program become more farmer-friendly, and that they provide more technical assistance to farmers to allow them to participate in the program.
So that's who's now in charge over at the USDA (well, second to our friend Mr. Vilsack). She's AMAZING!
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OTHER FOOD-RELATED NEWS
While I have your attention, I'd like to share that Michelle Obama spoke out in favor of local foods this week. And here's what Secretary Vilsack has been up to:
COOL: Country of Origin Labeling
January 15, the Bush USDA published a final rule for COOL. And... it kinda sucked. You might want to check out the full rundown of loopholes, but in short, the bill specified that processed foods are exempt and so the Bush administration gave a REALLY BROAD definition of processed foods.
Well, Obama's campaign platform and official rural agenda both voice support for COOL. Once Obama took office, his administration froze all Bush rules that hadn't gone into effect. The crappy Bush rule was set to go into effect March 16 but now it was on hold.
This past Tuesday Tom Vilsack announced his plans to call for stricter voluntary COOL standards. Stricter and voluntary. Yikes. Vilsack was going to have a press conference Thursday but canceled at the last minute. Then, the next day, he announced that the Bush rule would become final on March 16 as scheduled and he also released his letter, as promised, asking industry to observe stricter voluntary standards (see the text of the letter at the link).
Vilsack Speaks to Commodity Growers
Already since he took office a few weeks ago, Vilsack has spoken to wheat growers, rice growers, and cotton growers. In these appearances, he called for a single U.S. food safety agency and made it clear that the cost of fighting 2 wars and the huge deficit were going to effect the USDA's ability to pay for farm programs. He said he wanted to keep a safety net in place for farmers but also asked them to develop a more diversified source of income:
Vilsack's Other Interviews and Appearances
Tom Vilsack has had several other notable interviews and appearances. First, there was an absolutely incredible interview that appeared in the Washington Post that tells about his difficult childhood.
Some money quotes from the article:
In a perfect world, everything that was sold, everything that was purchased and consumed would be local, so the economy would receive the benefit of that.
the vision [of the USDA]: a sufficient, safe, nutritious food supply produced in a sustainable and environmentally supportive way.
And, in another WaPo article, Vilsack made headlines by saying the USDA should serve eaters as well as farmers. Wow! THAT is revolutionary!!! Of course - now he needs to back up his talk with some action.
For the occasion of Lincoln's 200th birthday, Vilsack planted a new garden at the USDA that will grow fruits and veggies for local soup kitchens. He announced a goal of gardens at each USDA facility, focusing on improving water quality and providing pollinator habitat with native plants, as well as growing food.
This week Michelle Obama visited Vilsack at the USDA, presenting him with a magnolia tree seedling for his garden.