Tom Vilsack
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The exit interview: Ag Secretary Vilsack on Obama’s food legacy
The former Iowa governor argues Obama moved the needle on conservation, collaboration, and climate resiliency.
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Clinton might pick whatshisname — that ag guy — for Veep
That one guy from Iowa is aware he's boring.
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There's a Foxx guarding the ag-policy henhouse
Rep. Virginia Foxx recently sponsored an amendment to shut down the USDA's Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative.
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Mom-and-pop vs. big-box stores in the food desert
A locally owned grocery in Pleasantville, Iowa. Photo: Ashton B Crew, wikimedia commonsA few weeks ago, when the Obama administration released its Food Desert Locator, many of us realized that a once-good idea has spoiled like a bag of old bread. If you go online and find that your family lives in a food desert, […]
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Big Ag doesn’t want you to care about pesticides
Power to the people pesticide industry!The produce lobby is livid that consumers might be concerned about pesticides. They are taking their fury out on the USDA for its annual report on pesticide use (via The Washington Post): In a recent letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, 18 produce trade associations complained that the data have […]
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How the next farm bill could plant a new crop of farmers
Microloans could encourage young people to become farmers.Photo: Chewonki Semester SchoolUSDA Secretary Tom Vilsack recently called for 100,000 new farmers — a recognition that the U.S. farm population is aging rapidly. To create a revitalized, sustainable, and socially just food system, we need to cultivate a new generation of farmers — and quickly. But starting […]
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Forests poised for major progress in Cancun — if Hugo Chavez and U.S. don't get in the way
The Cancun climate summit may be turning into a surprising opportunity for progress towards saving the world’s forests and other ecosystems.
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USDA chief visits with Stephen Colbert, brings cheese
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack makes an appearance on the Colbert Report, parries the comedian's pointed policy questions, and delivers a strangely familiar cheese sculpture.
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Why it matters that the FDA is beating USDA for control of food system
Small-scale food producers and farmers have been vocal about their concerns that the Senate will pass highly burdensome food-safety legislation. Equally worried, but much less vocal, is the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It frets over major gains by its arch-rival, the U.S. food and Drug Administration, over local food producers and small farms. USDA is […]
