President Obama suddenly seems intent on blazing a new path for USDA. Sure, he picked a farm-state governor with ties to the ethanol and biotech industries as USDA chief. But that's almost reflexive in our political system. The key question became: who would he pick as the deputy -- the official who typically gets things done and sets the tone for the department? Would he pick a corn-fed flack, like Bush did? Another go-along to get-along type in the Vilsack mode? Or a real reformer? Obama chose Kathleen Merrigan, director of the Agriculture, Food and Environment Program at Tufts. From what I can tell at first blush, she's a real reformer.
Dan Barber, chef of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, and one of the most prominent foodie reforms, wrote Philpott to say that "Kathleen's incredible... She's smart, dedicated, and ferocious. We couldn't have a better advocate I don't think. Very big news." The folks at the Ethicurean are declaring victory not only for food reformers, but democracy:
They also end with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi. "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win."Tom Laskawy, at Beyond Green, calls her "a clear win for progressives." Noting that she was on the "Sustainable Dozen" petition that went around, he says, "I guess this whole 'activism' thing sometimes works." Marion Nestle, over e-mail, sounds a note of caution, though.Kathleen Merrigan is headed to Washington.It is because of you.And we are not done yet.Because thousands of us raised our voices on Food Democracy Now website, signed petitions like the one at the Center for Rural Affairs, wrote letters, called senators and generally raised a democratic ruckus, Kathleen Merrigan was nominated today to be the Deputy Secretary at the US Department of Agriculture.
She was deeply involved in developing the organic standards, obviously, and that’s a good sign. Actually, a very good sign. I heard her speak once (about genetically modified foods) and was disappointed. She’s been at Tufts since 2001 but hasn’t published much, which for an academic is a worry. And she’s yet another Clinton appointee. I just think the only reasonable stance is to wait and see.
