Wayne Pacelle: A Humane Nation | The Humane Society of the United States

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Wayne Pacelle: A Humane Nation | The Humane Society of the United States

Set the Table for Change

Posted: 29 Dec 2008 12:26 PM CST

A few weeks ago, President-elect Barack Obama announced that former Iowa

Governor Tom Vilsack would be his selection for Agriculture Secretary,

disappointing at least some of the interest groups focused on a food reform

agenda for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and continuing his pattern

of highly conventional and predictable selections for cabinet posts. We’ve

always liked Vilsack, and we endorsed him for the post. The former Iowa

governor had a strong record on many animal protection issues that came up in

Iowa—everything from cracking down on animal fighting to vetoing legislation

that would have classified puppy mill dogs as " farm products " and allowed

mourning dove hunting in the state. In his new post, Vilsack will have to

confront major food policy issues, and we'll be advocating strongly for a fresh

new perspective at the agency.

Last week, Kim Severson wrote in The New York Times that there’s another

position that’s drawing unprecedented attention: White House chef. That’s

because the buzz surrounding America's top chef has become a proxy debate about

the future of American food policy. Food reform advocates are pressing hard to

persuade President-elect Barack Obama and his wife to choose a White House chef

who exemplifies the best progressive thought about organic, sustainable, and

ethical eating—and even to have an organic garden on the White House grounds.

The man who got the ball rolling was journalist and best-selling author

Michael Pollan, whose October “Open Letter to the Future Farmer in Chief†in

the New York Times Magazine got the attention of candidate Obama. Obama’s

subsequent comments to Time magazine revealed a keen understanding of the crisis

in food policy, and, I think, emboldened activist constituents with an interest

in broadening the mission of the agency from promoting production agriculture to

helping produce and consume healthy food.

Pollan spoke for many who would like to substitute a new and dynamic agency

built around a national food policy that’s better for people, animals, and the

environment. He insists, and he's correct, that we can only address issues of

national security, climate change, energy policy, and public health by revamping

policies at USDA.

Others followed suit. In a letter sent the day after Obama’s election

victory, Alice Waters of Chez Panisse put forward the idea of a “kitchen

cabinet†to advise the president on food and food policy matters. Days later,

some 90 signatories, including Waters, Pollan, writer and professor Marion

Nestle, rancher Bill Niman, and journalist and author Eric Schlosser sent Obama

a letter urging the appointment of a Secretary of Agriculture knowledgeable and

supportive of such concerns as decentralization of food systems and assistance

for local farmers’ markets.

Like other presidential couples before them, the Obamas have acknowledged

their desire to make the White House a model and a symbol of their values, and a

place that, as Michelle Obama told 60 Minutes, would “feel open and fun and

full of life and energy. " The President-elect has expressed his support for

family farming and organic agriculture, and Michelle Obama is reportedly a fan

of organic food, as is Laura Bush.

Just seven people have held the position of White House chef since John F.

Kennedy took office in 1961. Before then, presidents and their spouses

generally had a family cook to prepare their daily meals while state dinners

were catered. Since Kennedy’s time, however, the custom has been for the

First Lady to select the chef who creates the meals and menus that will

represent the administration’s style and taste to visitors and guests from all

over the world. In our day, what is personal is political, and the selection of

a progressive chef will speak to all Americans and, to a lesser degree, to the

world about the importance of our food choices in making the world more

liveable.

 

 

 

 

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