Groups and environmentalists protest Obama agriculture trade nominee Siddiqui

The apathy towards truly important issues that effect our health, environment, global economy, and global poverty is why they continue to control it all. This is an important appointment in regards to our future, yet , nothing. This is also where our media fails us. Too sad that this station doesn't even care either. But then, anything that remotely questions an Obama policy or questionable pick is instantly relegated to the backburner here. Should this appointment be confirmed you will have pesticide laden GMOS shoved down your throat without labelling and with continuing the monoculture world corproate ag wants in killing biodiversity whether you want it or not. But then, for that apathy maybe that is what people deserve. However, this planet doesn't deserve it, and neither do our children.

http://action.panna.org/t/5185/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2150

To view and sign the petition to President Obama regarding the nominations of Siddiqui and Beachy, click on the link.

Excerpt:

Groups Call for Change to Failed Free Trade Agenda That Has Deepened Global Food, Environmental and Health Crises
Pesticide Action Network, National Family Farm Coalition, Friends of the Earth, AllergyKids, Farmworker Association of Florida, Nov 2, 2009

[ Download the letter that was sent here. ] [ Download Background on Siddiqui and CropLife America ]

San Francisco, CA, Apopka, FL, Washington D.C. (November 2, 2009) - In an unprecedented effort to block a USTR agriculture nominee, over 80 groups sent a letter today to Chairman Max Baucus and Ranking Member Charles Grassley of the Senate Finance Committee urging the rejection of Islam Siddiqui as Chief Agriculture Negotiator at the office of the United States Trade Representative. In part to counter a supportive letter previously issued by over 40 agribusiness industry groups, the NGO letter protests Siddiqui's clear affiliation with the agricultural input industry and its "free" trade agenda. Siddiqui is a former pesticide/biotech lobbyist for and current vice president of regulatory affairs at CropLife America. His nomination will be taken up by the Committee on November 4.

The NGO groups -- representing environmental, consumer, anti-hunger, family farm, farmworker, fishing, sustainable agriculture, public health and other advocacy organizations -- oppose Siddiqui on the grounds of controversial positions taken while he was at USDA and employed as a CropLife America lobbyist. Over the weekend, a parallel groundswell of over 38,000 concerned individuals have also signed a petition to President Obama, urging him to reconsider recent industry-friendly appointments to key government agriculture posts, including Siddiqui.

In addition to opposing Siddiqui's nomination on the basis that it appears to be a textbook case of the "revolving door" between industry and government, both the NGO letter and the citizen petition cite Siddiqui's record and CropLife America's behavior as cause for concern.

Siddiqui's statements demonstrate a disturbing disregard for allowing countries to exercise the "precautionary principle" in regulating genetically modified crops.
While at USDA, Siddiqui oversaw the controversial release of the first proposed organic standards that would have allowed toxic sludge, genetically modified and irradiated food to be labeled "organic."

CropLife America has consistently lobbied the U.S government to weaken and thwart international treaties governing the use and export of toxic chemicals such as PCBs, DDT and dioxins.

CropLife America's regional partner notoriously "shuddered" at Michelle Obama's organic White House garden, and launched a letter-writing campaign urging the First Lady to use chemical pesticides.

Dena Hoff, a Montana farmer and vice-president of the National Family Farm Coalition, said, "We have a food crisis, water crisis, climate crisis, all of which have been exacerbated by our trade agreements and the World Trade Organization continuing to push failed chemical-intensive and biotech solutions. We believe the United States can do better than nominating a former pesticide lobbyist to this key position. While I have been heartened by Michelle Obama's campaign to recognize the importance of local, sustainable and healthy food, the White House has severely undermined their credibility with this nomination." Hoff noted that U.S. family farmers failed to benefit from GMOs, commenting, "CropLife America's members, including Monsanto, DuPont, Dow and Syngenta, force farmers to rely on expensive inputs and go into deeper debt. They also threaten the biodiversity needed to sustain our planet with their monoculture industrial model."