Tom Vilsack

Children v. Dirty Business

William S. Becker | Posted 04.11.2012

Read More: Global Commons, Soil, Our Children's Trust, Common Law, Tom Vilsack, Lawsuits, Obama Administration, Atmosphere, Steven Chu, Climate Change, Water, National Association of Manufacturers, Gary Locke, Federal Court, Public Trust Doctrine, Oceans, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Lisa Jackson, Ken Salazar, Forests, Air, Green News
William S. Becker

On May 11, a group of children will face off against the Obama administration and the NAM, arguing that common law requires governments to protect critical natural resources on behalf of current and future generations.

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10 Candidates All Students Should Support

Nick Mitch | Posted 04.02.2012

Read More: Gary Latanich, Elizabeth Warren, 2012: Our Election, Sherrod Brown, Asher-Heimermann, Senate Candidates, Amy Klobuchar, Shelli Yoder, Tammy Duckworth, Christie Vilsack, Youth Vote, Education Reform, Tom Vilsack, Teen News
Nick Mitch

There are many excellent candidates running in this election, but the above eight will be fierce advocates for youth. Please consider supporting them in any way you can.

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Emails Reveal White House Role In Sherrod Ouster

AP | By MARY CLARE JALONICK | Posted 05.08.2012

Read More: Vilsack Sherrod, Obama Sherrod, Andrew Breitbart, Video, Bv-Politics, Tom Vilsack, Sherrod, Shirley Sherrod, Breitbart Sherrod, Obama, Shirley Sherrod USDA, Sherrod Vilsack, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- White House officials were in close contact with the Agriculture Department in the hours leading up to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack...

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A New Guide to Local and Regional Food

Sec. Tom Vilsack | Posted 04.30.2012

Read More: Organic Farming, Farming, Tom Vilsack, Agriculture, Farmers, Food News
Sec. Tom Vilsack

It's the public face of our commitment to help agricultural operations of all sizes take advantage of new opportunities, meet the growing demand for local and regional food and succeed in America's diverse marketplace.

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Lawmakers Caught In Tricky Situation, Key Group Prepares For The Worst

AP | By MARY CLARE JALONICK | Posted 02.15.2012

Read More: Farm Bill 2012, Farm Bill, Video, Congress, 2012 Election, Tom Vilsack, Pat Roberts, Agriculture, President Obama, George W. Bush, Iowa Caucuses, Elections 2012, Agribusiness, Debbie Stabenow, Senate Agriculture Committee, Politics News

WASHINGTON -- Promoting farm subsidies was once a no-brainer for rural members of Congress seeking re-election. This year, it's a bit trickier. As la...

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'Green Acres' Effect For New Farmers Seeking Better Quality Of Life

Reuters | Posted 04.07.2012

Read More: Video, USDA Farm Service Agency, Fsa, Tom Vilsack, Farm Service Agency, Start2farm, Reuters, Dan Pugh, Usda, Usda Farmers, New Farmers, US Farming, Monsanto, Green News

* U.S. goal is to create 100,000 new farmers * $1.8 billion in U.S. loans to beginning farmers in 2011 *...

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School Lunches Get Healthier, But Pizza Is Still a Vegetable

Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff | Posted 04.01.2012

Read More: The Lorax, Michelle Obama, Pizza, Healthy School Lunches, School Lunches, Pizza Is a Vegetable, Tom Vilsack, Let's Move, Michelle Obama Let's Move, Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, Rachael Ray, School Lunch, Parents News
Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff

The program will affect the nearly 32 million kids who participate in subsidized school lunch programs each day -- many of whom get half their daily calories from these meals. What's different?

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New USDA School Food Standards: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Bettina Elias Siegel | Posted 03.28.2012

Read More: Usda, Nutrient Standard, Michelle Obama, Tom Vilsack, Nutrition Standards, School Food, School Lunch Regulations, School Lunch Reform, Healthy School Lunches, Food Based Menu Planning, School Lunches, Parents News
Bettina Elias Siegel

Are the new school food standards ideal?  No.  Are districts being given enough money to really get the job done?  No, again.  But do we have some cause for celebration?  Absolutely.

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First Lady and Agriculture Secretary Vilsack "Do Lunch" Right!

Phil Lempert | Posted 03.26.2012

Read More: Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act, Michelle Obama First Lady, Usda, Tom Vilsack Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, Food News
Phil Lempert

The new rule includes provisions that will also regulate all foods sold in schools, including in vending machines. This announcement may just move The First Lady's goal of reducing obesity in a generation a step closer to reality.

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School Lunches To Become Healthier With Veggies And Whole Grains

AP | MARY CLARE JALONICK | Posted 03.26.2012

Read More: National School Lunch Program, Pizza Vegetable, Usda, Agriculture Department, Tomato Paste Vegetable, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Barack Obama, Healthier School Lunches, Tom Vilsack, Michelle Obama, Healthy School Lunches, Pizza in Schools, School Lunches, Child Nutrition, Low-Income Students, Video, Education News

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The first major nutritional overhaul of school meals in more than 15 years means most offerings – including the always p...

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USDA Proposes Cuts To Poultry Inspection

AP | By MARY CLARE JALONICK | Posted 01.20.2012

Read More: Poultry Farms, Food Safety, Meat Safety, Poultry Inspections, Video, Chicken Inspections, Usda Poultry Inspections, Tom Vilsack, Food Safety Protocols, Food News

WASHINGTON -- The Agriculture Department is proposing to reduce the number of government inspectors at poultry slaughter plants. Agriculture Secretar...

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USDA Office Closures Raise Safety Concerns

AP | By MICHAEL J. CRUMB | Posted 01.11.2012

Read More: Food Safety, Video, Usda, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Elisabeth Hagen, USDA Office Closures, Tom Vilsack, Andrew Lorenz, Food News

DES MOINES, Iowa -- The U.S. Agriculture Department announced Monday it will close nearly 260 offices nationwide, a move that won praise for cutting c...

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House Republicans Drive More Nails Into Livestock Rule Coffin

Wenonah Hauter | Posted 01.18.2012

Read More: Usda, Super Committee, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Tom Vilsack, Livestock, Factory Farms, Antitrust, Farm Bill, Barack Obama, Republicans, Food News
Wenonah Hauter

While the big news among food activists has been the unsettling possibility that a secret farm bill could be snuck into the super committee's recommendations and passed with no public input, Republicans have furtively dealt a crippling blow to family farmers and consumers.

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Support the Traditional Definition of Vegetables!

Rep. Earl Blumenauer | Posted 01.18.2012

Read More: Department of Agriculture, Diet and Nutrition, Pizza, Industrial Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, Nutrition, Earl Blumenauer, Video, Politics News
Rep. Earl Blumenauer

Forget the "dangers" of same-sex marriage. There is a much greater threat to traditional American values: the creeping danger posed by re-defining pizza and french fries as "vegetables" in our school lunch program.

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Politics, Farmers And Change: The End Of Rural America

Dave Murphy | Posted 10.17.2011

Read More: Iowa, Iowa Caucus, Tom Vilsack, Secretary Vilsack, Jobs, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Gipsa, Family Farm, Rural America, Rural-Economic-Development, Farmily Farming, Iowa Caucuses, Usda, Obama Iowa, Third World America, Politics News
Dave Murphy

Since 1960, when JFK was elected, America has lost over 1.7 million family farms, the backbone of rural economies, with the number of farmers in the U.S. today being outnumbered by prisoners.

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$100 Million for the Everglades: A Smart Investment for Nature and People

Mark Tercek | Posted 10.12.2011

Read More: Farm Bill, Tom Vilsack, Green News, Wetlands, Usda, Everglades, Federal Budget, Mark Tercek, Green News
Mark Tercek

In this time of debate over the use of federal funding, the project is a good example of the kind of return we can expect from well planned investments in the conservation of our land and water.

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Strauss-Kahn and the Age of Reputation

Steve Clemons | Posted 08.30.2011

Read More: Andrew Breitbart, Alexander Hamilton, Reputation, James Callender, Tom Vilsack, William Safire, International Monetary Fund, Shirley Sherrod, Imf, Thomas Jefferson, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Slander, Scandalmonger, Blogging, Dsk, World News
Steve Clemons

In today's fast-paced world, a reputation can be destroyed rapidly -- and if, as in the case of Strauss-Kahn it seems, the consequences of charges made actually precede the processing of those charges.

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USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack on Growing Into Politics

Tom Fox | Posted 07.26.2011

Read More: Usda, Tom Vilsack, Politics News
Tom Fox

"It's important for people to know that I think government service is a noble undertaking and public servants work hard and care deeply about the people they're responsible for."

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Their Spray Rigs in a Twist

Ken Cook | Posted 07.13.2011

Read More: Pesticides, Produce, Tom Vilsack, Agriculture, Pesticide Data Program, Obama, Organic, Shopper?S Guide to Pesticides, National Academy of Sciences, Usda, Agribussiness, Farm Bill, Poison, Nutrition, Alliance for Food and Farming, Pesticide, Pesticide Lobbyists, Fresh Vegetables, Pesticides Produce, Organic Fruit, Fresh Fruit, Green News
Ken Cook

It apparently doesn't occur to the pesticide-produce lobby that the reason sales for organic products have surged is because they taste better and don't deliver toxic pesticides into one's daily diet.

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Wake Up, Secretary Vilsack

Laurie David | Posted 07.09.2011

Read More: Antibiotic Resistance, Antibiotics, Animals Antibiotics, Food, Animal Antibiotics, Tom Vilsack, Antibiotics in Meat, Food Politics, Food News
Laurie David

Knowing Secretary Tom Vilsack's passion for helping the people who live in rural communities, there is no larger issue for him to focus his attention on than protecting those communities from antibiotic-resistant bacteria sourced from food animals.

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Secretary Vilsack's Defiant Defense of Ethanol

Ben Grossman-Cohen | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Food Prices, Tom Vilsack, Food Politics, Agriculture, Ethanol, Green News
Ben Grossman-Cohen

Should the US reform its policies to help prevent a global food price crisis?

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Higher Milk Prices Offer Little Comfort For Dairy Farmers

AP | By GOSIA WOZNIACKA | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Dairy Exports, High Milk Prices, Dairy Industry, Dairy Farmers, Corn Industry, Tom Vilsack, California Dairy Farms, Milk, Cost of Milk, Western United Dairymen, Usda, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Dairy Crisis, Food News

RIVERDALE, Calif. -- While milk prices continue to rise and exports to Asian markets have expanded, many dairy farmers are still struggling with the a...

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Bittman: Fix, Don't End, Agricultural Subsidies

The New York Times | MOHAMED EL DAHSHAN | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Farm Bill, American Diet, Factory Farming, Tom Vilsack, Agribusiness, Obesity, Mark Bittman, Iowa Farm Bureau, Agricultural Subsidies, Food News

Agricultural subsidies have helped bring us high-fructose corn syrup, factory farming, fast food, a two-soda-a-day habit and its accompanying obesity,...

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GOP Rep. Steve King on Shirley Sherrod, Pigford and Racism (VIDEO)

Lee Stranahan | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Shirley Sherrod, Andrew Breitbart, Pigford v. Glickman, Shirley Sherrod Resignation, Tom Vilsack, Rep. Steve King, John Boyd, Steve King, Politics News
Lee Stranahan

As part of my documentary about how the Pigford settlement designed to help black farmers was hijacked by trial lawyers and politicians, I interviewed controversial congressman Steve King.

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GM and Organic Co-Existence: Why We Really Just Can't Get Along

Paula Crossfield | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Coexistence, Gmos, Organic Food, Tom Vilsack, Alfalfa, Food Labeling, Usda, Sugarbeets, GM Food, Green News
Paula Crossfield

Last Friday, the USDA announced the partial deregulation of genetically modified sugar beets. If you eat beef or take milk and sugar in your coffee, here is why you should care.

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