Islam Siddiqui, Obama Nominee, Under Fire From Environmentalists

Friend of pesticides and hormones for livestock nominated to be Chief Agriculture Negotiator-

He even criticized Michelle Obama’s organic garden, but still got the nod.  And the Republicans say Obama is some kind of anti-corporate socialist!

Islam Siddiqui, Obama Nominee, Under Fire From Environmentalists. The Huffington Post. Jenna Staul

Questions for a Trade Official. New York Times editorial saying this is a bad nomination.

Obama represents big business first and foremost. Orange County Populist Examiner. By Joe Sabet

Pressure from ag interests halts reading of “Omnivoire’s Dilemma” at Washington State University?

Pathbreaking book about agri-business dropped from Freshmen Reading program-

Wazoo (Washington State University in Pullman) has a common reading program every year for freshmen. This is a growing practice at universities, but Michael Pollan’s look at how our food is produced in an unsustainable manner (oil and corn) seems to have been too controversial for the appropriation scrapped university.

I suspect we are going to here less and less social and political analysis from our universities because it offends state legislators and Boards of Reagents who hold the purse strings in a time of economic crisis.

WSU balks at book critical of agribusiness. “Washington State University has decided to halt a common reading program for incoming freshman that would have used a book critical of agribusiness”. By The Associated Press

Agribusiness as usual. Obama’s campaign ag adviser mounts a weak defense of industrial food

Depressing news-

Agribusiness as usual. Obama’s campaign ag adviser mounts a weak defense of industrial food. Grist Magazine. Posted by Tom Philpott