Outside of Mr. Pollan and Mr. Boyd, they all look like the usual industry whores. As a matter of fact, I could actually be enthusiastic about Mr. Boyd, depending on his enviro/sustainability bona fides.

The mellotron is your friend.

Now, I can certainly relate to people's anxieties about Obama's cabinet choices.  But hey everyone, are we jumping on the pessimistic train a little too soon here?  Tom I am a big fan of your posts but to you and the commenters above, why are you all forgetting Tom Buis?  Buis was the first name after all on both of the serious candidate lists you linked to Tom.  

Buis has been the president of the National Farmers Union since 2006 and while in charge, he has improved the direction of NFU's policies on organics, biotechnology, country-of-origin labeling, irradiation and more.  I think that he would be a very good choice and after all one must look at who he lobbies for - small family farms, not the big agribusinesses or industrial farms.  Out of the list of serious contenders, he would be the best bet and we certainly need to put up a fight against the others!

I've worked with Tom Buis for several years in Washington DC. If you want a guy who will throw sustainable agriculture under the tractor, he's your guy.

Tom looks good on paper, no doubt. But every time the doors close and the deals are struck, he sells out on the changes that will make a difference for the environment and family farms. Buis is not a "sustainable agriculture" guy or an "organic" guy, he's just as much for conventional, industrial agriculture as Farm Bureau. He just hides it better.

As an example, National Farmers Union's top priority in the farm bill was country of origin labeling (COOL). While a good idea, it does little to promote fairness in agricultural markets that would actually help small farmers compete. NFU has policies on fair competition and ways to decrease the concentration in agriculture, but they won't work those issues to legislators when it matters because politically it's too controversial.

Another issue Buis supports is linking subsidy payments to the cost of production. Except that this gives free rein to Monsanto to jack up their prices as high as they want, at the government's expense. It won't actually help farmers, and Buis knows that. But it will help all the friends he's gotten close to in agribusiness.

One more thing...when asked, Tom Buis claims to be a farmer. Yet he hasn't lived or worked on a farm in over 20 years. That's just not honest.

Tom Buis is a wolf in sheep's clothing, and if he becomes Secretary of Agriculture we'll get to see first hand just how sharp those teeth are.

Clare D, do you think any of the other contenders come close to Buis.  NFU 2008 Policies support things like a moratorium on any new genetically enginnered grops being deregulated until ethical, legal and other considerations are taken into account.  NFU is also for manditory labeling of products treated by irradiation, hormones and have suggested genetic engineering as well.  In regards to COOL, I think that the system has many flaws as it is right now but Buis was an avid critic of the "mixed origin" label for meat, which is a plus.  From what I've gathered on the other potentials they don't seem any better...

Vilsack was endorsed by BIO as well as founded the Governors' Biotechnology Partnership.

After being defeated for reelection, Stenholm became a prominent lobbyist for the horse meat industry and a major opponent of the Horse Slaughter Prohibition Bill that passed in the House.

Wolff pushed the ban on rbGH labeling in Pennsylvania before Governor Rendell overruled him.

Peterson has received support and endorsements from pro-biotech and big industry for his role as Chair of House Agriculture Committee.