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Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 12/14/20
Vilsack laid out his top priorities for the Agriculture Department next year: Pandemic relief for hungry families, rural communities, food
workers and agriculture producers is at the top of the list. Next up is
confronting climate change. Biden has said he wants U.S. agriculture to be the
first to reach net-zero emissions, and he reiterated Friday that he supports
paying farmers for climate-friendly practices like capturing carbon in their
fields and forests.Notably, Vilsack also promised to “continue the important work of rooting out inequities and systemic racism in the systems we govern and the programs we lead.” The former USDA chief has been criticized by Black farmers and civil rights advocates for
not doing enough during his eight years as secretary to combat decades of
discrimination within the department. Criticism from the
left: While Biden’s choice of Vilsack has been largely praised by farm organizations and commodity groups, the pick has also drawn plenty of blowback from environmental advocates and progressive groups within agriculture. (More on that from Grist.org and The Intercept.)
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