Dear Supporter,

Phew! The election finally is over!

Now, the real work begins.

We’ve got to stop Heidi Heikamp!  

Heitkamp is Biden’s first choice for Agriculture Secretary, but she’s in the pocket of the worst food and ag corporations. 

We want organic and regenerative farmers and ranchers leading the U.S. Department of Agriculture!

Take Action: Stop Heitkamp and tell Biden to give us organic leadership at USDA!

There are plenty of elected officials to choose from, including organic farmers like Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Senator Jon Tester (D-Montana) and Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman (D-Vermont). 

There’s at least one state agriculture commissioner, Kate Greenberg (D-Colorado). She worked on organic and regenerative farms and was a leader with the National Young Farmers Association. 

There are organic and regenerative farmers who have worked at USDA, including Dr. Francis Thicke, who was the National Program Leader for Soil Science, Shirley Sherrod, who was the Georgia State Director of Rural Development, and Mark Lipson, who was the Organic and Sustainable Agriculture Policy Advisor. 

And, there are also organic and regenerative farmers and ranchers who, because of historic discrimination, have never been offered political appointments, but have proven themselves as leaders, including John Boyd, founder of the National Black Farmers Association, Karen Washington, co-founder of Black Urban Growers, and Winona LaDuke, founder of the White Earth Land Recovery Project, to name just a few.

For anyone who says that Mitch McConnell would never allow organic or regenerative farmers to take any of the 15 USDA leadership positions that require Senate confirmation, the Revolving Door Project has this to say:

Mitch McConnell is not the 46th President! 

If McConnell refuses to confirm a Cabinet that reflects the country’s desire for an aggressive response to the pandemic and economic crisis, Joe Biden has tools to ensure he still fulfills his presidential mandate:

• Biden can use the Vacancies Act. The Vacancies Act provides an indisputably legal channel to fill Senate-confirmed positions on a temporary basis when confirmations are delayed. The Act has been used extensively by presidents of both parties, including by Trump to an unprecedented degree, despite facing a friendly Senate. 

• Biden can adjourn Congress and make recess appointments. Section 3 of Article II of the U.S. Constitution gives the President the power to adjourn Congress “to such time as he shall think proper” whenever the House and Senate disagree on adjournment. And after 10 days of recess, the President may make recess appointments to fill positions requiring Senate confirmation.

After 4 years of Trump, organic needs help. It’s up to Biden to turn things around. 

Trump's USDA killed an Obama-Biden Administration rule 10 years in the making for comprehensive animal welfare guidelines on certified organic farms, allowing the continued proliferation of “organic” factory farms, especially for eggs and chicken.  

This is one of the reasons that, as demand for organic continues to grow, profits are going to corporations running industrial-scale farms, while small producers are struggling to stay in business.

This isn’t sustainable. 

If Biden cares about USDA Organic he needs to give us an Organic USDA!

Take Action: Stop Heitkamp and tell Biden to give us organic leadership at USDA!

Thanks!

Alexis, for the OCA Team