Farm-Food Policy Memo USA: The New Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack Speaks; And His First Message is An Interesting One

Shortly after Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States in early November, 2008, a group of U.S. food and agriculture policy reformers that included the well known author and food policy reformist Michael Pollan ("In Defense of Food" and other books) and "foodie," organic and local foods activist, cookbook author and restaurant-owner Alice Waters, sent the then President-Elect a letter asking him to appoint a Secretary of Agriculture who would "put eaters first" in U.S. agriculture and food policy. The group also created an online petition in which they urged Americans who agreed with their position for an "eaters' first" Ag Secretary to post their names on it. The petition was then sent to the team Obama.

[Here are two links to the petition and related information from the farm-food policy activists: [Pollan Events Petition letter] [Pollan Events] 40,000 names!]

In early January of this year, then President-Elect Obama nominated former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack to be his Secretary of Agriculture. As Governor of Iowa Vilsack was a solid supporter of the state's agribusiness industry, as well as a "go-getter" in bringing ethanol fuel plants, production and refineries to the Midwestern, farm-belt state, as one would suspect the Governor of Iowa to do if he wanted to get re-elected.

Vilsack was also a strong supporter of now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for President rather than President Obama. However, as soon as Barack Obama cinched the nomination, Vilsack was on board as a major supporter. It was Iowa in fact, where the President won the crucial first-in-the-nation key Presidential primary, that Barack Obama says was key to his victory in November, 2008.

Following the announcement that Vilsack would be the nominee for Secretary of Agriculture, feelings and opinions among the members of the U.S. ag-food policy reform movement ranged from outright indignation, to reservation that it would be "business as usual." For others, including Obama supporters, it wasn't such a shock. After all President Obama campaigned from day one as a moderate Democrat. He advocated change for sure but in a more evolutionary rather than revolutionary manner. Vilsack is a moderate Democrat, just like the President.

A few folks in the farm-food policy reform movement urged the others to give Vilsack (and President Obama since the Secretary carries out the President's policies) a chance. Michael Pollan has been one of those taking a more moderate voice regarding the Vilsack selection. Natural~Specialty Foods Memo (NSFM) has been urging the same. Seldom are things so black and white as it's either "Eaters First" or "Agribusiness First."

Vilsack, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate just a little over two weeks ago, hasn't offered much publicly in terms of how he views the Department of Agriculture and U.S. ag-farm policy -- until now. That's probably good because we appreciate cabinet secretaries who take a couple-to-three weeks to first figure out where the bathrooms are before speaking out. And there are many bathrooms in the huge U.S. Department of Agriculture building where Vilsack now works.

In today's Washington Post, Secretary Vilsack gives his first full interview since being confirmed. The interview is written as a feature piece by Washington Post staff writer Jane Black.

And in the interview piece, the Secretary of Agriculture addresses just the issue the farm-food policy reformers are most concerned with: The focus and balance in U.S. agricultural and food policy between "eaters" (consumers), farmers and agribusiness. We toss in food companies and retailers of all shapes and sizes as well. They need to be at the table.

In fact, the story's headline is: "Vilsack: USDA Must Serve Eaters as Well as Farmers." Rather on-message for those looking to hear that message, we must say. And keep this in mind: If a U.S. Secretary of Agriculture who didn't have the trust and respect of agribusiness took the position Vilsack takes in the Washington Post interview piece, he or she likely would be the subject of tons of political backlash, as would the President that appointed that Secretary.

While Vilsack probably wouldn't have been our first choice for a variety of reasons, those who dismiss him out of hand should think about the fact that merely having a head of the U.S. Department of Agricultural who agrees across the board on the goals of the farm-food policy reformist movement doesn't mean he or she could get anything done. It's all about that credibility issue we mentioned. There are multiple constituencies to address, not just one. And like it or not that cuts both ways -- reformist and agribusiness (constituencies), along with a couple others.

Below is how Washington Post staff writer Jane Black begins her story about the new head of the massive U.S. Department of Agriculture, who she interviewed this week:

"When former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack was nominated as secretary of agriculture, many food policy activists, noting his reputation as a friend to corporate agriculture and ethanol producers, rendered a verdict that was swift and harsh: agribusiness as usual.

But Vilsack, newly installed in his regal but still-undecorated office on Independence Avenue, is out to redefine himself and his vision. In an interview this week, he called for a "new day" for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's sprawling bureaucracy, which he believes should champion not only farmers but also everyone who eats.

'This is a department that intersects the lives of Americans two to three times a day. Every single American,'he said. 'o I absolutely see the constituency of this department as broader than those who produce our food -- it extends to those who consume it."

The writer also quotes Michael Pollan in the piece, presumably after reading him the comments Secretary Vilsack made in the interview, published above and elsewhere in the story. In response, Ms. Black quotes Pollan: "He's definitely sounding a different note than his predecessors," said Michael Pollan, the reform-minded author of the bestseller "In Defense of Food." "Whether they'll be reflected in policies remains to be seen."

[Click here to read the full story from today's Washington Post: "Vilsack: USDA Must Serve Eaters as Well as Farmers."]

Indeed Vilsack is sounding considerably different than his predecessors. The mere fact he is speaking out makes him completely different than the George W. Bush Administration Secretary's of Agriculture the past eight years. Quick quiz: Can you name the last Secretary of Agriculture; the one who left with the outgoing Bush Administration? Not easy to do, is it?

Additionally, the fact that Vilsack is speaking out so early and so clearly (such clarity, which isn't a Washington D.C. trait, leaves him very little wiggle room later on) means he's going to have to follow-through on much of what he is advocating. Of course, keep in mind that Congress, with its power of the purse, will ultimately decide the direction of U.S. farm-food policy, which is something reformist need to always keep top-of-mind. In other words, don't just focus on and put all your hopes in President Obama.

But the Administration can certainly lead. Set the course. And it is a course that needs balancing. It's not about good "eaters" and small-growers and bad agribusiness and global food companies. If only it were so simple.

But balance indeed is needed. And as President Obama has been advocating, and so far walking the walk on, it's time to put aside the heavy partisanship. We suggest the same when it comes to farm and food policy. A little cooperation and a meeting of the minds from all sides will go a very long way.

[NSFM Editor's Note: The artwork at the top of this post is titled "The American Farm." It's by American artist Warren Kimble. You can learn more about the artist and his work here.]

Food & Politics Memo: A Cheeseburger in 'Mile-High' Paradise - President Obama Takes His First Trip Aboard 'Air Force One' and Orders A Cheeseburger

Special Report: President Obama & the U.S. Food Industry

One of the major perks of being President of the United States of America is the use of Air Force One, the fully-armored, customized jet that's ready and available for use by the President and Commander-in-Chief 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

The fully-secure Air Force One is outfitted on the inside to look and feel more like the living room of a house rather than the interior of a typical jet plane. It has leather chairs that recline, a couch, a big screen television, and other comfortable features.

There's also a complete Presidential office inside the plane for the President's use, as well as office space for the many aids who travel with him.

The Presidential plane, which also features a fully-secure wireless government Intranet network (fully connected in real-time to the Pentagon, for example), also has beds inside and a kitchen. The kitchen is fully-staffed, including with a prefessional "Commander-in-Chef," and even offers a choice of food, beverage and dessert items on the menu.

Just one day into his first-term as President and Commander-in-Chief of the United States of America, Barack Obama took his first plane trip on Air Force One -- and the American President and leader of the most powerful country in the world ordered and ate his first meal aboard the flying White House.

And it just might surprise some who've heard, including from First Lady Michelle Obama herself, that the new American President can have picky tastes when it comes to food that the very first meal President Obama ordered and ate aboard Air Force one was that quintessential American delight -- a cheeseburger -- a cheddar burger, done medium well -- to be precise, according to the President's communications staff.

We're told that the hamburger, cheddar cheese, buns and everything else contained in the burger is "Made in the USA." We couldn't get confirmation by press time however whether or not the hamburger meat is organic and hormone-free.

In fact, you a view a video of the new American President's first flight aboard Air Force One, and his first meal, courtesy of the nationalgeogrpaphic.com channel at this link: Video with the “central casting” quote, and a pre-roll ad.

It appears to Natural~Specialty Foods Memo (NSFM) that President Obama's campaign-winning, and now Presidential, communications team is being ever-smart and savvy in wanting to showcase the fact that the President chose to order and eat what is arguably the most popular food choice among Americans during his first trip of what will be many aboard the Presidential jet.

Since a great many Americans are eating cheeseburgers, particularly the ones off the dollar-menu at McDonalds, instead of steak and other more expensive meals in the current bad economy, touting President Obama's choice of a cheddar cheeseburger also shows his concern for the food choices of his fellow Americans in trying times.

But the truth is, President Obama is known to actually love cheeseburgers almost as much as he loves chili, which he has said is one of his most favorite foods of all.

Meanwhile, we suggest the new President's food choice, the cheddar cheeseburger, offers great promotional opportunities for the beef industry (hamburger) and the cheese industry (and all those who make the stuff that goes into burgers), especially those companies that make and market cheddar variety cheese. The first meal aboard Air Force One could also give the restaurant industry a needed shot in the arm were it to promote burgers big time starting tomorrow.

And by ordering the burger medium-rare, President Obama is showing he is a prudent President in terms of avoiding e-coli by not ordering his burger done rare, but that he is far from being a wimp who fears e-coli so much that he would order the burger well done, thereby dramatically decreasing the chances of any of the bacteria surviving after cooking but at the same time completely ruining the taste of the burger. A country needs such characteristics in its President and Commander-in-Chief, after all. And so does the meat industry.

With about 83% of Americans currently approving of the new President (president Bush left office with a 13% approval rating), according to polls released today, its hard to think of a better rapid-response PR campaign that the U.S. beef and cheese industries could launch right away, capitalizing on the popular President's first meal aboard Air Force One.

Meanwhile we think being able to order a medium rare cheddar cheeseburger off the menu, then have it prepared for you right there, gives brand new meaning to that popular Jimmy Buffett song, "Cheeseburger in Paradise." But in all fairness, President Obama has so many crisis and challenges to address, we want him to have a many moments in paradise as he can find, including those culinary ones that occur a mile-high in the sky.

The Inauguration of A New President: President Barack Obama Calls For A 'New Era of Responsibilty,' in America

Barack Obama addresses the nation and the world earlier today as the 44th President of the United States. (Photo: Ron Edmunds/AP.)

At noon today outside the U.S. Capital building in Washington, D.C., President Barack Obama placed one hand on the bible used by Abraham Lincoln when he took the oath of office as President and raised his other hand in the air as he was sworn-in as the 44th President of the United States of America.

Following the brief swearing-in by Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John Roberts, President Obama gave his inaugural address to a crowd that included outgoing President George W. Bush and the other three living former President's -- his father George H.W. Bush, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.

In his speech, President Obama struck a high tone, but also mentioned specifics. At times he echoed Abraham Lincoln who talked about creating a more perfect union in his inaugural address. In telling the American people, and those millions and perhaps billions watching the speech throughout the world, that America will overcome it's current economic and financial recession the new American President sounded a bit like President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who told the American people to "fear nothing but fear itself" when the United States was in the Great Depression in the 1930's.

Issuing a call for change, for an end to business as usual in Washington, D.C. and throughout the land, and calling for what he termed "A New Era Of Responsibility,"President Obama reminded one of both Ronald Reagan (personal responsibility) and John F. Kennedy (the New Frontier).

President Obama also issued a call to the nations of the world, telling them the United States was ready to once again lead, announcing to the nation's friends, and those that want to become friends, that America is ready to join them in a host of global endeavors. He also let foes and potential foes know that, similar to what John F. Kennedy said in his inaugural speech in 1961, that the United States will essentially bear any burden -- and that it will defeat any enemies that attempt to destroy the country's way of life and its national interests.

But despite sounding themes similar to those of these past Presidents, President Obama's speech today was pure Obama -- the ideas, themes and words the 44th President of the United States has been sounding since he first emerged into the public's eye when he gave the keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic Party Convention. And those who've known him and worked with him will all tell you the themes he focused on in his campaign, and that he addressed today in his speech, have been his in various forms for many years prior to 2004.

The President's speech was firmly rooted in American history and the American tradition. American values such as religion and faith. Service and patriotism. Hard work. Volunteerism. Individual and shared sacrifice. But it also was forward looking. It was a clarion call to the American people that, in the words of the late 1960's community organizer Sol Alinsky, "If you aren't part of the solution, you're part of the problem." (Obama is a former community organizer. What good community organizers know, just like good CEO's know, is that in order to be a good and affective leader that leader must have citizen and consumer "buy-in." See a connection with Obama's strategy? We do.)

Conservative newspaper columnist, author, former speechwriter and aid to Presidents Nixon and Reagan, former candidate for President, and NBC News' political analyst Patrick Buchanan said on MSNBC today that President Obama's inaugural speech was one of the best he has every heard, comparing it favorably to those of Roosevelt, Kennedy and Reagan. He said in his analysis the President's speech struck the right tone between being high-minded and idealistic but also and pragmatic.

The conservative writer and analyst, who despite being a major figure in America's conservative movement for decades, was mostly at odds with President Bush, including opposing the invasion of Iraq, also said on MSNBC today that President Obama's speech managed to put the Bush years in the past and allow America and the new Administration to begin anew.

But President Obama's speech speaks best on its own. Therefore, below is the full text from the inauguration day speech given today by the 44th President of the United States of America:

Jan 20, 2009
Text of President Barack H. Obama's Inaugural Address

My fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land - a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America - they will be met.

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things.

The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn. Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America. For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act - not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions - who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.

Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.

The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good. As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.

And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more. Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort - even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you. For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus - and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West - know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it. As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility - a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

This is the source of our confidence - the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed - why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall, and why a man whose father less than sixty years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world...that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive...that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."

America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

[You can view President Obama's inaugural speech on YouTube at this link: YouTube - President Barack Obama 2009 Inauguration and Address. Try reading the full text above first. Then watch and listen to the video at the link. It's interesting to compare and contrast what you make of the speech via reading the written words first, and then what you make of it after both reading and viewing it. It's a interesting examination of how using your multiple senses can add to and sometimes even change your impressions and perceptions.]

Independent Grocer Memo: National Grocers' Association Asks President-Elect Obama to Look Out For Independent Grocers When He takes Office in January

Independent Food & Grocery Retailing USA

The National Grocers Association (NGA), the trade association for America's independent grocers, has sent a letter to President-elect Barack Obama requesting the new administation maintain a "level playing field" for U.S. independent grocers by enacting a federal economic stimulus package, supporting strong enforcement of federal antitrust laws (including the Robinson-Patman Act), supporting "fair" employer-employee legislation and supporting new federal legislation of credit card interchange fees.

The letter was sent to the President-elect last week, according to NGA president and CEO Thomas Zaucha.

In its letter, the NGA also offered some specific suggestions to the incoming President, who will be sworn into office on January 20, 2009. Those specific suggestions include decreasing corporate tax rates, or the taxes on individuals operating as subchapter S corporations or other pass-through entities. Most independent grocer members of NGA operate family or privately-owned supermarkets, hence this being an important issue to the trade group.

Regarding the inactment of an economic stimulus package, which President-elect Obama is talking about doing to the tune of $600 billion up to nearly $1 trillion shortly after he takes office, the NGA's letter says any such package should extend the current expensing and bonus accelerated depreciation legislation enacted by Congress and President George W. Bush, which is scheduled to run out if not renewed next year. Such provisions are beneficial to privately-held companies, such as the majority of those that comprise the independent grocer association.

From these more routine suggestions, the NGA's letter gets more interesting, touching on issues that are sure to be in conflict with policies of the incoming President and his supporters.

In its letter to President-elect Obama, the NGA argues for relief from the Federal Estate tax for its members, the majority of which operate family or privately-owned supermarkets, as we mentioned earlier. Estate tax relief and the outright elimination of what it and others have called the "death tax" (taxation on inheritance from one family member to another) has been one of the trade association's hot button legislative issues for decades. The amount of money (the threshold) in which estates are taxed was raised under the Bush Administration, with support from many Democratic members of Congress. However it appears the NGA wants even more relief for its members.

The letter to the incoming Democratic President also warned against inacting "over-regulation that can increase labor costs."

Additionally, In the letter to President-elect Obama, the NGA says it opposes mandates for paid sick leave, increased minimum wages, punitive civil penalties for employment law violations and expansion of employment discrimination laws. A pretty healthy laundry list we must say. President Obama has indicated he favors legislation on all four of these issues. Based on its letter it appears the NGA and the incoming administration are at odds on all of these matters then. But if both are willing to comprise they might be able to work something out?

The independent grocer's association also includes a "big issue" in its letter to the new U.S. President, writing that it opposes the Employee Free Choice Act., and a provision in the legislation called "card check," which would replace the current secret ballot method in which employees vote for unionization in secret, with a simple card in which the employees of non-union companies, including those who work for non-union supermarkets, could merely check "yes" on a card if they desire union representation.

It's not so much the actual checking of the card the NGA and others, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, oppose about the "card check" provision and the overall Employee Free Choice Act -- which passed the U.S. house of Representatives last year and just lost in the Senate in 2007 by a couple votes and is supported by President-Elect Obama -- it's the fact the legislation makes it much easier for workers and unions to organize, compared to the current system, that they strongly oppose.

In fact, the NGA says defeating the Employee Free Choice Act is its number one legislative priority for 2009, a top priority it shares with numerous other trade associations and U.S. corporations and small businesses. [Read more about the association's top legislative priorities here.]

However, the Employee Free Choice Act happens to also be the top priority for 2009 of organized labor -- getting the legislation passed that is. And, since organized labor was a key force in getting President-elect Obama elected, they have a strong ear in the incoming President, who says he supports passage of the act. Obama supported the act as a Senator in 2007 as well. He also sopported the act during his campaign for President.

Additionally, there is overwhelming support for the Employee Free Choice Act and its "card check" provision in the Democratically-controlled U.S. House of Representatives. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she will bring the legislation up for a vote in 2009, adding that it will pass in the House by "even more than it did in 2007."

There also is majority support in the U.S. Senate for the Employee Free Choice Act. The legislation failed last year by only a couple votes. Since then the Democrats have picked up additional Senate seats in the 2008 election. They have about 58 seats so far and could add another depending on the outcome of the contested Senate race in Minnesota.

The Senate needs 61 votes to prevent a filibuster on the legislation (and on any legislation) by Senate Republicans. It's expected that with 58-59 Democrats voting in favor of the legislation (that assums all will vote in favor which isn't a given), plus the ability to pick up the two Independents in the Senate, plus a moderate Republican or two, like the two moderate Republican Senators from Maine for example, the legislation could pass the Senate with a filibuster proof majority.

It won't be easy though -- and corporate and trade association lobbyists have already started their campaigns against the legislation, even before the new President and new Congress takes office and even before new Employee Free Choice Act legislation has been introduced. It's called a premptive attack.

Lastly, the NGA letter urges the President-elect to make sure federal anti-trust legislation is strongly enforced. The trade group is concerned about any potential concentration of business among supermarket chains in the U.S. in terms of such actions posing a unfair competitive advantage to its independent grocer members. This includes wanting strict enforcement of the Robinson-Patman Act, which prevents price discrimination and related anti-competitive behavior. It's often been applied in food retailing mergers and other related issues of direct interest to the supermarket and grocery industries.

Some might say the trade group is pro-government regulation and legislation as long as it benefits it members, but anti-government legislation and regulation if it hurts its members. Such an argument is essentially correct -- not just for the NGA but for every trade association and interest group in Washington, D.C. This is how business is done in the nation's capital today. Competiting interest groups that are against government intervention of any kind on Monday are all for government regulation -- new laws, financial bailouts, ect. -- on Wednesday, depending on which of those two days their members' interests are being served.

Welcome to Washington, D.C. President-elect Obama. That's right, you've already been in the capital for a few years as a U.S. Senator. So you know how it all works.

Meanwhile, Mr. President-elect we do suggest you look out for the nation's independent grocers as they are a vital and dynamic part of food and grocery retailing in America. They are among the innovators. They are the home town folks -- the grocers who serve and give back to their communties the most generally. They also serve as the idea factory for the entire industry. If you see something a big chain is doing that's innovative, it's likely they got it from an independent.

Of course independent grocers, like all of us, need to look at the bigger picture as well. For example, the NGA might want to eliminate the estate tax completely. But we suggest that money might be needed to pay for all the corporate bailouts the Bush Administration is doing in its remaining days. Some of it also might be needed to feed the growing number of out of work and hungry Americans.

Don't forget NGA, it was the massive deregulation under President George W. Bush, who you supported twice, that is costing American taxpayers, including your member companies, trillions of dollars to bailout the financial institutions and now the Detroit automakers.

Great call on supporting President Bush twice by the way NGA -- he sure is an economic conservative, isn't he? The latest tally looks like he will be credited as being the biggest spender as President since LBJ and his great society. At least U.S. society got some benefits from LBJ's blank checks though. Mr. Bush leaves the country broke and in near-depression. The guns are in need of being replaced and there's very little butter. (Just rubbing it in a bit -- we all make bad calls; but twice?)

It's all about compromise though. Right NGA? Right Mr. President-elect? We need to do much of that in 2009 in order to get the country back on its feet, and to create stronger consumers who have the money to support America's independent grocers, who are the backbone of America and don't ask for bailouts, just like the majority of us. Fewer demands from the left and right and all around, more cooperation -- that should be the mantra for 2009, in our analysis.

Notes:

>View the letter sent to President-Elect Obama by the NGA...NGA's campaign against the Employee Free Choice Act: N.G.A. Action Alert -- Oppose the Anti-Democratic EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT...Advertisement against: CDW Latest Print Advertisement...NGATV (its in-house Web Network) PR spot on its opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act: Watch now.

Food Safety Memo: U.S. President-Elect Obama Said to Plan On Beefing Up FDA Enforcement, Regulations; Speculation Rampant On New FDA Chief

USA: Election 2008 Special Report

For the last few years under the administration of President George W. Bush, the United States has experienced food safety after food safety problem, with both domestically-grown fresh produce and imported foods.

For example, there have been the major salmonella outbreaks from domestically-grown fresh produce -- first in bagged spinach and lettuce greens, then in Roma tomatoes and peppers. Numerous people died from these outbreaks and many more fell ill.

Then there's been the host of food safety problems from imported foods. The most recent one being Chinese-produced powdered and fluid milk intentionally contaminated with melamine, along with products like candy made in China with the adulterated milk. Additionally, there have been many others as well, including contaminated snack foods from China and candy from Mexico with high lead content, to name just two incidents.

None of the adulterated Chinese powdered milk made it to U.S. shores. But some of the melamine-laced candy did. Fortunately it has thus far been discovered and pulled off the shelves of Asian food stores in the U.S. before it could harm consumers.

Milk laced with higher than trace amounts of melamine, like the Chinese milk and milk-related products have been, can cause serious kidney damage, particularly in small children. As of yet there haven't been any reported deaths or cases of serious illness in the U.S. from the milk-based candy containing melamine.

Most experts and observers -- including many agricultural and food industry companies -- blame the rash of food safety problems in both domestic and imported foods in the U.S. on the deregulation policies over the last eight years of the Bush Administration, along with a lack of proper funding of the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) by both the President and Congress.

The lack of enforcement is likely to change under the new administration of President-Elect Brarack Obama though, Neera Tanden, a senior Obama advisor, tells the Associated Press (AP).

Food safety will be a priority for Obama's FDA, she says. "He (Obama) thinks this is a fundamental role of government to ensure that people's food is safe and he has been concerned that we are not in a position to ensure that."

Read the AP's full report (in Italics) below:

Obama expected to bolster FDA oversigh for domestic, imported foods
By Ricardo Alonzo-Zaldivar
October 10, 2008

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), bedeviled by a salmonella outbreak and tainted medicine and milk from China, is likely to monitor imports and fresh produce more closely under an Obama administration.

With President Bush no longer a roadblock, health officials also can expect new powers to control tobacco, from cigarettes to the recently introduced smokeless products called snus.

President-elect Obama, a former smoker struggling to avoid relapse, is a sponsor of legislation giving the FDA authority to control, but not ban, tobacco and nicotine.

Long seen as the government's premier consumer protection agency, the FDA stumbled under Bush. Recurring drug and food safety lapses came against a backdrop of shrinking budgets and long periods without a permanent leader. In Congress, a senior Republican complained the FDA had gotten too cozy with industry.

Obama is being urged to move quickly to appoint an FDA commissioner. Already more than a half-dozen names are in circulation: outside critics such as Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Dr. Steven Nissen; insiders such as Susan Wood, a former director of the FDA's women's health office; and public health advocates such as Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, Baltimore's health chief.

Food safety will be a priority for Obama's FDA. "He thinks this is a fundamental role of government to ensure that people's food is safe and he has been concerned that we are not in a position to ensure that," said Neera Tanden, a senior campaign adviser.

Obama will be working with a Democratic-led Congress, including lawmakers who have written legislation to bolster import inspections.

Only a fraction of imported food is inspected now. Foreign drug manufacturing plants can go years without an FDA visit. Democrats had considered fees on industry to pay for more FDA inspectors, but could not persuade the Bush administration to go along. They expect Obama to be receptive.

Tanden said Obama is open to the idea of requiring a tracing system for fresh produce. That became an issue during this summer's salmonella outbreak, after the FDA spent weeks hunting for tainted tomatoes only to find the culprit might have been hot peppers.

"An Obama administration would swing the pendulum back more to protection of public health," said William Hubbard, a retired FDA official who held top posts. "This bodes well for greater regulation in the food safety area, on imports, and on drug safety."

Under the tobacco proposal, the agency would be able to order changes in tobacco products to make them less toxic and addictive, but could not ban tobacco or nicotine. The bill passed the House and Senate with bipartisan support, but a veto threat from Bush kept it from getting out of Congress.

Aides to Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., co-author of the tobacco bill, say there is strong interest in getting the legislation passed soon after the new Congress convenes in January. Obama is a co-sponsor.

Natural~Specialty Foods Memo Issue Analysis

As the AP story also discusses, speculation is rampant over who President-Elect Obama will name to head the FDA. The names are all informed speculation right now. But one thing we know for sure is Obama won't carry the current Bush Administration FDA chief over into his administration like some are suggesting he might do with Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

The stories linked below further discuss and offer some analysis about the speculation on who Obama might name to head the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, including naming names:

Scientific American - November 7, 2008: Speculation swirls about Obama's EPA and FDA heads....Baltimore Sun - November 7, 2008: Baltimore's Sharfstein mentioned as possible FDA commissioner....Bloomberg - November 6, 2008: Woodcock Gains Support From Drugmakers for US FDA's Top Job. [Note: We think former Senator and Democratic candidate for President in 2004 Howard Dean, who is a medical doctor and announced yesterday he plans to leave his position as chairman of the Democratic Party when it is up next year, could be a candidate as well for FDA Commissioner, although we peg him more likely for Suregeon General if President-Elect Obama names him to a post in the administration.]

The Obama Administration isn't likely to get much opposition to strengthening the regulation of domestic and imported fresh produce and other foods from America's agriculture and food industries. For the last couple years the industries has been lobbying the Bush Administration for stronger enforcement of regulations , and higher FDA budgets, because the numerous food safety problems have not only hurt sales, they've also damaged the reputation of the food and agriculture industries among consumers.

In fact, earlier this year, the Bush Administration added a a couple billion dollars to the budget of the FDA as a reaction both to the numerous food safety problems as well as in response to requests directly from the industry to do so.

There's a particular across the board concern about stopping the food safety problems from goods imported into the U.S. -- and China just happens to be the country that time and again has had the most serious problems.

The U.S. (and the world) is locked in a financial and credit crisis, the U.S. is in an economic recession and the U.S. government has a record deficit and debt.

So far Since $700 billion has been appropriated -- $700 billion the U.S. doesn't have in real money -- to bail out America's banks and financial institutions.

Another nearly $100 billion has already been spent for a economic stimulus package (tax rebates to citizens). Those checks went out months ago and have seemed to do little to help the U.S. economy.

Congress is now talking about another stimulus package of $100 -to- $125 billion, perhaps enacted before the year is over.

Add just these three items together and you are talking about one trillion dollars. And there is more spending to come.

And of course, the U.S. doesn't have this trillion dollars. Rather, it just fires up the government printing presses, already running 24 hours a day, prints the currency, and then sells government-backed securities to the Chinese, Saudis, Japanese and Europeans to back the new money, greater a bigger deficit.

With the financial crisis and economic recession situation so pressing, we wonder how fast the Obama Administration will want to and be able to move on beefing up the FDA, which will cost at least a couple billion more to start? The new President can issue an immediate order right away though when he takes office on January 20, telling the agency the days of lax regulation enforcement are over, which should help if it does nothing else but sends a clear message to the tens of thousands who work at the FDA.

It's clear the economy is domestic priority number one for the President-Elect, who becomes the 44th U.S. President in 72 days. And that is how it should be. But it's also clear food safety will be pressed on the new President as a top concern as well -- from consumer advocates, health officials and even the food and agricultural industries.

It's going to be a tough, and expensive, 2009. But that's what HOPE is all about -- along with some good plans and strategies -- and a whole lot of good luck along with them.

Marketing Memo: Food and Beverage Marketers, and Others, Hoping to Cash in On Obama Family Brand and Product Preferences

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is a big fan of Honest Tea's Black Forest Berry organic tea. Honest Tea CEO Seth Goldman says the next President's enjoyment of the drink "raises the profile of our brand and all organic products," adding: "We'd love for it to be the official drink of the new administration." We bet he would.

USA: Election 2008 Special Report

Current President George W. Bush is known to be a meat and potatoes kind of guy, and not much of a lover of organic or specialty foods. He's also known to love pretzels. But word is after he had that mysterious incident a few years ago where he almost chocked on a pretzel, he has cut back a bit on the snack food.

However, First Lady Laura Bush is known to prefer healthier foods, including natural and organic products.

And daughter Jenna Bush, who went to college in Austin, Texas while mom and dad lived in the White House in Washington, D.C., was known to be a regular Whole Foods Market shopper in that city, where the chain also happens to be headquartered.

Bill Clinton loved junk food, especially McDonald's, which perhaps led to his massive heart attack a couple years ago.

And of course, we all remember how former President George Bush Sr., the current President's father, famously said how much he hated Broccoli, only to then reverse his opinion of the healthy vegetable after America's Broccoli growers went ballistic.

Then there was former two-term President Ronald Reagan, who's love of jelly beans (and the Jelly Belly brand in particular) sent sales of the little sugar bites soaring for the California based confections company, which made sure Reagan was supplied with free Jelly Belly jelly beans during his two terms in office. The late President even kept a jar of the Jelly Belly beans on his desk in the oval office. You can't buy that kind of advertising.

But what about the family of new U.S. President-elect Barack Obama?

We know a few things because we're intrepid reporters.

First, it's a fact First Lady-elect Michelle Obama likes to shop at the Whole Foods Market store not far from the families home in Chicago, Illinois, as well as at a couple other more upscale supermarkets in the big city. We also know both she and the next President tend to eat healthy, including being consumers of natural and organic food and grocery products. And, they better be "green," as in buying environmentally-friendly products.

But thanks to USA Today staff writer Bruce Horovitz, we can now learn some specifics in terms of what the next American First Family likes to eat, including some of the food and beverage brands and particular items they purchase. You knew it was coming.

Hint: They like organic and premium...but also conventional.

OK, a real hint: Below is a sampling of a couple of the products the Obama family buys and eats, as reported by Bruce Horovitz in this morning's USA Today:

•Snacks. Obama tries to snack healthy. He likes Planters Trail Mix: Nuts, Seeds and Raisins. Planters has White House links dating to former president (and peanut farmer) Carter, as a sponsor of the Plains, Ga., Peanut Festival, says Laurie Guzzinati, a Kraft Foods spokeswoman.

•Drinks. Obama is a fan of Black Forest Berry Honest Tea. "It raises the profile of our brand and all organic products," says Seth Goldman, CEO of Honest Tea. "We'd love for it to be the official drink of the new administration."

Want to know more?

Click here to read the piece in today's USA Today. In it Horovitz also discusses other brands and products the Obama family likes and owns, such as attire and the family automobile. He also talks about what food, beverage and other industry marketers are hoping to do to make hay on the brand and product preferences of America's next First Family.