Meat + Poultry - January 2009 - 22

WASHINGTON

Cabinet jitters
By Bernard Shire
meatpoultry@sosland.com

hen Barack Obama was elected President two months
ago, some industry people
expressed fear about what might happen, both in the regulatory world plants
live in, as well as possible steps Congress might take on behalf of consumers - that meat and poultry processors
would find difficult to live with.
Representatives of trade groups who
speak for the major species producers,
as well as poultry and meat processors,
were concerned about what a Democratic President, a Democratic Senate
with an-almost veto-proof majority and
a House of Representatives controlled
by Democrats might do. Are tougher
food-safety laws on the way, accompanied by companion regulations more
difficult to live with? How about U.S.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro's (D-Conn.) legislation to merge the food-safety activities
of USDA, FDA and state food-safety departments into one huge superagency,
similar to the Department of Homeland
Security, which has taken over some
activities from USDA and FDA?

A 'centrist' cabinet
MEAT&POULTRY interviews show industry representatives view the Obama
cabinet overall "centrist," especially when
appointed by a president-elect who was
viewed during the election campaign as
the most liberal senator in Washington.
And while much of the trade press has
focused on what the industry thinks of
Tom Vilsack, former Governor of Iowa,
designated as Secretary of Agriculture,
there are numerous other government
departments and cabinet officers who
will affect the meat and poultry processing industry, including as regulators. They
include the Department of Environmental Resources, which will be led by Lisa
Jackson; Department of Labor, with California U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis proposed
as Secretary; Ron Kirk, former mayor of
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January 2009

Dallas, as U.S. Trade Representative; former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson
to lead the Department of Commerce;
and Colorado Senator Ken Salazar to
head Department of the Interior.
Most industry officials are pleased
with the choice of Tom Vilsack as Secretary of Agriculture and not too specific about what they expect him to do.
Richard Lobb, National Chicken Council spokesman, says industry is affected
greatly by the Environmental Protection
Agency and proposed administrator Lisa
Jackson "is a centrist, [she] looks good."
Patrick Boyle, president and CEO of the
American Meat Institute, said as a former governor of Iowa, Vilsack knows
firsthand the many issues affecting the
agriculture sector.
Heather Vaughan, a spokeswoman
for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, says NCBA is happy Obama
picked someone from a state where agriculture is a major part of the economy. "Agriculture contributes $8 billion
to the state economy, and cattle and
calves there are worth $50 billion," she
said. "We've been working with the
Obama transition team, so we're very
hopeful."
Bryan Black, a pork producer from
Canal Winchester, Ohio, and president
of the National Pork Producers Council,
predicted Vilsack will make a good Agriculture Secretary "because he knows
production agriculture and the pork industry, including issues important to the
industry, such as trade agreements, animal identification, energy, the environment and livestock production."
But Michael Formica, environmental
counsel to the NPPC, noted that EPAnominee Jackson has been a career EPA
employee for 16 or 17 years. "She's a
breath of fresh air," Formica says. "And
compared to a worst-case scenario, she's
all you could ask for."
One possible negative for the industry

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is the choice of U.S. Hilda Solis for Labor. As someone whose parents were
union activists and is strongly pro-labor
herself, an industry that's been resisting
unionization of its workforce for a long
time can't be happy about her choice.
But on the other side of the coin, Tom
Kirk as U.S. Trade Representative, is a
free-trade advocate, which should make
industry happy. Exporting adds $180 to
the value of each steer, for example.
Barry Carpenter, CEO and executive
director of the National Meat Association, was also complimentary about Gov.
Vilsack's choice as Agriculture Secretary,
describing him as a 'champion of agriculture, someone committed to and experienced in it." But he also voiced hope
that FSIS Administrator Alfred V. Almanza
would continue to head FSIS.
"He has good science-based credentials and is a strong supporter of riskbased assessments," Carpenter says. "He
doesn't have a predisposition when questions or issues come up as to what FSIS
should do. I think a career person like
him should head the agency."
NCBA's Vaughan also had good words
for Colorado Senator Salazar at the Department of the Interior. "He's been involved in farming and ranching for 30
years," she noted. "We also work on public land issues, including grazing on federal land, so Interior is an important government agency for us. He'll bring a good
perspective to the position," she says.
As the Senate confirms PresidentElect Obama's nominees, industry eyes
will be trained on how these cabinet
members and their departments impact
the poultry and meat industry.
Bernard Shire is M&P's Washington correspondent
based in Lancaster, Pa. With a background in editing and writing for daily news publications, he also
works as a food safety consultant and writer for
Shire & Associates.
We would like to hear from you - to comment on
this story or to request reprints, contact us by
e-mail at: meatpoultry@sosland.com.

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Meat + Poultry - January 2009

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