Despite campaign promises to the contrary, President Obama has nominated to two key posts "Big Ag" industry insiders who come straight from the chemical pesticide and agricultural biotechnology sectors.

Islam Siddiqui - Current VP of science and regulatory affairs at CropLife (THE lobbying association for the pesticide/GMO industry). A former registered lobbyist, Siddiqui has been nominated to the critical post of U.S. Chief Agricultural Negotiator. This position will enable him to keep pushing chemical pesticides, inappropriate biotechnologies, and unfair trade arrangements on nations that do not want and can least afford them.

Roger Beachy - Long-time head of Monsanto's defacto nonprofit research arm -- has been installed as director of the USDA's newly created National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). This office comes with a $500 million budget, and therein control over the U.S. ag research agenda for years to come.

Please join us* in signing this petition, urging President Obama to withdraw his nominations of Big Ag industry insiders to vital agricultural posts.

For far too long, a handful of agricultural corporations have been making record profits - while food prices have sky-rocketed globally, millions have gone hungry, and family farmers in the U.S. and around the world have lost their land to vast agricultural plantations that suck up massive amounts of water, degrade the soil, and require huge inputs of toxic chemicals. 

Our agricultural policy needs a new direction, and installing Big Ag insiders like Siddiqui and Beachy to key U.S. positions can only further entrench corporate control over our food system.  That's why I urge you to take action right away, along with thousands of other concerned individuals, to pressure President Obama to withdraw his nomination of Siddiqui and renounce his support for Beachy.  

The Senate Finance Committee voted 11/19, but let's keep this going anyway.  We have already gotten the attention of the New York Times.  Now help us get the attention of the Administration - Please sign the petition: and please act now!

P.S. Isn't it deplorable how the lobbyists for the military - prison - industrial - factory agriculture - "health" complex find their way onto key posts for every president's administration? It's time that we the people recognize these multi-national octopus industries and the stranglehold they have over the planet's "democracies" for what they are. We also need to recognize Big Ag, Big Pharma and Big Health Insurance for their role in the deplorable state of overall American health.

Thank you for your support. :)

Grassroots International