Oppose Islam Siddiqui for US Agricultural Trade Negotiator!
Organic Consumers Association is part of a 98-organization coalition formed by the Pesticide Action Network and the National Family Farm Coalition to block the Senate confirmation of President Obama’s nominee for US Agricultural Trade Negotiator, CropLife pesticide lobbyist Islam Siddiqui.
We’re sending a letter signed by all 98 groups to the Senate. The letter outlines our opposition to Siddiqui based on his support for pesticides and genetically modified foods and his opposition to organic practices.
Siddiqui was instrumental in drafting the first proposed organic standards in 1997-98 that would have allowed toxic sewage sludge, Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs), and irradiated food to be labeled "Organic."
As Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs at President Clinton’s USDA, Siddiqui oversaw the release of the first-ever proposed federal standards for organics, an accomplishment the Obama White House has cited in support of his nomination. However, these rules created an uproar when USDA overruled recommendations of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) and recommended the use of GMOs, irradiation and toxic sludge under the organic label. After a nationwide coalition including the OCA and the National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture Organic Committee deluged the USDA with 275,000 irate letters and emails, Siddiqui, Monsanto, and the USDA backed off. This Organic Consumers Rebellion remains one of the most passionate outpourings of public sentiment on any government regulation in modern U.S. history.