Agricultural News
Farming, Food, and Climate Activists Call On Ag Secretary to Discuss Climate Change
Thu, 26 Jul 2012 17:40:25 CDT
In light of the drought currently sweeping the nation, climate-change activists from Forecast the Facts and Food Democracy Now! are calling on Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to address the issue of climate change.
Organizers from the two groups circulated a petition calling on Vilsack to discuss what they believe to be connections between climate change and the current drought. They also want Vilsack to address the implications of climate change to the future of farming in America.
"The science tying climate change to longer and more severe droughts is clear," claims Daniel Souweine, Campaign Director for Forecast the Facts. "In fact, Secretary Vilsack's own Department contributed to a 2009 report warning that manmade climate change would create worsening water shortages, longer heat waves, and deeper droughts in the Great Plains. It's simply not credible for Vilsack to now claim he is unaware of the science, and it contradicts the USDA's mission of providing farmers with the scientific information they need to do their jobs."
"Helping farmers cope with the current drought is an important priority," said Dave Murphy, executive director for Food Democracy Now! "But the USDA also has a responsibility to explain to farmers and the American public that climate change makes droughts like the current one far more likely and severe. This won't be the last climate-related disaster of Secretary Vilsack's tenure, and he should show leadership by talking about the major implications that climate change has for our entire farming sector."
The activists said farmers who signed the petition emphasized the need to hear from Vilsack about the causes of the drought.
In the coming weeks, Forecast the Facts and Food Democracy Now! said they will be monitoring Vilsack's statements about the drought and climate change, and will use a host of online and offline tactics to ensure he hears from farmers and other Americans.
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