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Kathleen Merrigan, Nominee for Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Director of Agriculture, Food and Environment Program, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

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Kathleen Merrigan, Nominee for Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Director of Agriculture, Food and Environment Program, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy April 2009 NomineeAlert this issue: Merrigan’s Background Kathleen Merrigan, Nominee for Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Director of Agriculture, Food and Environment Program, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy Assistant Professor, Tufts University Who is Kathleen Merrigan? Now eat your vegetables... Director, Center on Agriculture, On March 19 President Obama nominated Food and the Environment keep pace. Currently, there’s little published Kathleen Merrigan to be Deputy Secretary of research that shows how the safety of organic Adjunct Professor, Tisch College of Agriculture. foods compares to the safety of conventional Citizenship and Public Service foods.” Although she’s a huge Federal Agency Administrator, U.S. While many of us Department of Agriculture, Agricul- proponent of organic believe“ there are nutritional Although she does not tural Marketing Service farming, Merrigan benefits to organic food, know whether organic admits that organic food food is any better, she Expert Consultant, Food and this has yet to be has not been shown to wants more federal Agriculture Organization of the scientifically documented. be better than United Nations money to subsidize conventionally grown We just don’t know. organic farmers and Senior Analyst, Henry A. Wallace food. “While many of complicated regulations Institute for Alternative Agriculture us believe there are ” and a powerful nutritional benefits to organic food, this has yet Professional Staff, U.S. Senate bureaucracy to guide and help these farmers. Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition to be scientifically documented.” and Forestry This blind faith in the government is hard to Merrigan also wants more money to study understand considering the scandal that rocked Special Assistant, Texas organic farming. Specifically, she wants more the USDA while she was there. In July of 2000, Department of Agriculture government research to determine whether she testified before Congress about wide- Staff for Massachusetts State organic farming methods are any better than ranging corruption at the USDA’s Hunts Point Senator John Olver (D) regular methods. Marketing Terminal. Producers were being cheated by buyers and bribed government EDUCATION B.A. Williams College “We just don’t know,” said Merrigan, Ph.D., inspectors. This corruption continued for years M.A. University of Texas at Austin assistant professor at the Friedman School of and farmers likely lost millions of dollars in Ph.D. Massachusetts Institute of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts revenues. Farmers were hesitant to complain Technology University. “With both organic food sales and about the corruption for fear that their treatment organic acreage increasing, research has to by inspectors would grow worse. Sources for further reading: Kathleen A. Merrigan, vitea, Tufts University. Available online at: More information you really need http://nutrition.tufts.edu/docs/pdf/ prof_docs/MerriganKathleen.pdf . to know about Kathleen Merrigan. (Accessed April 2, 2009.) Statement of Kathleen Merrigan, Merrigan wants a set aside program that would require the government to buy organic foods. Working Land Conservation: “The government is a very big business for the food sector. Food purchased for the military, the Conservation Security Program National School Lunch Program, the USDA cafeteria, elderly feeding programs, etc., could be and Environmental Quality organic as a matter of government policy. We already have built-in preferences or set-asides Incentives Program, Hearing of for small and minority-owned businesses. Why not do the same for organic?” the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, January 17, 2007. Merrigan supports the government provision of organic crop insurance. “USDA has begun Available online at: http:// looking at this [organic crop insurance], but organic farmers need it now. Organic crop agriculture.senate.gov/Hearings/ premiums must be accounted for in insurance programmes, as well as crop loss from genetic hearings.cfm? drift (GMO contamination).” In 2006, “Merrigan said government could also better address hearingid=2471&witnessId=5978. problems when they occur. Government could compensate farmers, change liability laws, (Accessed April 2, 2009.) develop applicable crop insurance programs, develop a trust fund, and implement penalties (e.g., fines or probationary periods) for people who cause peaceful coexistence problems.” Grapes, Wine & Biotechnology, Issues, Opportunities, and Merrigan admits that the use of manure in organic farming is troublesome. “Critics of organic Challenges, Summary of Multi- agriculture cite the use of manure in organic systems as troublesome, which is true. We Stakeholder Workshop, Pew have not answered the scientific questions surrounding the safe use of manure.” Initiative on Food and Biotechnology, July 2006. Avail- Merrigan dislikes the fact that the customer is always right. able online at: http:// www.pewtrusts.org/ uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/ The Center for Science in the Public Interest and Public Voice Reports/ are two prominent consumer groups who helped get the Food_and_Biotechnology/ [organic] legislation passed. The tens of thousands of letters PIFB_Winegrapes.pdf. denouncing USDA’s first proposed rule were mostly from (Accessed April 2, 2009.) consumers. They are the power behind organic farmers. That’s the good news. The bad news is that customer is Illegal Activities at the Hunts “always right”. The outright ban on GMOs may have some Point Marketing Terminal, Hear- negative implications for organic farmers and handlers, limiting ing of the U.S. House Subcom- their access to some critical materials such as animal vaccines. mittee on Livestock and Horticul- ture, July 27, 2000. Available Merrigan drafted the legislation which created the National Organic Standards Board, which online at: http:// includes representatives of environmental and public advocacy groups and gives them commdocs.house.gov/ immense power. “The Center for Science in the Public Interest and Public voice are two committees/ag/hag10658.000/ prominent consumer groups who helped get the legislation passed. The very voting hag10658_0f.htm . (Accessed structure of the NOSB gives environmental and consumer groups a veto-life power over the April 2, 2009.) organic industry.” Friedman Policy Points, April Merrigan wants organic regulations to be broad—empowering bureaucrats. “Too many 2004, Tufts University. Available online at: http:// so-called organic standards are in fact statements of principles, rather than measurable, nutrition.tufts.edu/docs/ enforceable practices. This is not the case with the NOP [National Organics Program]. In fact, PolicyPoints/2004-04.html. the opposite is most likely true in that there is too much detail. I have always envisioned an (Accessed April 2, 2009.) important role for certifying agents in developing farms and handling plans with their clients.” Of Natural Foods Network course, this flexibility that she suggests also swings the door wide open to corruption. Magazine, September/October 2007. Available online at: http:// Merrigan wants the government to get involved in making sure that organic companies get solis.365media.com/nfnportal/ access to shelf space. “If the government sees value in organic goods, perhaps it could develop includes/ an assistance programme to help organic companies defray slotting fee costs when they first nfn15_naturalfoodnetworkmagazi begin. Maybe USDA could, in exchange for various USDA services, require a certain ne.pdf. (Accessed April 2, 2009.) percentage of supermarket shelves be provided for new goods. Perhaps antitrust authorities could be NomineeAlert Kathleen Merrigan, The role of exploited to find ways for the government to government standards and disallow prohibitively expensive fees that result in THIS ALERT IS A SERVICE OF market facilitation, Organic market concentration by large firms.” Agriculture: Sustainability, AMERICANS FOR LIMITED GOVERNMENT Markets, and Policies, 9900 MAIN STREET Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, SUITE 303 CABI Publishing. (2003.) FAIRFAX, VA 22031 703.383.0880 WWW.GETLIBERTY.ORG .
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