Agriculture Appointment Has Greens Seeing Red

The Obama Administration has just announced the nomination of Islam Siddiqui, a pesticide industry lobbyist, to the position of Chief Agricultural Negotiator, Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Green activists say that the appointment places the president’s commitment to progressive environmental policy in serious question.

Islam Siddiqui is no stranger to Washington. From 1997 to 2001 he served in various positions in the Clinton Administration at the US Department of Agriculture. However, the uproar over his appointment comes from his current position as Vice President for Science and Regulatory Affairs at CropLife America, a trade association representing producers and distributors of pesticides. From 2001 to 2003 he was also a registered lobbyist for CropLife.

Siddiqui is also no stranger to the Obama administration. He contributed $2,300 to Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008. He held fundraising meetings for the president in his home in McLean, Virginia as well.

After the First Lady created a pesticide-free organic garden at the White House, many environmentalists felt that the Obama Administration was signaling a shift to more green-friendly environmental policy. Now, the green movement is crying foul at a perceived betrayal.

Environmental groups been highlighting controversial statements Siddiqui made as a lobbyist and government official in the past. From Politico:

In 1999, for instance, he derided the European Union’s ban on hormone-treated beef. According to Reuters, when the French agriculture minister expressed concern that the hormones could cause cancer in 20 to 30 years, Siddiqui reportedly said of the minister, “He wanted assurances that 30 years from now, nothing would happen. No one in the scientific community can give you that kind of decision.”

That same year, Reuters reported that Siddiqui, then-special assistant for trade to the U.S. agriculture secretary, “expressed concern about possible [genetically modified organism] labeling requirements by Japan when he met senior officials of the Agriculture Ministry in Tokyo. ‘We do not believe that obligatory GMO labeling is necessary, because it would suggest a health risk where there is none. Mandatory labeling could mislead consumers about the safety of these products.’”

Ironically, part of CropLife’s lobbying efforts include a letter writing campaign scolding Michelle Obama for failing to use pesticides in the White House garden.

White House spokesman Benjamin LaBolt attempted to quash some of the fears about the Siddiqui appointment by saying, “During his time at USDA, Dr. Siddiqui led the first phase of development for national organic natural food standards in the United States.”

But Siddiqui’s selection will still be seen as a broken promise from an Administration that vowed to end the influence of lobbyists in Washington. According to Politico:

While Siddiqui was at CropLife, the company took part closed-door negotiations with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Management and Budget to find ways to permit pesticide testing in children. The firm also was instrumental in securing an exemption for American farmers from the 2006 worldwide ban of the highly controversial chemical methyl bromide, a pesticide that depletes the ozone layer.

No date has been set for Siddiqui’s confirmation hearings, but environmental groups are expected to fight the nomination.