Share
Former Big Food Lobbyists Take Over Our USDA Seeking to Eliminate Food Safety Regulations
Sometimes the headline says it all. Once you've stopped shaking your head in disgust, please continue to read below.
....new internal emails from the US Department of Agriculture show big food industry lobbyists are working hand-in-glove with agency staffers.... top USDA political appointees -- former lobbyists themselves -- are in frequent contact with their old employers and others who are lobbying the agency, and...those lobbyists are seeking to influence the agency on issues large and small.
The USDA, under the Trump administration, has moved to roll back a series of regulations opposed by industry, to the chagrin of health and food safety advocates. The emails show how the agency is very willing to work with industry lobbyists, even accepting and using talking points for one of Secretary Sonny Perdue's speeches.
Drain the swamp he said?
Another email exchange shows USDA officials and industry representatives discussing the names of people whom industry would like to see serving on a committee looking into the health effects of consuming sodium and potassium. The emails show industry's behind-the-scenes efforts to influence the outcome of a critical study, and the USDA appearing receptive to the industry's influence.
Experts in lobbying in favor of industries that profit from selling us garbage food now working at the USDA writing and speaking on policies intended to protect us. Back to Perdue's speech for a moment:
Perdue paraphrased most -- but not all -- of the themes the lobby group laid out in its talking points. Ethics groups say the agency should be deciding what the secretary says in his speeches -- not industry.
"The federal government should be creating the talking points for a Cabinet head, not a trade association. This makes it look like the agenda is being set by lobbyists," said Norm Eisen, of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "Trump ran on draining the swamp, but government agencies are continuing to pursue the special interest agenda. This is a profound betrayal of Trump's drain-the-swamp promise."
This is EVERYTHING that is wrong with what is supposed to be OUR government. This is corporations running the show and doing everything they can to maximize their profits.