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MICH-ORGANIC  November 2008

MICH-ORGANIC November 2008

Subject:

Support Jim Riddle as USDA Marketing Chief

From:

Vicki Morrone <[log in to unmask]>

Reply-To:

Vicki Morrone <[log in to unmask]>

Date:

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 13:16:11 -0500

Content-Type:

text/plain

Parts/Attachments:

Parts/Attachments

text/plain (286 lines)

-----Original Message-----
From: Chrys Ostrander [mailto:[log in to unmask]] 
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 11:44 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [SANET-MG] Support Jim Riddle as USDA Marketing Chief

Folks,

Jim Riddle is a well known and well respected 
authority on organic and sustainable agriculture 
who has indicated to me a strong desire to serve 
the Barack Obama Administration in some capacity 
at the USDA. He has indicated that his experience 
and background well suit him for consideration as 
Administrator of the USDA Agricultural Marketing 
Service or the Organic Program Coordinator 
position that possibly is being created in the USDA Secretary's office.

My friend and colleague, Goldie Caughlin, the 
Nutrition Education Coordinator at 
<http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/>Puget 
<http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/>Consumer 
<http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/>Co-op in 
Seattle says "Jim and I served on the National 
Organic Standards Board together for five years. 
He is exceptionally knowledgeable and qualified, 
as I'm sure all who've had any amount of contact 
with him and his work are aware. He has a deeply 
evident sense of fairness and justice, and is the 
most diplomatic and patient educator and 
negotiator I believe I've ever known, remaining 
positive, diplomatic and cordial in even the most 
trying of circumstances -- and there were many 
during the especially contentious times on the 
NOSB." These qualities, and the experience 
represented in the following biographical sketch, 
in my mind help make Jim Riddle a person worthy 
of widespread support and I urge anyone reading 
this to contact your Congressional Delegation 
TODAY (especially if you have a Democratic 
Senator or two in your state) and voice your 
support for his consideration for a job at the 
new USDA. You should also send messages of 
support directly to the Obama Transition Team at
<http://www.change.gov/page/s/contact>http://www.change.gov/page/s/conta
ct.

Chrys Ostrander, Davenport, WA

Jim offers this statement as part of his 
expression of desire to serve in the new 
administration: "Given the challenges of climate 
change, ocean dead zones, groundwater 
contamination, soil erosion, energy, obesity, 
diabetes, food safety, farm subsidies, nutrition, 
and food security, the Obama Administration has 
the opportunity to make a significant shift in US 
agriculture policy by investing in cost-effective 
sustainable food and farming systems.

"The USDA must lead the transition to a green 
economy by implementing policies that support 
ecologically-sound food and fiber systems; 
conservation and environmental stewardship; 
renewable and efficient energy; and 
consumer-driven markets, providing stable and 
sustainable incomes for family farmers and 
ranchers; supporting vibrant, web-accessed rural 
communities; and encouraging a new generation of 
farmers, ranchers, and gardeners. There is work to do!"

Biographical sketch:
(a complete vitae is available at 
<file:///C:/DOCUME~1/HP_ADM~1/LOCALS~1/Temp/www.thefutureisorganic.net/J
Riddle-2008-Bio.pdf>www.thefutureisorganic.net/JRiddle-2008-Bio.pdf)

Jim Riddle was raised on a small dairy and 
produce farm near Colfax, Iowa. As with many farm 
kids, he spent his summers baling hay, 
de-tasseling corn, and walking beans, until he 
received a Maytag Foundation scholarship. Riddle 
graduated from Grinnell College, where he 
received degrees in Biology and Political Science 
and an Iowa teaching certificate in 1978. He 
worked as an Iowa State Senate aide, researching 
alternatives to Iowa's property tax system, and 
taught junior high school in Grinnell, before moving to Minnesota in
1980.

Since 1980, Jim Riddle has been an organic 
farmer, gardener, conservation district 
supervisor, organic inspector, educator, policy 
advisor, author, organizer, and avid organic 
eater. He and his wife, Joyce, have lived off the 
grid since 1984, producing all of their power 
from the sun, wind, and woods, living in their 
owner-built, energy-efficient earth-sheltered 
home. They raise a big garden and put up much of 
their own food. For the Riddle family, 
sustainability and green living are not just slogans - they are a way of
life.

Riddle's involvement in agricultural policy began 
in 1983, when he was asked to serve on the 
Lewiston, MN steering committee of the Land 
Stewardship Project, a group dedicated to "stop 
treating our soil like dirt" and "keeping the 
land and people together." He has been a member 
of the National Farmers Union since 1986, the 
year he was elected to serve on the Winona County 
Soil and Water Conservation District Board, where 
he helped implement innovative programs such as 
tree plantings with school groups and 
soil-building crop rotation incentives for farmers.

In 1987, Jim Riddle was founding president of the 
Winona Farmers Market Association, which remains 
a thriving local foods market. He continues his 
work on local food systems as an active member of 
the Winona County Economic Development Authority, 
helping provide economic opportunities to area 
farmers and processors. As a Jesse Jackson 
delegate to the DNC in 1988, Riddle spoke of the 
need to invest in local, organic, and 
environmentally-sound food and farming systems.

Jim Riddle began doing organic inspections in the 
late-1980's, and was founding chair of the 
International Organic Inspectors Association 
(IOIA). He is co-author of the IFOAM/IOIA 
International Organic Inspection Manual, which 
has been translated into 5 languages and is used 
as the definitive text for the training of 
organic inspectors worldwide. Since 1991, he has 
trained hundreds of organic inspectors throughout 
the world. Riddle helped develop standardized 
organic certification and inspection 
<http://attra.org/organic.html>forms, which are 
used by numerous 
<http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=Templ
ateN&navID=CertifiersNOPNationalOrganicProgramHome&rightNav1=CertifiersN
OPNationalOrganicProgramHome&topNav=&leftNav=NationalOrganicProgram&page
=NOPCertifiers&resultType=&acct=nopgeninfo>USDA-accredited 
certification agencies. He served as a member of 
the US delegation to Codex, helping develop and 
adopt the Codex International 
<http://www.codexalimentarius.net/web/standard_list.do?lang=en>Organic 
Guidelines. He co-authored the 
<http://www.ota.com/>Organic Trade Association's 
1999 American Organic 
<http://www.ota.com/news/press/96.html>Standards, 
an influential document leading up to adoption of 
the US National Organic Program 
(<http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=Temp
lateF&navID=RegulationsNOPNationalOrganicProgramHome&rightNav1=Regulatio
nsNOPNationalOrganicProgramHome&topNav=&leftNav=NationalOrganicProgram&p
age=NOPRegulations&resultType=&acct=noprulemaking>NOP) 
<http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?type=simple;c=ecfr;cc=ecf
r;sid=4163ddc3518c1ffdc539675aed8efe33;region=DIV1;q1=national>Final 
Rule.

Jim Riddle has served on the Minnesota Department 
of Agriculture's 
<http://www.mda.state.mn.us/food/organic/default.htm>Organic 
Advisory Task Force since 1991, and, in 1998, was 
instrumental in passage of Minnesota's landmark 
organic certification cost-share program, which 
reimburses a portion of a farmer's certification 
fees, now a national program in the 2008 
<http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=110_cong_bill
s&docid=f:h6124eh.txt>Farm 
Bill. He helped the MN-NRCS establish incentives 
for conventional farmers to convert to organic 
production under EQIP. He contributed to adoption 
of the Minnesota Organic 
<http://www.mda.state.mn.us/food/organic/mou.htm>Memorandum 
of Understanding, signed by the leaders of 4 
Federal (NRCS, RMA, FSA, USDA-RD), 3 State (MDA, 
DNR, MPCA), and 3 University departments (CFANS, UMN-EXT, UMN-ROCs).

In January 2001, near the end of the Clinton 
Administration, Jim Riddle was appointed to the 
USDA's 
<http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fetchTemplateData.do?template=Templ
ateQ&navID=NOSBHomeNOPNationalOrganicProgramHome&rightNav1=NOSBHomeNOPNa
tionalOrganicProgramHome&topNav=&leftNav=NationalOrganicProgram&page=NOS
BHome&description=NOSB&acct=nosb>National 
Organic Standards Board. He served on the 
Executive Committee for 5 years and was chair in 
2005. He has worked with the Agricultural 
Marketing Service; Economic Research Service; 
Cooperative State Research, Education, and 
Extension Service; Agricultural Research Service; 
Natural Resource Conservation Service; Risk 
Management Agency; National Ag Library; Foreign 
Ag Service; National Ag Statistics Service; and 
Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education.

Jim Riddle has provided support to State 
Departments of Agriculture in Minnesota, Iowa, 
Wisconsin, Illinois, Texas, Maine, Oregon, North 
Dakota, Montana, North and South Carolina, 
Mississippi, Louisiana, California, Washington, 
Georgia, Utah, Idaho, and New York and has 
collaborated with 
<http://organicecology.umn.edu/links/>numerous 
universities, certification agencies, and 
non-profit food, agriculture, consumer, and 
environmental groups, implementing policies that support sustainable
systems.

Since January 2006, Riddle has worked as the 
<http://www1.umn.edu/twincities/index.php>University 
of Minnesota's Organic Outreach Coordinator, 
developing and giving farmer workshops and 
presentations, and managing the UMN's 
<http://www.organicecology.umn.edu/>Organic 
Ecology website. He also chairs the Leadership 
Team for <http://www.eorganic.info/>eOrganic, a 
national multi-university 
<http://www.extension.org/>Extension Service 
initiative developing electronic resources for 
organic farmers, researchers, and Extension 
Agents. He is a frequent speaker at food and 
agricultural conferences and a leading voice for 
sustainable agriculture and local food systems.

Date of Birth: February 16, 1956.
Family: Wife - Joyce E. Ford, daughters Laura 
Elizabeth (1981) and Sonja Jeanne (1985). Father 
- John Perry Riddle (1908-1969), Mother - Sigrid 
Faaborg Riddle (1919-1992), former personal secretary to Mrs. Henry A.
Wallace.

=====================
This message originated from or was forwarded by:
Chrys Ostrander
Chrysalis Farm @ Tolstoy
Organic Micro-permaculture
33495 Mill Canyon Rd.
Davenport, WA 99122
509-725-0610
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>[log in to unmask]
http://www.thefutureisorganic.net

"From each according to their ability, to each according to their needs"
Louis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc - "The organization of work" 1839
Karl Marx - "Critique of the Gotha Program" 1875

"The purpose of agriculture is not the production 
of food, but the perfection of human beings"
Masanobu Fukuoka (February 2, 1913 - August 16, 
2008)  - "One Straw Revolution" 1978

"We will never have an organic future and a 
stable climate until we pull all the troops out of Iraq
and redirect our annual $650 billion military 
budget to greening the economy and guaranteeing
a sustainable environment and economic justice for everyone."
Ronnie Cummins, National Director, Organic Consumers Association
at the "Farms Not Arms" public forum and protest in Manhattan,
September, 2007

Please consider making a contribution towards my 
sustainable agriculture organizing work.
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=42
4800>https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_i
d=424800 


Thank you.

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