-----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. ******************************************************** To unsubscribe from SANET-MG: 1- Visit http://lists.sare.org/archives/sanet-mg.html to unsubscribe or; 2- Send a message to <[log in to unmask]> from the address subscribed to the list. Type "unsubscribe sanet-mg" in the body of the message. Visit the SANET-MG archives at: http://lists.sare.org/archives/sanet-mg.html. Questions? Visit http://www.sare.org/about/sanetFAQ.htm. For more information on grants and other resources available through the SARE program, please visit http://www.sare.org. 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