Vilsack Booed For Support of GMOs

In a rude display of what happens when zero-sum political religion is injected into national policy debates, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack was booed this morning when he told a crowd in Iowa that he supports both small, local, organic farms and conventional agriculture, including the careful development of genetically modified crops.

Vilsack, who represents the best hope that advocates of sustainable farming have seen in decades, nonetheless isn't pure enough for some of the more dogmatic ones who apparently think it's not only possible but advisable to simply topple industrialized agriculture and start over.

Speaking at a conference of the Community Food Security Coalition in Des Moines, Vilsack first "spent just over 30 minutes extolling community and organic food efforts to an appreciative audience of advocates" according to Kathie Obradovich, political columnist for the Des Moines Register.

But when he was asked about conventional agriculture and what he is doing to "curb" it, he said "I have two sons and I love them both. And your question sort of, kind of asks, 'Which son do you love the most?’"

That was too much for some in the audience. Over their grumbling, he noted the bare fact that industrial agriculture produces 75 percent of the nation's food and fiber and that's "not likely to change in the short term."

In the meantime, he said, the government is working to help ensure that small farmers get "a fair break, a fair shake."