"Think of Ann Veneman as the Paul Wolfowitz of food policy.)

more rewards for the loyal bushite!!!

.....Veneman lived up to the most dire expectations regarding her nomination, creating a record of service to the interests of multinational corporations at the expense of farmers and consumers. She drew the boos of farmers on her rare visits to rural America. And for good reason. She turned the Department of Agriculture into an echo chamber for the advocates of free trade agreements that have dramatically undermined the income and long-term viability of U.S. farmers, and for Monsanto and other firms that are seeking to force farmers to plant genetically modified crops and inject cows with bovine growth hormones.

Worst of all, on issues such as the discovery of mad cow disease in the United States and Canada, she seemed at every turn to be more interested in the business and trade impacts of those revelations than the very real public health issues that they raised.

Veneman has stepped down as secretary of agriculture but, in what has now become a pattern for the Bush administration, her years of disservice have been rewarded with a nomination to serve as the new executive director of UNICEF, the U.N. agency that is responsible for protecting children's health, welfare and rights.

Veneman is expected to get the job because of the defining role that the Bush administration plays in the selection process, just as U.S. pressure set up Wolfowitz for the World Bank position.......


http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/index.php?ntid=33377&ntpid=0


Published on Thursday, March 24, 2005 by the Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin)
Bush Flunky Unfit to Lead UNICEF
by John Nichols


Think of Ann Veneman as the Paul Wolfowitz of food policy.