Ann Veneman, US Ag Sec, has resigned. Veneman had strong biotech and agribiz connections, having served on the board of directors for Calgene Inc., which commercialised the first GM food - the Flavr Savr tomato, and which was bought out by Monsanto.

Here's the rundown on who might replace her. Any which way, it's business as usual!

1.Who might replace Veneman?
2.More on Allen Johnson
3.More on Chuck Conner
4.More on Charles Stenholm
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1.Who might replace Veneman?
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6492183/

....names that have surfaced include:
*Farm trade negotiator Allen Johnson of the U.S. Trade Representative's office. He is pursuing the job, according to agribusiness sources.

*White House agriculture advisor Chuck Conner, who also has been talking about the job.

*Texas Rep. Charles Stenholm, a Democrat who was defeated after 13 terms in the House. "If Bush would pick him to be ag secretary, everybody would win," said Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson, likely to succeed Stenholm as Democratic leader on the House Agriculture Committee.
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2.More on Allen Johnson

US House Speaker Hastert Seeks WTO GMO Case
By Richard Cowan
http://www.saynotogmos.org/umar03a.htm
WASHINGTON, March 26 (Reuters) - Pressure on the Bush administration to challenge the EU's moratorium on new genetically modified products intensified on Wednesday, with House Speaker Dennis Hastert calling for the immediate filing of a World Trade Organization complaint.

In prepared testimony to the House Agriculture Committee, Hastert, who represents a major corn and soybean producing area in Illinois, said: "The U.S. government should immediately take a case to the WTO regarding the current EU moratorium."

Hastert was later asked by reporters whether the administration has given him any indication on when it might go ahead with a case. "I heard soon," he responded, without giving any details.

Allen Johnson, the chief agriculture negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative, said the United States was consulting with other WTO members and making sure "we have a good strong case if we go forward" with a complaint.

Briefing reporters from Geneva where he is attending WTO negotiations, Johnson added, "Obviously, the best scenario would be for the Europeans just to lift the moratorium and start following the regulatory procedures that we all are obligated to do in the WTO."

But even if the EU lifted the moratorium, Johnson said new problems would arise. He specifically mentioned the biotech labeling rules being developed for EU consumers and regulations to enable the tracing of foods from farm to market.

"We think that it's trade restrictive and frankly we think it's unworkable," Johnson said.

http://www.mindfully.org/GE/Revolving-Door.htm
Allen Johnson is the Chief Agricultural Negotiator at the USTR, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative http://www.ustr.gov.

He negotiates all agriculture trade agreements and policies on behalf of the U.S. government, in venues like the WTO, NAFTA, FTAA.

Prior to joining the USTR, Ambassador Johnson served as the President, and before that, as the Executive Vice President, of the National Oilseed Processors Association, NOPA.

To find out about NOPA, you can go to their web page at http://www.nopa.org. NOPA has only 13 "regular members," some of which are Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge North America, Cargill, and Perdue. Among the 20 "associate members," are ConAgra, Procter & Gamble, Purina, Tyson Foods and Unilever.

Virtually every major grain trading transnational is represented, as are some of the biggest and most important food processing and factory farming corporations in the world.
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3.More on Chuck Conner

Chuck (Charles F) Conner is president of the Corn Refiners Association, "the national trade association representing the corn refining (wet milling) industry of the United States" http://www.corn.org/, which, with such co-signatories as Monsanto, Pioneer Hi-Bred and Archer Daniels Midland, supported a letter stating support for "food biotechnology as a tool that can improve product quality, increase production efficiency, allow more judicious use of agricultural chemicals and help meet growing domestic and world food demand." http://www.namamillers.org/is_bio_plantbiotech.html

The CRA and the above signatories (and Cargill, American Soybean Assoc, DuPont and ConAgra) also jointly signed a letter to US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick thanking him for "for your initiative to advance the Doha Development Agenda negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO)". The letter makes clear what that agenda is: "Agriculture's future continues to lie in expanding foreign markets and eliminating barriers to our exports. The successful conclusion of the WTO negotiations on agriculture remains our top negotiating priority."
http://www.ncga.com/letters/2004/PDFS/ZoellickSupportDohaRound-USAgriculture031904.pdf

The Corn Refiners Association has among its member companies Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill.
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4.More on Charles Stenholm

http://www.monsanto.co.uk/news/2000/april2000/05042000_farmgate.html
Stenholm "endorses genetically altered food as a way to help feed the world's growing population."

"God did not create a world that is totally safe," Stenholm said, adding that some kind of risk is inherent in every food.

http://web.extension.uiuc.edu/Ford-Iroquois/Update%20Archives/ExtUpdate121100.htm
"He is closer politically to George W. Bush than to Al Gore. Farm organizations would be quite happy with Stenholm"

http://csf.colorado.edu/mail/pfvs/jun99/msg02299.html
In Seattle, arch-conservative Congressman Charles Stenholm, a Democrat from Texas, a powerful figure on the Agriculture Committee in the House of Representatives, obviously shaken by the anti-GE, anti-WTO protests in the streets outside his hotel and the delegates' meetings, warned of the dire consequences for US agribusiness if the biotechnology industry loses the battle for the hearts and minds of the American people. Stenholm, quoted by Bill Lambrecht in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Monsanto's hometown newspaper, pleaded with biotech industry representatives to campaign in churches and to "empty your pockets" to fight biotechnology's critics. "We have to take to the streets ourselves. Otherwise, we lose," Stenholm said.

http://www.cropchoice.com/leadstry.asp?recid=591
A look at how many biotech bucks make it into politics
By Michiel Wackers, CropChoice reporter
(February 20, 2002-CropChoice News) - Given the ongoing role that money plays in U.S. political life, it's hardly surprising that biotechnology companies contributed $633,850 to politicians at the federal level in the current and previous election cycles in the hopes of continued federal support for genetically modified crops.

Monsanto, Aventis Crop Science, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), and Cargill all broke records for donations in 2000, giving a total of $497,850 to politicians, political action committees (PAC), and political parties. Cargill and ADM led the donation pack. Cargill gave out $197,000 in donations - $47,000 to Democrats and $150,000 to Republicans. ADM gave out $202,450 in donations - $95,000 to Democrats and $107,450 to Republicans. Monsanto and Aventis CropScience were not all that far behind with $74,900 and $23,500, respectively.

Members of the agricultural committees in the House and Senate were prime donation targets. One dollar in six went to a member of these committees, totaling $101,450 in the 2000 election cycle. While many received only a $500 or $1,000 donation, there were a few who seemed addicted to biotech bucks. The top three recipients were: Sen. E. Benjamin Nelson, D-Neb. with $16,000, Rep. Calvin Dooley, D-Calif. with $12,500, and Rep. Charles Stenholm (-TX) with $11,500. U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft received $18,000 from Monsanto, ADM and Cargill toward what turned out to be a failed re-election bid.