We were shocked to learn in your pages that Richard E. Lyng has been nominated as the next secretary of agriculture. Mr. Lyng represents the very narrow and destructive interests of the red meat industry and lacks the broad and balanced perspective that American farmers and consumers deserve. His nomination should be rejected.
The secretary of agriculture should be able to balance the interests of agribusiness conglomerates, family farmers and consumers. Yet, Mr. Lyng`s views of American agriculture were formed under Earl Butz, Richard Nixon`s secretary of agriculture and patron saint of American agribusiness. He has been endorsed by Feedstuffs, ”The Weekly Newspaper for Agribusiness,” as
”the kind of secretary the country needs.”
The secretary of agriculture should understand the economic and technical problems facing all agricultural producers, processors and consumers. Yet Mr. Lyng has spent most of the past decade as president of the American Meat Institute and a lobbyist for the red meat industry. The man nominated to manage the world`s greatest food resources views the hungry Third World as just a lucrative market for his industry. Mr. Lyng has stated that ”one needs only observe the human condition in societies where meat is not eaten to be convinced of the soundness of animal agriculture.”
The secretary of agriculture should have the confidence of the country`s major agricultural regions and the key players in the present administration. Yet farm groups in California, where Mr. Lyng served as director of agriculture under Gov. Ronald Reagan, are pushing for the nomination of John Norton, and Midwestern farmers, who are most affected by the current farm crisis, would prefer one of their own. Moreover, Mr. Lyng`s nomination has been opposed by both Vice President George Bush and Republican Senate Majority Leader Robert Dole.
The past few years have witnessed the worst depression in the history of American agriculture and frightening revelations about the health hazards in our food supply. With the dawning of the new year, we have acquired the tools for turning this national disaster around: a new farm bill and a good understanding of the connection between diet and health. But none of this will come to pass without a caring, innovative, dynamic and well-respected leader at the helm of our Department of Agriculture.
Richard E. Lyng is not qualified for this extraordinary task. His nomination should be rejected, and the President should be asked to try again, harder.
