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Local and regional food systems are about opportunity.
Tom Vilsack -
During a national crisis, we as a nation become a single community and no one should take advantage of a crisis.
Tom Vilsack
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Food during my early years was a very difficult issue for me. I grew up in an addictive family. My mother had serious problems with alcohol and prescription drugs. I was an overweight kid. I can remember back in those days there weren't the strategies that there are today to deal with those issues.
Tom Vilsack -
To keep farmers on the farm we must maintain a strong farm safety net, but we will also have to build a thriving companion economy to compliment production agriculture in rural America.
Tom Vilsack -
Let us tackle the big issues with bold ideas that transform Iowa to accomplish our shared mission to grow Iowa, and realize our shared vision of Iowa as the best place to live, work and raise a family.
Tom Vilsack -
I wish I could give you all the examples over the last two years as secretary of agriculture, where I hear people in rural America constantly being criticized, without any expression of appreciation for what they do do.
Tom Vilsack -
The rural economy is significantly better. Our natural resources, particularly our working lands, are more resilient. And more money is being invested in soil conservation and water preservation. Our forests will be in better shape if Congress does what it needs to do to fix the fire-suppression budget.
Tom Vilsack -
Although they are some of the hardest working folks I know, rural Americans earn, on average, $11,000 less than their urban counterparts each year. And they are more likely to live in poverty.
Tom Vilsack
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I think, first and foremost, showing up, making sure that Democrats focus not just on elections, not just on presidential elections, but we begin the process of rebuilding the infrastructure of the party at the grassroots. We begin going out to all those rural counties and begin having a conversation with rural voters and making sure that we hear their concerns, hear their complaints, and also educate them about what we are doing, making sure that we focus on state legislative races, not just congressional, Senate, governor, and presidential races.
Tom Vilsack -
I would say that, from an agricultural perspective, I have a little bit of concern, because some of the folks I don't know are particularly supportive of the renewable fuel industry and the renewable fuel standard, which is a big part of certainly Midwestern agriculture. I'm hopeful that, when we see his ultimate selection for ag secretary, that we will see someone who is a strong advocate for renewable fuels, and what that means to Midwestern producers. And, for that matter, now, all over the country, we're seeing more and more of the biofuels being produced from a variety of sources.
Tom Vilsack -
President Obama's fight for rural America is personal. He was raised by a single mom and grandparents from Kansas. He hails from a farming state, Illinois.
Tom Vilsack -
We should also challenge this country to come up with strategies and technologies that allow us to produce nuclear energy without necessarily producing a byproduct that can be converted to something far more dangerous. I believe that can be done. It may not be done tomorrow, but it clearly needs to be worked on.
Tom Vilsack -
The future of healthcare security should include flexibility from the federal government to allow us to serve the state's most vulnerable citizens.
Tom Vilsack -
If we are to transition to a new economy and to lead it, we must start by transforming our schools.
Tom Vilsack
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In 2011, agricultural exports hit a record high and producers saw their best incomes in nearly 40 years.
Tom Vilsack -
You know, this country today, it seems to me - it's about fear. And it shouldn't be about fear. It should be about hope and optimism and creativity and accepting a challenge and being a moral leader and being a great nation.
Tom Vilsack -
My friends, history, history calls us to this time and to this place. A solemn choice rests with us - where do we go from here? Do we move slowly and incrementally? Or do we seize the challenge of our time and tackle the great issues of our day.
Tom Vilsack -
Democrats have always historically referred to our families as working families, and I have sort of changed that moniker. I think what we have is a nation of worried families - families that are concerned about job security, families who thought their pensions were secure and now have questions.
Tom Vilsack -
Strong communities ... embrace change. New discoveries require us to think differently and approach things differently, to think anew.
Tom Vilsack -
To amplify our efforts, USDA is joining with First Lady Michelle Obama in aggressively promoting the 'Let's Move' campaign, which will combat the epidemic of childhood obesity through a comprehensive approach that builds on effective strategies, and mobilizes public and private sector resources.
Tom Vilsack
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Now our job, our duty, our responsibility to ensure the safety and security of our citizens cannot be complete unless we guarantee health care security for our citizens.
Tom Vilsack -
People don't understand rural America. Sixteen percent of our population is rural, but 40 percent of our military is rural. I don't believe that's because of a lack of opportunity in rural America. I believe that's because if you grow up in rural America, you know you can't just keep taking from the land. You've got to give something back.
Tom Vilsack -
We have a long tradition in this state of caring for our neighbors - it is truly an Iowa value.
Tom Vilsack -
One out of every 12 jobs in the economy is connected in some way, shape or form to what happens on the farm.
Tom Vilsack