Today, President-elect Joe Biden nominated Tom Vilsack to lead the Department of Agriculture. The Department of Agriculture touches every American’s life every day from farm to fork to forests. By managing our food system and public lands, this agency’s policies play a major role in how this nation tackles the climate crisis, environmental justice, and public health.

The following is a statement from Earthjustice Vice President of Policy and Legislation Martin Hayden:

“We appreciate that President-elect Biden understands the major challenges facing our nation today, including climate change, environmental justice, and public health as interrelated, and that addressing them require intersectional approaches across the federal government. The Secretary will be trusted to deliver a just and sustainable food system that provides a livelihood for farmers and farmworkers by rebuilding rural economies, regenerating agricultural ecologies, and focusing on climate change mitigation and industrial pollution. It will also be imperative for our climate and indigenous communities for the Secretary to restore Tongass National Forest protections, and protect our old growth and mature forest as carbon sinks. Having served as agriculture secretary for eight years, Vilsack can and should hit the ground running on tackling these important challenges. We look forward to working with him and his team.”