Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack promises that he understands American eaters. "This is a department that intersects the lives of Americans two to three times a day. Every single American," Vilsack told the Washington Post’s Jane Black. "So I absolutely see the constituency of this department as broader than those who produce our food -- it extends to those who consume it."

The growing (and vocal) food lobby was at first angry with President Obama’s choice of Vilsack, who they saw as a spokesman for corporate agriculture and ethanol producers. A New York Times columnist announced we didn’t need a Secretary of Agriculture as much as we need a Secretary of Food. The initial displeasure with Vilsack appears to be muting, however. "He's definitely sounding a different note than his predecessors," Michael Pollan (above) told Black. (Pollan, author and food supply reformer, is the unofficial spokesman for America’s food folks.) "Whether they'll be reflected in policies remains to be seen."

Vilsack’s first official act was to restore $3.2 million in funding for fruit and vegetable farmers that was cut in the final days of the Bush Administration. Vilsack talked to Black about teaching kids about food and establishing food policy councils in every state (something he did as governor of Iowa).

President Obama is being stuffed with advice from foodies. Michael Pollan in the New York Times instructed President Obama on what the president "can and should do to remake the way we grow and eat our food." Nicolas Kristof pleaded for renaming the Department of Agriculture the Department of Food. Now the fight has entered the White House kitchen. Alice Waters, Berkeley chef and high priestess of local foods, has tried to bully the Obama administration into hiring a new chef.

Obama may have a few other problems, such as the economy, and the war in Iraq, and yet Waters, is pushing him to pick a chef who "thinks about food as being connected to nature, to time and place, who understands where food comes from....Even if you don’t taste the food, if you’re hearing this idea that good food should be a right and not a privilege, then that message is getting across. We’re talking about local seasonal food supporting the people who are taking care of the land. You’re inviting the guests to dine on the very best of what America has to offer. This could inspire a rediscovery of our gastronomic heritage and biodiversity.”

Critics have called her an "elitist" and argued that local foods aren’t necessarily an option for everyone. Former White House chef Walter Scheib was offended with the insinuation that his presidents hadn’t been fed the finest and freshest. “To her credit, Mrs. Bush was adamant about organic foods,” Scheib said. “It goes counter to her perceived personality, but it was never important to her that the information be released.” The Obama's have kept the Bush's chef (Cristeta Comerford), but the food fights continue.

--Mary, Jacob, and Michael Bryce

First, the rule blurs the distinction between U.S. and foreign beef by allowing U.S. meat produced in a domestic facility that also processes imported animals to carry a multi-country label. Bloomburg reports that COOL, "is supposed to let Americans know where their steaks come from, and to help American ranchers market their products," said Senator Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat, in an e-mailed statement. "It's not supposed to be complicated or watered- down."

People aren't happy in foodie-land either. The Seattle newspaper reports that the "USDA definition exempts from labeling over 60 percent of pork, the majority of frozen vegetables, an estimated 95 percent of peanuts, pecans and macadamia nuts, and multi-ingredient fresh produce items, such as fruit salads and salad mixes." http: "Given the recent scandals about the safety of imported food, it is unacceptable that the rule was approved with an overly broad definition for which foods are 'processed,'" says Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food and Water Watch, a national consumer organization.