Rajiv Shah, Obamas Top USAID appointee, was working under a man named Tom Vilsack at the USDA. Tom Vilsask was involved with Prodigene and the push for limited regulation on biopharma crop growers.
The Case Against Rajiv Shah: Don't Let Monsanto Take Over USAID
"ProdiGene eventually went out of business, but not before it received a $6 million investment from the Governors Biotechnology Partnership, chaired by Iowa governor, Tom Vilsack, currently Shah's boss at the USDA. Vilsack didn't want any restrictions placed on experimental pharma crops. In reaction to suggestions that pharma crops should be kept away from food crops, Vilsack argued that "we should not overreact and hamstring this industry.'"
"Beachy, currently working under Shah as the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture director, joined Vilsack in support of ProdiGene and against regulation of pharma crops when he was still the director of the Danforth Center. He said in 2004 that scientists must be free to experiment in open fields"
Obama's Pick for Head of USAID: Forcing GMO's on the World's Poor
"After a short stint at USDA, Rajiv Shah has been picked by the Obama Administration to head up the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)."
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Here is another article about the financial history of Prodigene.
From the article:
1996: The protein products division of Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. in Des Moines merged with a Texas pharmaceutical firm to form ProdiGene Inc., which is now based in College Station, Texas. Pioneer remained an investor in ProdiGene.
1999: Pioneer and its parent, DuPont, invested $2 million in tecTerra Food Capital Fund, a venture-capital fund started by Iowa lawmakers.
2001: tecTerra Food invests $3 million in Omaha-based StaufferSeeds Inc. That investment was pooled with other funds and converted into ProdiGene stock.
Today: tecTerra's investment in ProdiGene grows to $6 million. The Iowa Agricultural Finance Corp., which controls the fund, is a 14.5 percent owner of ProdiGene, and tecTerra has a seat on ProdiGene's board.
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Other Recommended HLLN Link:HLLN Urgent Action Alert: Take Action - Stop the introduction of Monsanto's corporate seeds into Haiti
Bill Clinton's Heavy Hand on Haiti's Vulnerable Agricultural Economy: The American Rice Scandal
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