Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that President Obama intends to select Dr. Elisabeth Hagen as his nominee for USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety. In that position, she would oversee food safety issues related to inspection of meat, poultry and egg products.
Public interest organizations have been clamoring for the President to fill the Under Secretary position and the position of Administrator, FSIS, with individuals committed to correcting an alarming trend in foodborne illness, massive recalls and other problems. "We can and must do a better job of ensuring the safety of meat and poultry products regulated by USDA," admits USDA Secretary Vilsack.
But, there are seven reasons to be concerned about President Obama's pick.
Reason No. 1
According to the official press release, Elisabeth Hagen "was a senior executive at FSIS, where she played a key role in developing and executing the agency's scientific and public health agendas" (emphasis added). Indeed, acording to other agency documents, Dr. Hagen worked in the FSIS Office of Public Health Science, as Executive Associate and as Acting Deputy Administrator. OPHS plays a key role in monitoring and controlling food borne diseases. OPHS is where Dr. Hagen worked when incidents like this happened.
Ground beef has been blamed for 16 outbreaks in the last three years alone, including the one that left Ms. Smith paralyzed from the waist down. This summer, contamination led to the recall of beef from nearly 3,000 grocers in 41 states.
During the Bush administration, some OPHS scientists complained that management misrepresented and ignored their scientific opinions and facts. That doesn't sound like a good training ground for the next Under Secretary of Food Safety.
Reason No. 2
The only information the government will provide about Dr. Hagen's pre-government work experience is the following sentence: "Before joining the federal government in 2006, Hagen taught and practiced medicine in both the private and academic sectors, most recently in Washington, DC." Even job applications for fast food server require more detail than that.
USDA alleges that Dr. Hagen has the needed qualifications. If so, why are administration officials so reluctant to tell us what they are? Indeed, the agency appears to have kept Dr. Hagen pretty closely held. Even food safety activists say they know little about her.
Carol Tucker-Foreman, a distinguished fellow at The Food Policy Institute at Consumer Federation of America, responded to the announcement with guarded optimism.
"Consumer advocates who work closely with the FSIS on policy issues have had limited direct experience with Dr. Hagen. We have been told, however, that she has been a strong advocate for improved food safety policies and has urged the agency to be more aggressive in asking companies to initiate recalls," said Tucker-Foreman, who emphasized that there was much work to be done.
"There has been no consistent decline in recalls, illnesses or deaths in six years.
"Guarded optimism" is one of those often used Washington euphemisms, including "I need to spend more time with my family," that I probably don't need to explain.
Reason No. 3
Dr. Hagen came to FSIS in 2006, during the Bush administration. As the world is well aware, the Bush administration nominated many people with deficient and sometimes alarming credentials. We can't say that Dr. Hagen's credentials are alarming, because the government has said very little about them. But, that, in itself, is worrisome.
Reason No. 4
Dr. Hagen's rise in FSIS has been described as "meteoric." Having multiple positions over four years suggests that she hasn't had much experience in any one position to really understand it. Under those circumstances, it's hard to understand how she could have demonstrated exceptional competence to justify so many promotions. In my own experience, agency officials quickly promote people who demonstrate pliability.
By many accounts, FSIS management has for years been a tool of the big meat companies. That can only happen if the organization persistently promotes employees who embrace the same bad policies and practices. With massive food recalls just about every week, this seems a poor time to simply accept FSIS assurances that their star pupil thinks differently than her teachers.
Reason No. 5
A Google search turned up information that, if it is correct, indicates that Dr. Hagen previously worked for Kane and Davis, a small practice in Washington, D.C., that appears to focus on consulting and "immunization and counseling for those traveling outside of the United States."
It's not quite the preparation one would expect for battling powerful interests and resolving complex food safety issues. But, the position could have brought Dr. Hagen to the attention of some of Washington's movers and shakers. The office, on Massachusetts Avenue, is only a few blocks away government building, including the Vice President's residence at the Naval Observatory, occupied then by Dick Cheney.
Reason No. 6
Dr. Hagen recently was appointed to serve as FSIS medical officer, a position newly created by the Obama administration. That she somehow - with no public notice or explanation - has been elevated to the position of USDA Chief Medical Officer (as USDA's latest press release gives her title) is nothing less than astounding.
It's astounding because the USDA Chief Medical Officer position has for many years been located at the Department level, in USDA's Office of Operations. That position was filled, also for many years, by the same incumbent - who is still in OO, according the USDA website. But, since about last summer, his title has mysteriously changed to simply "Medical Officer." Importantly, that original Chief Medical Officer came under fire during the Clinton administration for declining to help remove an FSIS whistleblower.
Was this irregular transfer of medical authority from the highest levels of the Department to one of its subordinate agencies done because FSIS has other whistleblowers in its sights? I don't know. But, someone should find out. It won't be easy, though. Internet references to that position, that I know once existed, can no longer be found, indicating that someone meticulously scrubbed them.
Reason No. 7
Industry likes Elisabeth Hagen, or so this industry repsentative's response indicates.
In response to the announcement, AMI President J. Patrick Boyle said, “The Under Secretary position is extremely important and we are gratified that person with Dr. Hagenʼs scientific and medical training will lead the agencyʼs food safety efforts. We look forward to working with Dr. Hagen and her team so that we may achieve our mutual goal: ensuring the safest meat and poultry supply possible.”
Given that industry influence is a big part of the food safety problems, this is not an encouraging sign.
Conclusion
It is unlikely that changing FSIS culture will occur by appointing someone who appears to be very much an insider; someone trained and promoted by an organization known for promoting dysfunctional managers. Miracles have been known to happen, but counting on them as a matter of public policy seems a bit foolish. If this nomination goes forward and Congress gives its approval, we can only hope that Dr. Hagen will pleasantly surprise us all.
Cross-posted from Daily Kos
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