Obama nominee bugs greenies

Environmentalists are trying to derail President Obama’s nominee for chief agriculture negotiator for his alleged ties to the chemical and pesticide industry, according to the Center for Biological Diversity

The nominee, Islam Siddiqui (pictured), is the current vice president for science and regulatory affairs at CropLife America, a trade association that represents the plant-science industry.

Siddiqui is under fire for comments he made while working as an undersecretary for the Department of Agriculture and as a senior agricultural trade adviser for the Clinton administration in the late ’90s—a time during which he lobbied for the use of pesticides.

Recently, Siddiqui’s pro-pesticide group also reproached Michelle Obama for her decision to not use pesticides in the White House garden, according to the CBD.