Food and Agriculture

Loan program will help farmers buy refrigerated trucks, storage and processing facilities, thanks to legislation written by Pingree Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a big expansion of a loan program that will now help small farmers acquire refrigerated trucks and mobile processing and storage facilities so they can more… Read more »

After the U.S. Senate voted to block the DARK Act, an anti-GMO labeling bill, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree issued the following statement:   "The DARK Act goes against the 90% of Americans who think that food containing GMOs should be labeled and its defeat in the Senate is a win for consumers.  Now we should move forward with a reasonable bill that requires clear, simple… Read more »

Introduced by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and Rep. Thomas Massie, the PRIME Act would make it easiers for small farmers and ranchers to serve consumers Today, Senators Angus King (I-ME) and Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced the PRIME (Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption) Act, lending Senate support for Representatives Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Chellie Pingree's (D-ME) bill… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree today welcomed new federal rules that require grocery stores to keep track of the sources of ground beef and said the regulations will help track food-borne illnesses like the antibiotic-resistant salmonella outbreak linked to Hannaford Supermarkets in 2011. Pingree had pushed the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to toughen up requirements for… Read more »

(Portland, ME)  At a press event at the Portland Food Co-Op, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said she will be introducing a bill today in Congress aimed at reducing the amount of food that is wasted each year in the United States.  The Food Recovery Act includes nearly two dozen provisions to reduce food waste across the economy. "Forty percent of all food produced in the… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree today applauded the EPA’s decision to withdraw its approval of Dow Chemical’s Enlist Duo, a toxic cocktail of herbicides glyphosate and 2,4-D.  “This product—and the GMO crops developed to go along with it—has raised a number of alarm bells. From the onset, I’ve had grave concerns that it would increase the amount of… Read more »

The following piece was sent to area newspapers in November 2015. Here are two figures that don’t add up: 40 percent of the food produced in the United States gets thrown out while nearly 50 million Americans can’t reliably access enough food to meet their nutrition needs.   As so many people go hungry, wasted food represents a serious concern and an exciting… Read more »

Congresswoman Pingree and Colleagues Condemn Voluntary GMO Labeling, Push for Mandatory GMO Labeling Read more »

Food Policy Action names Pingree a 'food policy champion,' chef Tom Colicchio calls Pingree 'rock star' Read more »

Comprehensive legislation attacks food waste in schools, restaurants, stores and farms Congresswoman Chellie Pingree announced today that she will be introducing comprehensive legislation this fall to attack the problem of wasted food.  "About 40% of the food in the U.S. is wasted.  That costs us money, is bad for the environment, and means people are going hungry when… Read more »