Food and Agriculture

Representatives Chellie Pingree (D–ME) and Thomas Massie (R–KY), and a bipartisan coalition of 16 other lawmakers have reintroduced legislation to improve consumer food choices and to protect local farmers from federal interference. The two bills–the Milk Freedom of Act of 2015 (H.R. 3563) and the Interstate Milk Freedom Act of 2015 (H.R. 3564)–are the newest in a… Read more »

Yesterday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released new food safety rules that primarily impact food manufacturers.  A separate set of rules that will have a bigger impact on farms is due out next month. These rules are part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).   "I'm still looking over the details of these rules but one big change from what the FDA had… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is giving the Gulf of Maine Research Institute a $192,000 federal grant to work on the development of high-end sashimi-grade markets for Maine seafood. Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree introduced a bipartisan bill today to help schools in Maine and around the country modernize and expand their kitchens.  The bill would provide funding for schools that want to buy kitchen equipment and provide training on how to cook fresh meals from scratch.  A national survey found that 88 percent of school districts need at least one piece of… Read more »

Congresswoman Pingree says bill takes away consumers right-to-know, introduces amendment to strike theworst parts of the bill Read more »

Anti-consumer bill up for vote this week would undermine GMO labeling laws in Maine and other states Read more »

Bill will protect chicken farmers, keep Chinese poultry out of school lunches and fund key programs to help local and organic farmers Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree scored some significant wins for sustainable agriculture policy in a spending bill that won preliminary approval in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture yesterday. The bill, which funds the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, contains funding levels and other provisions that Pingree had pushed for.  She is a… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said a spending bill that won initial approval by a House committee today contains a big win for contractchicken farmers who have been punished by big chicken processors like Tyson and Perdue for speaking out. Contract farmers raise chickens for big companies, but it's actually the companies who own the birds and the farmers only get a small fee for each chicken they raise. Read more »

"There are few people who are more knowledgeable or who have made a greater impact on the growing success of organic farming in America than Eliot Coleman. He not only understands the science and techniques of organic farming better than anyone I know, he's also put that knowledge to work and proved that an organic farm on a small piece of land can thrive and be economically viable. ..." Read more »