Food and Agriculture

Upgrades can help school buy more local, fresh food Chellie sampling the healthy school lunch at Reiche Elementary in Portland. Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said today that Maine will be getting $111,000 in federal funding to help schools buy the kind of kitchen equipment they need to produce healthy meals using fresh ingredients. Schools around the… Read more »

Funding up 50% over previous year, thanks to provision Pingree pushed for in the Farm Bill Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said today that Maine will get $600,000 in Specialty Crop Block Grants, a 50% increase over the previous year's funding. Pingree, who serves on the Appropriations Committee that sets funding levels for the US Department of Agriculture, successfully pushed for a… Read more »

Says bill would block states like Maine from requiring labeling of GMO products Congresswoman Chellie Pingree had harsh words for a bill introduced today that she says would effectively block states that want to pass laws requiring that genetically modified (GMO) products are labeled. "This bill is nothing but an attempt by chemical companies like Monsanto and giant food industry… Read more »

Two Democrats and two Republicans offer bill to protect centuries-old practice Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and three of her House colleagues have introduced a bill that would prevent federal regulators from imposing harsh new rules on a centuries old practice of brewers giving the spent grain from the brewing process to local farmers. In October 2013, the Food and Drug… Read more »

Says regulations "absurd"; FDA chief promises "reasonable solution" Congresswoman Chellie Pingree questioned the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today about a proposed rule that would end a longtime arrangement between beer brewers and farmers that allows spent grain used in the brewing process to be utilized as cattle and pig feed. Pingree challenged Dr. Margaret… Read more »

Bipartisan Coalition of 20 Lawmakers Introduces Legislation to Improve Consumer Choice and Protect Local Farmers. Congressman Massie (R–KY), Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D–ME) and a bipartisan coalition of 18 other lawmakers have introduced legislation to improve consumer food choices and to protect local farmers from federal interference. The two bills – the… Read more »

Says regulations "absurd"; FDA chief promises "reasonable solution" Congresswoman Chellie Pingree questioned the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today about a proposed rule that would end a longtime arrangement between beer brewers and farmers that allows spent grain used in the brewing process to be utilized as cattle and pig feed. Pingree challenged Dr. Margaret… Read more »

Over 17,000 seniors take advantage of program in Maine; uncertainty had threatened this season's benefits Just hours after Congresswoman Chellie Pingree on Friday asked a top Obama Administration official about funding for a program to pay for vouchers that seniors in Maine and around the country can use to buy fresh food fromfarmers and farmers markets, the US Department of… Read more »

Watch LIVE as Chellie talks about the need to reform national policy--and what's at stake if we don't--at TedxManhattan: Changing the Way We Eat.  She will speak between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 1. Read more »

Menu includes food from small and family farms in 13 states Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said that trout from Maine will be featured as part of the state dinner for French President François Hollande at the White House tonight. The hardwood-smoked trout will be served during cocktail hour in a dinner that features food from small and family farms around the country. "I'm… Read more »