Food and Agriculture

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 »

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 »

Policies to promote local and sustainable agriculture good for economy, local farmers, and consumers Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said the Farm Bill that passed the Senate today contains numerous provisions that she authored and championed to promote local agriculture, sustainable farming, and help young farmers. Among the provisions included in the Farm Bill that Pingree… Read more »

Food stamps cut, subsidy reforms fall short, but local food provisions survive Congresswoman Chellie Pingree voted against the Farm Bill today, saying the bill cuts food stamps for the neediest families, doesn't do enough to create real reform to crop subsidy programs and creates loopholes that guarantee income for big agri-businesses. The final version of the bill passed by the House… Read more »

Pingree, farmers argued that smaller growers would have been be forced out of business Federal regulators made a major announcement today about new food safety rules, withdrawing proposed regulations that Congresswoman Chellie Pingree had said would threaten small farmers around the country. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said they would spend the winter making "significant… Read more »

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree joined thirteen other bipartisan members of the House of Representatives today to call on their colleagues to ensure unsafe chicken from China does not make its way to US shelves. Their letter asks that the 2014 Agriculture Department (USDA) funding bill ensure Chinese-processed chicken is kept out of the school lunch and other child nutrition programs. It… Read more »

Pingree supports legislation that cracks down on the use of drugs in feed Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said today she's glad the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is beginning to regulate the use of human antibiotics in animal feed, but says the rules need to be much tougher. Today the FDA proposed two new regulations that are aimed to limit the use of those drugs on… Read more »