The Public Record
Chellie Marie Pingree is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Maine's 1st congressional district since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she has focused on issues such as healthcare, education, and environmental protection during her tenure in Congress. Pingree has been an advocate for sustainable agriculture and has worked to support Maine's fishing and farming communities.
Moving forward, we could align with what most other countries do, and as Representative Pingree discussed, require a standard quality label on foods where freshness is a concern, and a standard safety label on foods that actually carry a…
The Food Recovery Act introduced by Rep. Chellie Pingree (H.R. 4184) tackles food waste from a variety of angles.
The recent Food Date Labeling Act introduced by Rep. Chellie Pingree (H.R. 5298) does just this.
I introduced a bill last week that has a pretty simple proposal: create two labels--one that says 'expires on' for food that really is unsafe to eat after a certain date, and another that says 'best if used by' for everything else.
Recognizing the extent of this problem, USDA and EPA announced the first food waste reduction goal last year--a 50 percent reduction by 2030.
I think you'll agree it's unconscionable that so much food ends up in landfills.
When I tell people that 40 percent of the food that is produced in this country is wasted, they are usually shocked.
I would like to thank Chairman Conaway, Ranking Member Peterson, and Members of the House Committee on Agriculture for holding a hearing on food waste and for inviting me to speak today.
It would create much less waste, something that most of us agree on, and you will find most of the manufacturers and others agree on it as well.
Our idea is to ask the USDA and the FDA to work together to create a label, one that says expires on, for those foods that really do have a safety issue.
We actually submitted a bill last week with Senator Blumenthal about date labeling to try to bring some sensibility into this.
Making sure that there are Federal funds available to municipalities who want to do that is another part of this.
In my own state, we have a supermarket chain that is also committed to zero food waste.
There is certainly no single way to go about solving this problem, and I know as you dig deeper into it today and you hear from the wonderful panel that you have chosen, you will start to hear that it is something we have to face on all…
It is wonderful to see that the USDA and the EPA together have announced a food waste reduction goal.
And when there is confusion around date labeling or how food can be disposed of, with the good Samaritan laws that we have talked about, it just makes it that much more difficult for restaurants and retail stores to find out how to make…
I want to thank my colleagues very much for organizing this Special Order and for the bipartisan approach to dealing with such a challenging issue. I would like to rise today to share some of the stories, as my colleagues have, about my…
I have introduced a bill called the Food Recovery Act, because I do think this is something that we have to take on and challenge.
We are hoping that many members of the subcommittee who would like to come and visit when we have our celebration will come.
I would express my alarm and concern that there is not sufficient funding, and certainly encourage you to do whatever is possible.
Your request for additional funding is something I certainly support, and I hope that we can continue to enhance this
Politicians like Chellie Pingree
