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Politicians To Know
USDA

Senate

Agriculture
Chair: Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
- Max Baucus (D-MT)
- Michael Bennet (D-CO)
- Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
- Bob Casey (D-PA)
- Kent Conrad (D-ND)
- Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
- Pat Leahy (D-VT)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)
- Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- John Cornyn (R-TX)
- Chuck Grassley (R-IA)
- Mike Johanns (R-NE)
- Dick Lugar (R-IN)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Pat Roberts (R-KS)
- John R. Thune (R-SD)

Appropriations
Chair: Daniel Inouye (D-HI)
Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: Herb Kohl (D-WI)
- Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
- Dick Durbin (D-IL)
- Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
- Tom Harkin (D-IA)
- Tim Johnson (D-SD)
- Ben Nelson (D-NE)
- Jack Reed (D-RI)
- Robert Bennett (R-UT)
- Christopher Bond (R-MO)
- Sam Brownback (R-KS)
- Thad Cochran (R-MS)
- Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
- Arlen Specter (R-PA)

Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions
- Chris Dodd (D-CT)

Senate Hunger Caucus

House

Agriculture
Chair: B Collin Peterson (D-MN)
V. Chair: B Tim Holden (D-PA)
B Joe Baca (D-CA)
- John Boccieri (D-OH)
B* Leonard Boswell (D-IA)
- Bobby Bright (D-AL)
B* Dennis Cardoza (D-CA)
- Travis Childers (D-MS)
B Jim Costa (D-CA)
- Henry Cuellar (D-TX)
- Kathy Dahlkemper (D-PA)
B Brad Ellsworth (D-IN)
- Debbie Halvorson (D-IL)
B Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD)
- Steve Kagen (D-WI)
- Larry Kissell (D-NC)
B Frank Kratovil (D-MD)
- Betsy Markey (D-CO)
B Jim Marshall (D-GA)
P Eric Massa (D-NY)
B Mike McIntyre (D-NC)
- Walt Minnick (D-ID)
B Earl Pomeroy (D-ND)
- Mark Schauer (D-MI)
- Kurt Schrader (D-OR)
B David Scott (D-GA)
B Zachary Space (D-OH)
- Timothy Walz (D-MN)
- Frank Lucas (R-OK)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- K. Michael Conaway (R-TX)
- Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE)
- Virginia Foxx (R-NC)
- Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)
- Sam Graves (R-MO)
- Timothy Johnson (R-IL)
- Steve King (R-IA)
- Robert Latta (R-OH)
- Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO)
- Cynthia Lummis (R-WY)
- Jerry Moran (R-KS)
- Randy Neugebauer (R-TX)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Mike Rogers (R-AL)
- Jean Schmidt (R-OH)
- Adrian Smith (R-NE)
- Glenn Thompson (R-PA)
*=House Organic Caucus member
B=Blue Dog Democrat

Appropriations
Chair: Dave Obey (D-WI)
Ag Sub-Committee
Chair: P Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)
- Sanford Bishop (D-GA)
* Allen Boyd (D-FL)
- Lincoln Davis (D-TN)
*P Sam Farr (D-CA)
*P Maurice D. Hinchey (D-NY)
P Jesse L. Jackson, Jr. (D-IL)
P Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
- Jack Kingston (R-GA)
- Rodney Alexander (R-LA)
- Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
* Tom Latham (R-IA)
*=House Organic Caucus member

P=Congressional Progressive Caucus

Education and Labor
P Chair: George Miller (D-CA)
- Jason Altmire (D-PA)
- Robert Andrews (D-NJ)
- Timothy Bishop (D-NY)
P Yvette Clarke (D-NY)
- Joe Courtney (D-CT)
- Susan Davis (D-CA)
P Marcia Fudge (D-OH)
P Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)
P Phil Hare (D-IL)
- Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX)
P Mazie Hirono (D-HI)
- Rush Holt (D-NJ)
- Dale Kildee (D-MI)
P Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
P Dave Loebsack (D-IA)
- Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY)
P Donald Payne (D-NJ)
- Jared Polis (D-CO)
- Robert Scott (D-VA)
- Joe Sestak (D-PA)
- Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH)
P John Tierney (D-MA)
- Dina Titus (D-NV)
- Paul Tonko (D-NY)
P Lynn Woolsey (D-CA)
- David Wu (D-OR)
- Buck McKeon (R-CA)
- Judy Biggert (R-IL)
- Rob Bishop (R-UT)
- Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
- Michael Castle (R-DE)
- Vernon Ehlers (R-MI)
- Luis F Fortuno (R-PR)
- Brett Guthrie (R-KY)
- Peter Hoekstra (R-MI)
- Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA)
- John Kline (R-MN)
- Kenny Marchant (R-TX)
- Tom McClintock (R-CA)
- Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA)
- Thomas Petri (R-WI)
- Phil Roe (R-TN)
- Todd Russell Platts (R-PA)
- Tom Price (R-GA)
- Mark Souder (R-IN)
- GT Thompson (R-PA)
- Joe Wilson (R-SC)
P=Congressional Progressive Caucus

House Organic Caucus
Congressional Progressive Caucus

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PepsiCo

Food Industry to Obama: Don't Regulate Us

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Apr 09, 2010 at 18:54:14 PM PDT

Check out this Reuters article: "Food industry to Obama: we'll improve nutrition." I'll translate. They are saying "Don't regulate us." Want proof? Enlarged print at the top of the story:

The U.S. food industry is willing to let the White House take the lead on making foods healthier in schools, but said on Friday it could improve what is sold on store shelves without government intervention.

Recently, industry made a deal with public health groups that will give the government more say in what foods are sold in schools. They are clearly trying to stave off government regulation outside of the schools while simultaneously getting good press for themselves. See?

"They respect our ability to find ways to produce more products that offer consumers more choices including choices with less sodium, less sugar, less fat," said Faber [vice president of the Grocery Manufacturers Association].

The food industry group said its members improved the nutritional value of more than 10,000 products between 2002 and 2006 and plans in May to update that total to include changes through 2009.

A separate initiative called the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation -- which includes many GMA members -- will announce pledges to improve the health content of its products later this month.

But food manufacturers are businesses. Their goal is making money any way possible. In this case it serves them to make just enough changes to their products to maintain or even increase sales while keeping the government off their backs. And they aren't going to make truly healthy products. If that was a profitable thing to do, they would have done it already. What you can expect from this is more of the same - Whole Grain Chips Ahoy, Reduced Sodium Velveeta, etc.

Also, note the focus on weight (as opposed to health). The two are not synonymous. Industry wants to give us foods that can play into whatever diet fads are trendy (calorie counting, Atkins, South Beach, etc) without necessarily giving us foods that provide for good health. And, unfortunately, the methods our society often adopts to lose weight are not necessarily healthy and frequently don't even result in losing weight. In other words, packaged foods with 1/3 fewer calories or 20% less fat or whatever isn't going to help very much. The only thing it WILL accomplish, in fact, is to put off any government regulation of the food industry. And that's precisely industry's goal.

Discuss :: (5 Comments)

Junk Food Companies Make Tiny Changes, Get Good Press

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Mar 29, 2010 at 16:57:20 PM PDT

A few weeks ago, Michelle Obama addressed the Grocery Manufacturers Association about her Let's Move program to reduce childhood obesity (transcript at the link). The major result of this has been that opportunistic corporations like PepsiCo have made flashy announcements about plans to make their junk food slightly less junky (but still junky) and the media has sung their praises. Junk food makers don't deserve praise for making slightly less-bad junk. Yet they get it all the time. Every time they put out a flashy press release making promises to remove the trans-fat or add one gram of whole grains to their products, that's what happens.

More below. (And for a lot more on this, I recommend reading Michele Simon's book Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight Back!)

There's More... :: (14 Comments, 2679 words in story)

American Beverage Association Lobbying

by: Jill Richardson

Sun Nov 08, 2009 at 21:42:08 PM PST

The American Beverage Association spent a total of $7,550,000 on lobbying during the Third Quarter of 2009, making them the #2 top spender on lobbying during that time period. Who is the ABA, who is lobbying on their behalf, and what are they lobbying for (or against)? Join me below for details...
There's More... :: (0 Comments, 1562 words in story)

The 33 Healthiest Foods Aren't Sold By ADM or Kraft

by: Curtis Abbey

Mon May 25, 2009 at 15:43:45 PM PDT

David H. Murdock wrote a great piece over on the Huffington Post called A Recipe For Longevity: 33 Of The Healthiest Food On Earth. Murdock, Chairman and owner of Dole Food Company puts together a pretty fair list.

Pineapple, Blueberries, Spinach, Red Bell Pepper, Broccoli, Tomato, Apple, Artichoke, Arugula, Asparagus, Avocado, Blackberries, Butternut Squash, Cantaloupe, Carrot, Cauliflower, Cherries, Cranberries, Green Cabbage, Kale, Kiwi, Mango, Mushrooms, Orange, Papaya, Plums & Prunes, Pomegranate, Pumpkin, Raspberries, Strawberries, Sweet Potato, Watermelon, and Banana.

What did I notice about this list? America's largest food company Archers Daniels Midland doesn't sell any of this food.  
There's More... :: (6 Comments, 239 words in story)

Sampler Platter

by: Jill Richardson

Fri Apr 10, 2009 at 17:00:00 PM PDT

Here's what's on my reading list today:

Discuss :: (11 Comments)
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