US Congresswoman Cherllie Pingree (D), Recognized for her Innovativeness by Two Magazines.

By Carol McCracken  (Post # 2,167)

US Congresswoman Chellie  Pingree was recognized yesterday by sister magazines Fortune and Food and Wine as one of the “Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink.”  Pingree is # 2 on the list of 25 women, behind Erthain Cousin, the head of the UN World Food Programme.  The list, an extension of Fortune’s “Most Powerful  Women” series, highlights women who are “permanently changing the way we eat and how we think about food.”

The editors of the two publications said they “spent months searching for the most groundbreaking women in the food and drink world.”

“Pingree has made food policy reform one of her big issues in Congress, pushing for legislation that supports local, sustainable agriculture,” the editors wrote.  “She introduced the Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act last year with the intention of getting as many of its provisions as possible – such as improved insurance for organic and diversified growers – folded into the federal farm bill.  (When the bill passed, many of her initiatives were there.)  Pingree can be a strong advocate for farmers in large part because she’s one, too:  Some 40 years ago she started an organic farm on North Haven, an island off the coast of Maine.  In 2008, she bought a new farm on the island that supplies a restaurant and inn she owns and operates.”

Food and Wine quoted activist and Top Chef host Tom Colicchio, who said, “We can’t expect better food policy out of Washington, DC, until we elect more leaders like my friend Chellie Pingree.  As one of the only organic farmers in Congress, with more than 40 years of agriculture policy experience, she has a unique vantage point.  Through her work on the 2014 Farm Bill, she has tripled the amount of money allocated for farmers’ markets and local-food programs.”

The list includes women from around the world and ranges from the CEO of Williams-Sonoma to the head of a joint venture with Starbucks in India.

The article is currently online at Fortune, here:

http://fortune.com/2014/09/03/the-most-innovative-women-in-food-and-drink/

And here at Food and Wine: http://www.foodandwine.com/most-powerful-women

Thelist will be published in both magazines’ print editions later this month.