Seventy-three Republicans and 207 Democrats voted last April to successfully strip a pesticide liability shield out of the farm bill. The provision would have protected Bayer from billions in lawsuits over glyphosate and cancer, and ag interests fought hard to keep it in the legislation. Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) says she’s never seen a win like it.
It was a case where strange bedfellows teamed up and won big. MAHA activists and Democrats don’t agree on much, and many Democrats want nothing to do with the movement. Pingree has spent years working on food and farm issues, often feeling like she didn’t have much backup, and she sees the MAHA moment as a chance to finally win some of the bigger policy fights.
Pingree has represented Maine’s 1st District since 2009 and sits on both the House Appropriations and Agriculture Committees. She was a certified organic farmer long before food policy was a rising political issue. Pingree does not align with the entire MAHA agenda (particularly not on vaccines), but she argues that Democrats should work with MAHA activists wherever their priorities overlap. Now she’s trying to convince her fellow Democrats that sitting this one out is a mistake.
Highlights:
– How a back-to-the-land homesteader and organic farmer ended up in Congress
– Why she decided to work with MAHA activists
– The new congressional “Fix Our Food” caucus she’s building to get more colleagues engaged
– Why food and ag issues are going mainstream, and the unlikely candidates talking about cancer and water quality in Iowa
– Her read on the midterms and what might come next
– Why the farm bill is stalled in the Senate, and whether Congress can still get big things done
– Her invitation to listeners: send her your policy ideas via email!
Where to find Rep. Chellie Pingree:
Official website
Contact Rep. Pingree
Instagram
Facebook
Bluesky
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Mentioned in this episode:
House votes to strip pesticide liability protections from the farm bill
Congress reaches new level of dysfunction with farm bill, food safety failures (Food Fix)
Real Organic Project
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Credits: This episode was edited by Adrienne Cruz. Original music by David Bottemiller.
