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Food And Ag Lobbyists Reap Seats At Congressional Table

New Sheriffs In Town



As expected, when Senator Pat Roberts took over as head of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, he appointed new senior staff. Roberts' placement at the committee's helm is one of the Republicans' spoils for winning a majority in the chamber, and hiring new staff is part of the job.

But food and influence watchers were alarmed to see that his roster of appointments included former lobbyists and food industry executives. In particular, his decision to hire PepsiCo's former top lobbyist Joel Leftwich as the committee's staff director has raised hackles.

In taking the new committee appointment, Roberts appears to be repairing a reputation that he once held as champion of wheat farmers in his state of Kansas. After September 11th, 2001, he shifted his priorities to national security, and his constituents complained.

Congress is poised to take up a host of important food and agriculture legislation in the coming months, including a five-year overhaul of federal nutrition programs like the contentious school lunch bill that banned junk food from schools and required more veggies and whole grains on lunch trays.

Once he can start shaping public policy as Chief of Staff for the Senate Agriculture Committee... he's going to become even more valuable as a lobbyist to PepsiCo say a year or two from now.


Craig Holman, Public Citizen's expert on lobbying and ethics, said Leftwich is in prime position to carry water for his former bosses.

"And if Joel [Leftwich] is able to actually undermine the school program, which I think is going to become his priority, and he succeeds at getting, you know, Cheetos put on the school lunch programs, PepsiCo will probably double his salary next time he wants to spin through the revolving door."

The appointment of lobbyists in Congress isn't new by a long stretch, and the practice isn't limited to any particular party. There is legislation in place to prevent rapid rotation from K-Street to Capitol Hill, though the federal ethics rules are clearly not doing the trick. Leftwich's move from PepsiCo to the new gig comes with no delay at all.

"But he'll stay there for a while because it pays off, both for him and for PepsiCo," Holman said. "You know once he can start shaping public policy as Chief of Staff for the Senate Agriculture Committee and develop new networks of the new people who are running the new Agriculture Committee, he's going to become even more valuable as a lobbyist to PepsiCo say a year or two from now."

Team Roberts



Leftwich is only one among many new committee staffers with roots in food and agriculture industries.

Chelsie Keys, who serves as the committee's senior professional staff for livestock and food safety issues, was a lobbyist for the National Pork Producers Council for eight years.

James Glueck, who will advise the committee on all things biotech, risk management, and grain inspection worked as lobbyist for Bunge North America, a major soybean exporter and agribusiness giant.

Janae Brady, a former lobbyist for soybean industry group Gordley Associates, serves as senior professional staff for trade and food aid.

Legislative assistant William Stafford was a lobbyist for the National Association of Wheat Growers (his LinkedIn profile hasn't even been updated).

The committee's chief economist, Matt Erickson, served as economist of the American Farm Bureau for four years.

Julian Baer, the committee's senior policy adviser for nutrition, recently worked with FoodMinds, a food and nutrition PR firm with a former Campbell's Soup exec at the helm.

Legislative Menu



Aside from the re-authorization of the school nutrition and the Women, Infants and Children program, the agriculture committee will also soon take up SNAP nutrition standards -- in which health advocates hope to exclude soda from purchases -- as well as new dietary guidelines, labels for "added sugar" in soda, and labels for foods that contain genetically modified ingredients.

Read More:



  • Former Pepsi Lobbyist Will Help Overhaul School Lunch Program (Mother Jones)
  • Pepsico Lobbyist to Lead-Senate Agriculture Staff (Agri Pulse)
  • Some Thoughts About The Revolving Door (Food Politics)


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