Powerful People In Food

The Daily Meal’s list for the 50 most powerful people in food for 2014 includes those people that you would expect to see, such as celebrity chefs, restaurateurs, food journalists and food activists, but failed to even include those people that one would take for granted to be on a list about people who affect the food industry, the family farmer or rancher. Of course, as I have said in the past, this list is about what The Daily Meal considers the “most powerful” people in food, not necessarily the most important. USDA Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack however did make the list. In fact, he took the number one spot. And it was no surprise to see that Michael Pollan, Michelle Obama and Ingrid Newkirk were all still on the list. The Daily Meal concludes that, ““In the food world, the people with power are the ones who affect what and how and where and why we eat, or could if they wanted to”. So in that case, yes, most of the people listed do seem to have an inherent power to influence consumer food choices. Perhaps when someone creates a list of the most “important people” in food the family farmer and rancher will take their rightful place in the number one spot.