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Most powerful people in food

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    • The top 10

      The Daily Meal, a food and drink website, is out with its list of "America's 50 Most Powerful People in Food." Who they are might surprise you. The list is dominated by CEOs, with only a sprinkling of chefs and foodies. Here we take a closer look at the top 10.


      Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    • 1. Tom Vilsack

      U.S. Secretary of Agriculture

      Tom Vilsack is the nation's 30th Agriculture Secretary. He has headed the USDA since 2009. According to his official government bio, Secretary Vilsack, an Iowa native, has made it a focus to bring more investment to rural America. Prior to his appointment to the USDA, Vilsack served two terms as governor of Iowa.


      Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

    • 2. Hugh Grant

      Monsanto chairman and CEO

      Monsanto calls itself a "sustainable agriculture company." It provides agricultural products, like seeds and pesticides to farmers and agribusiness around the world.

      Grant, who holds an MBA and degrees in both biology and zoology, joined the company in 1981 and rose through the ranks. He has been CEO since 2003.


      Credit: ERIC PIERMONT/AFP/Getty Images

    • 3. Doug McMillon

      President and CEO of Walmart International

      Walmart has 11,000 stores in 27 countries around the world, with many of these locations also containing grocery stores and supermarkets.

      Doug McMillon only recently stepped up to helm the retail giant. He was elected to his position as CEO in November 2013.


      Credit: AP Photo/April L. Brown

    • 4. Michael R. Taylor

      Deputy Commissioner for Foods, FDA

      To lead the charge on the issue of food safety, the Office of Foods was created in 2009 under the umbrella of the Food and Drug Administration.

      Michael Taylor was named deputy commissioner for foods at the FDA in January 2010. He is the first individual to hold the position.



      Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    • 5. Indra Nooyi

      PepsiCo chairman and CEO

      PepsiCo's reach goes far beyond soda pop. Under the PepsiCo umbrella are many familiar brands and foods, including Frito-Lay, which makes Cheetos, Lays and other popular snacks. Pepsi also owns Quaker Foods, Aunt Jemima syrups and pancakes, Gatorade and Tropicana.

      Indra Nooyi stepped into the roles of chairman and CEO in 2007 and 2006, respectively.  She was ranked tenth in 2013 on the Forbes list of The World's Most Powerful Women.



      Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

    • 6. James P. Hoffa

      General President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters

      The Teamsters move goods around the country, including a great deal of the nation's food and beverages.  When this union strikes, it has a ripple effect, disrupting operations at supermarkets and at major food production sites coast to coast.

      James Hoffa, son of Jimmy Hoffa, has run the union since 1998.

      Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images

    • 7. Patricia Woertz

      Chairman, president, and CEO, Archer Daniels Midland

      Archer Daniels Midland serves as a link between farmers and the public. The company is an agricultural processor, taking crops directly from growers and turning them into food ingredients, animal feed, fuel (ethanol) and chemicals.

      Ranked No. 7  on Fortune’s 2013 list of the 50 most powerful women in business, Patricia Woertz was named CEO and president of Archer Daniels Midland in 2006 and chairman of the board in 2007.



      Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

    • 8. Jack Menzel and Dan Entin

      Google product managing director and Zagat (Google) director of digital product management

      When you need to know how long and at what temperature to roast a four pound chicken, what do you do? You Google it. Same thing goes when you need a restaurant recommendation or a good recipe for banana walnut bread. 

      Menzel, Entin and their team are the people behind the effort to bring that information -- vital details about food and dining -- to the consumer.


      Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    • 9. Jeremy Stoppelman

      Co-founder and CEO, Yelp

      It used to be that if you loved or hated a restaurant, you could complain to your friends, but that's as far as it went. Enter Yelp, the "online urban city guide" that allows users to review restaurants and other businesses. It now hosts some 47 million reviews, and often drives customer to or away from a business, depending on the reviews.

      Stoppelman, a computer engineer and former VP of engineering at Paypal, co-founded Yelp in 2004 and remains involved as a very hands-on CEO.



      Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    • David MacLennan

      Cargill Chairman and CEO

      From the company website: "Cargill provides food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services to the world." It lists as its businesses everything from food ingredients, to meat and poultry, to energy and industrial to farmer services.

      David MacLennan was elected to the office of CEO in September of 2013. He joined the Minneapolis based company in 1991.


      Credit: Spencer Tirey/Getty Images

    • The rest of the list

      Here is the rest of the list, 11-50, courtesy of The Daily Meal:


      11. William J. Delaney III, CEO, Sysco

      12. Donnie Smith, President and CEO, Tyson Foods

      13. Craig Jelinek, CEO, Costco

      14. Pete Wells, Restaurant Critic, The New York Times

      15. Donald Thompson, Vice Chairman and CEO, McDonalds

      16.  Paul Grimwood, CEO and Chairman, Nestlé USA

      17. Pamela Bailey, President and CEO, Grocery Manufacturers Association

      18. José Andrés, Chef-Restaurateur

      19. Bob Tuschman, General Manager and Senior Vice President, Food Network

      20. Fred DeLuca, Co-Founder and President, Subway

      21. Rodney McMullen, Chairman and CEO, The Kroger Co.

      22. Michelle Obama, First Lady of the United States

      23. Ben Silbermann, Founder and CEO, Pinterest

      24. Kevin Systrom, Co-Founder and CEO, Instagram

      25. David Murdock, CEO, Dole Food Company

      26. Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich, Chef/ Restaurateurs

      27. David Kirchhoff, CEO, Weight Watchers International

      28. John Mackey, Founder and Co-CEO, Whole Foods Market

      29. Julie Packard, Executive Director and Vice-Chairman, Monterey Bay Aquarium

      30. Steve Spinner, CEO, President, and Director, United Natural Foods, Inc.

      31. Bob Aiken, President and CEO, Feeding America

      32. Dan Bane, Chairman and CEO, Trader Joe's

      33. Bill Shore, Founder and CEO, Share Our Strength

      34. Michael Pollan, Author

      35. Danny Meyer, Restaurateur

      36. Susan Ungaro, President, James Beard Foundation

      37. Thomas Keller, Chef-Restaurateur

      38. Dawn Sweeney, President and CEO, National Restaurant Association

      39. Alice Waters, Chef-Restaurateur and Founder and Director, The Edible Schoolyard Project

      40. Dana Cowin, Editor-in-Chief, Food & Wine

      41. Tracey Ryder, President and CEO, Edible Communities Publications

      42. Mark Bittman, Journalist and Author

      43. Ingrid Newkirk, President and Co-Founder, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

      44. Catherine Cassidy, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief, Taste of Home

      45. Tom Colicchio, Chef-Restaurateur and TV Personality

      46. Steve Ells, Founder/ Co-CEO, Chairman, Chipotle Mexican Grill

      47. Bill Marler, Foodborne Illness Lawyer and Attorney

      48. Matt Maloney, CEO, GrubHub Seamless

      49. Adam Rapoport, Editor in Chief, Bon Appetit

      50. Danielle Nierenberg and Ellen Gustafson, Co-Founders, The Food Tank

      Credit: PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images

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