Rebekah Alvey

A federal appeals court will hear oral arguments today in a case challenging recent tariffs.

The Senate Ag Committee will hear from USDA about the department's reorganization plan to move employees out of the national capital region.

Food companies are falling in line with the Trump administration’s goal to phase out synthetic dyes in food and beverages by making voluntary commitments to move away from these additives. 
However, the path to a food system reliant on natural dyes will come with challenges in reformulation, federal approvals and product availability. 

The Senate Ag Committee advanced the nominations for under secretary for farm production and conservation, and for under secretary for natural resources and environment.

Overall global hunger has slightly decreased from previous years, but still remain above pre-pandemic levels in part due to high food inflation, according to the United Nations' latest report on food security and nutrition. 

The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing on the USDA’s recently announced reorganization plan on Wednesday, featuring the deputy secretary at USDA. 

The House is now out of session until September. But Ag Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson says committee staff will be working through August on the next iteration of the farm bill. He says the legislation will be a “high priority” for the panel.

USDA has finally released its reorganization plan after months of speculation and court battles. It calls for moving more than half the employees in the national capital region to hubs in five states: Colorado, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina and Utah.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman, R-Ark., and the ranking member, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn, have called for a hearing on USDA’s reorganization plan. Klobuchar told reporters the plan was “unacceptable” and said it would “decimate research work at the USDA.”

USDA and federal health agencies have released a joint request for information to formulate a federal definition of ultraprocessed foods.