"The House Agriculture committee is trying to fund its farm bill proposals with “counterfeit money,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack told reporters Wednesday morning. Vilsack spoke after a range of groups from across the political spectrum criticized House Republicans’ proposed farm bill, which seeks to direct tens of billions to subsidies for farmers of peanuts, rice and cotton."

"A campaign to add 10 billion oysters to the bay by 2025 — naturally purifying the water — is on pace even as Virginia and Maryland contend with agricultural runoff and other pollutants."

"The proposed version of the $1.5 trillion omnibus unveiled last week by House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) includes several priorities of big agribusiness — proposals that frustrated both right-aligned groups such as the Heritage Foundation and left-leaning ones including the Environmental Working Group amid progressives’ and populists’ broader dislike of what they see as crony capitalism at the U.S. farmstand."

"More than half of Zimbabwe's population will need food aid this year following a devastating drought that led to widespread crop failure as humanitarian organisations seek funding to save many from hunger, the country's cabinet heard late on Tuesday."

"U.S. meat behemoth Tyson Foods claims “Brazen Beef” is better for the environment than regular beef because it emits 10 percent less greenhouse gas. It is also the first beef to be certified “climate-friendly” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture."

"House Republicans and Democrats have released two dueling visions for the farm bill, the massive $1.5 trillion omnibus that underpins the U.S. food system."

"Tyson Foods dumped millions of pounds of toxic pollutants directly into American rivers and lakes over the last five years, threatening critical ecosystems, endangering wildlife and human health, a new investigation reveals."

"The PBS documentary ‘One with the Whale’ explores the importance of subsistence hunting and gathering in a Yup’ik village—and what happens when mainlanders misunderstand it."

"On Friday, Colorado became the latest state to detect the bird flu virus spreading in dairy cattle. It follows revelations earlier in the week that viral fragments are turning up in retail milk."