From PRI, Public Radio International and KCRW Santa Monica, this is To the Point.

The Farm Bill, distorted economics, and the quality of the food supply.

Hello again, I'm Oran Alney, and this is To the Point from Public Radio International, a daily look at the issues Americans care about most. The Farm Bill dates back to the Depression and World War II, but some of

its lasting provisions don't work the way they're supposed to. The result is that $25 billion

in subsidies have gone mostly to corporations and wealthy investors, many of whom are paid to grow

nothing at all.

Small farmers are driven out of business.

On to the point, the House is voting on a new farm bill today.

What's happening to promised reforms?

To what extent does the farm bill determine what food Americans eat?

On reporter's notebook later on, were astronauts allowed to fly drunk?

First, here's the news.

Support for To the Point comes from subscribers of KCRW Santa Monica and from the Public Radio International Program Fund,

whose contributors include the Ford Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Hello again, Warren Alney, back with To the Point. After promising

to reform the subsidies that critics call corporate welfare, the House passed a new farm bill today.

On To the Point, what happened to promised reforms? How does the farm bill dictate food quality

and public health? On reporter's

notebook, NASA responds to a report that it allowed astronauts to fly, even though flight surgeons

said they were intoxicated. First, this news update. Yesterday, the stock markets saw a massive

sell-off. Today, the Commerce Department reported the strongest economic growth in more than a year,

3.4 percent for the second quarter. Nevertheless, the markets continued to slide.

Daniel Gross writes the Contrary Indicator column for Newsweek magazine and the moneybox for slate.com.

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