Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 1/16/19

The spending impasse that has shuttered nine federal departments for almost a month might provide the decisive shock to consumer and business confidence that nudges the U.S. economy toward the next recession, according to a former top economic adviser for the Obama administration. On the new POLITICO Money podcast , Betsey Stevenson said a lasting shutdown could result in serious economic damage in a way that previous funding lapses have not.

— How long is too long? If the shutdown lasts the entire first quarter of 2019, the sustained damage to government workers and contractors could effectively wipe out economic growth, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics' Ian Shepherdson. POLITICO's Ben White has more here.

No end in sight: The House and Senate are already preparing to scrap their weeklong recessplanned for next week, when the shutdown could reach the one-month mark.

Today: The Congressional Food Safety Caucus is hosting a briefing at 2 p.m. with food safety advocates to highlight how the shutdown is weighing on USDA and FDA inspections, including "inspector shortages and morale problems," according to a release from Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.).

— The FDA announced Tuesday that it's bringing back 400 furloughed workers to reboot certain food inspections and other operations. It's one of many agencies calling employees back to work without pay, including airplane inspectors and potentially 46,000 IRS workers needed when tax season begins Jan. 28.