The process of milk pasteurization was adopted in a time when millions of people became sick and died of diseases like tuberculosis, scarlet fever, typhoid fever, and other infections that were transmitted through raw milk. Since its widespread use in the dairy industry, pasteurization has prevented millions of people from becoming ill.The U.S. Center for Disease Control, our CDC, says improperly handled raw milk was (and still is) responsible for nearly three times more hospitalizations than any other food-borne disease source, making it one of the world’s most dangerous food products. [node:read-more:link]

With vaccines against drugs of abuse, the drug itself does not cause an immune response. So if a virus attacks you, our immune system is alerted and tries to remove it. But with drugs that is not the case. The vaccines just train the immune system to recognize the drug as foreign and try to remove it. The antibodies are already basically in the body and when you take the drug into the bloodstream they bind to it and stop it from crossing over the blood-brain barrier to get to the reward and pleasure centers. [node:read-more:link]

A couple of days later, she and five other women met with two human resources representatives, detailing a pattern of behavior they had witnessed over the preceding six years. The women said Shapiro, the vice president of Farm Animal Protection, asked them to have sex and told lewd jokes in the office, according to a POLITICO investigation based on new interviews with seven current and former employees, including four of the women who filed the complaint. [node:read-more:link]

The New Hampshire Legislature is considering a bill that would make trespassing fowl a violation, not for the chicken, but for its owners. [node:read-more:link]

An advisory ruling has found the European Union should exempt gene-edited crops from strict GMO regulations, which may influence global attitudes toward gene editing.The opinion by an “advocate general” of the European Court of Justice isn’t a binding legal decision, but it’s considered highly persuasive for the panel of judges who will issue a ruling on the matter this summer.Advocates of biotechnology see the opinion as an early step in the right direction regarding Europe’s gene editing policy, but critics say it’s unlikely to sway wary European consumers. [node:read-more:link]

Recent milk production numbers from the United States Department of Agriculture’s website show the United States dairy industry will produce an estimated 218.8 billion pounds of milk this year. While it’s a 0.5 billion pound reduction than what was predicted at the end of 2017, prices continue to drop because the demand for US dairy products are low.One reason for the oversupply comes from the limited amount of exports currently available to ship dairy products as well as a decrease in domestic demand. [node:read-more:link]

Partisan politics may meet its match in the 2018 farm bill. The massive legislation, versions of which will be introduced this spring in the U.S. House and Senate, is shaping up to be less about political affiliations and more about finding common ground.Bonds also are being forged among interest groups and lobbyists, conservative, liberal and anything in between. [node:read-more:link]

Concerns over hydraulic fracturing, an oil and gas extraction method that injects millions of gallons of freshwater and chemicals into shale, have largely focused on potential impacts on water quality. But, as scientists now report, 'fracking' operations could have impacts on water quantity because they are withdrawing these large amounts of water from nearby streams, which house aquatic ecosystems and are used by people for drinking and recreation. [node:read-more:link]

Kevin DeGood, director of infrastructure policy at the Center for American Progress, said the president's speech offered no new details."Creating a private equity bonanza for Wall Street will mean higher taxes, tolls, and user fees for working -- and middle-class -- Americans," DeGood said in a news release.The Trump plan calls for about $200 billion in federal dollars invested, to spark public/private partnerships to fund some $1.5 trillion in improvements.DeGood said the plan would lead to increases in state and local taxes and user fees, while shifting the cost burden to states and citie [node:read-more:link]

After a dramatic drop early last year, the number of Central American children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally has been rising sharply since April. Advocates say the increase is being driven by fears of gang violence at home — fears that outweigh heightened concerns about deportation under the Trump administration.“The reality is these children are not necessarily coming to the U.S., they’re just trying to get away from their home country,” said Catherine Hulme, project manager and attorney for unaccompanied children at the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland in Baltimore. [node:read-more:link]