β-Lactoglobulin (BLG) is a dominant allergen present in the milk of goats and other ungulates, although it is not found in human breast milk. Thus, the presence of BLG restricts the consumption of goat’s milk by humans. In the present study, we examined whether the disruption of the BLG gene in goats by homologous recombination (HR) reduced BLG content in goat’s milk and decreased the allergic response to milk.   [We generated] two transgenic goats possessing a BLG knockout allele or site-specific hLA [human α-lactalbumin] integration allele. [node:read-more:link]

Teresa Jones and Anja Thiessen have very different backgrounds, but they both see education as a way to uproot entrenched poverty in the Mississippi Delta. Jones is from a small, unincorporated community about 25 miles east of the Mississippi River. Thiessen was raised near a different river, the Rhine, which flows past her hometown of Bensheim, Germany. Both women have helped build new education programs that focus on Delta youth. [node:read-more:link]

Orlando Paden is a young state representative who always knew what he wanted to do. Mary Williams is a nurse practitioner who discovered her calling while slowly walking into her profession. Both look for ways to lead their region toward opportunity. [node:read-more:link]

When Fox News came calling to do a story about Appalachia, it didn’t take long to figure out what they were really after: examples of doom, gloom, and failure. Nonprofits must shift the focus away from negative stereotypes to show what's working in rural America. Appalachia has always had a problem with media outlets wanting to boost their sales by exploiting “poverty porn.” They come get photos and stories of handpicked, downtrodden people, and instead of offering solutions or asking for change, they quote people of privilege whose answer is that poor people should pick up and leave. [node:read-more:link]

Food prices are expected to increase above the acceptable inflation rate, Dalhousie Univ. said in its 7th edition of Canada’s Food Price Report. The report forecasts food prices to rise between 3 percent and 5 percent. This translates to a potential increase of C$420 in Canadian family food expenses in 2017.“The biggest factor will be the falling Canadian dollar,” explained Sylvain Charlebois, Ph.D., lead author of the report and Dean of the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie Univ. [node:read-more:link]

Matthew Kenney is a pioneer of high-end plant-based cuisine. He won America’s Best New Chef Award from Food & Wine magazineand was twice nominated Rising Star Chef by the French Culinary Institute. He guides a fast-growing lifestyle brand that trains chefs to cook sustainably. And, he may be about to be very, very rich. Recently, he announced the exciting expansion of his culinary education programs to the international market, launching a series of pop-ups across Europe and Australia in 2017. Starting in New York City, it will move on to Sydney, Paris, Barcelona, and London. [node:read-more:link]

At Electrek, we firmly believe that all forms of ground transport will start to transition to electric propulsion relatively soon. That includes large tractors for agriculture, as demonstrated by John Deere’s latest all-electric tractor concept. Where you would normally find a large diesel engine under the hood, there are stacks of battery packs adding up to 130 kWh of capacity. [node:read-more:link]

The US Department of Agriculture has proposed revisions to the regulations on nutritional labels for meat and poultry that would bring the sector in line with changes already pushed through by the country's Food and Drug Administration.   Earlier this year, the FDA updated its nutrition regulations to reflect current scientific thinking on dietary recommendations. [node:read-more:link]

A 14 percent decline in U.S. consumer meat consumption over the past decade has caused alarm with one Texas A&M AgriLife scientist who warns the effects could be dire for overall human health and child development. Dr. Guoyao Wu, distinguished professor in the department of animal science at Texas A&M University, said U.S. consumers have been overwhelmed with misinformation about protein and fats in meats, which in turn has led to many consuming less meat or no meat at all.“Obesity rates have gone up the last 20 years, while consumption of meat has declined,” Wu said. [node:read-more:link]

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt is President-elect Donald Trump's selection to head the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Farmers and ranchers who have been concerned for years about what they perceive as an ever-increasing weight of regulations including the waters of the United States, or WOTUS, rule may be pleased with Trump's selection. On the other hand, Pruitt has been an outspoken critic of the Renewable Fuel Standard. Pruitt led a number of states in filing one of many lawsuits against EPA challenging the WOTUS rule as an unconstitutional power grab. [node:read-more:link]