News from rural America.

Alaska's 'canary of the sea' is struggling with a deteriorating whale environment, those in rural as opposed to urban areas are more likely to think raw milk is safe to drink, and climate change increases malnutrition in America's low-income counties.

TRANSCRIPT

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For the Daily Yonder and Public News Service, this is the news from rural America.

Raw milk, despite long-held safety concerns, is increasingly popular, but opinions can depend on where you live.

Sean Patterson led a survey for the University of Pennsylvania.

We did find that people living in rural areas thought that raw milk was safer overall than people living in the suburbs.

Patterson says two-thirds of rural folks, compared to half in urban areas, think raw milk is as safe as pasteurized.

He says the divided opinion could stem from rural folks being closer to the source or raising animals themselves.

But an outbreak of bird flu in dairy cattle is highlighting the issue.

Infected cows can shed the virus into their milk, sparking fear of transmission to humans.

Pasteurization doesn't change the nutritional value of milk.

It doesn't significantly change the taste of milk, and so the risks really don't outweigh any of the benefits.

Climate change is increasing malnutrition in low-income communities.

More from Alana Newman.

Research shows that extreme weather events have led to lower harvests, lost agricultural income, and higher food prices.

"That can land hardest on people in low- and middle-income farming regions," says Katie Lee with the Farm Journal Foundation.

If you're hungry, you're gonna do just about anything.

You're gonna do everything you need to do to feed yourself and your family, especially if you are a mom.

You will go hungry yourself to feed your child.

Lee says the obvious place to look for policy solutions is the renewal of the Farm Bill, which Lee believes should be passed by Congress immediately.

She says the federal government can support agricultural innovation and address malnutrition and climate resilience.

We should be taking a view that anyone who is hungry in this world, any child or mother who is hungry, is hungry for food.

We should be taking a view that anyone who is hungry is hungry for food.

For the Yonder and Public News Service, I'm Roz Brown.

For more rural stories, visit dailyyonder.com.