I’M SOLEDAD O’BRIEN. WELCOME TO. MATTER OF FACT, IT WASN’T UNTIL THE 1990S THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BEGAN SERIOUSLY FUNDING RESEARCH FOCUSED ON WOMEN’S HEALTH. THE BASIC BIOLOGY WAS NOT BEING ADDRESSED. WE MEET TWO SCIENTISTS WHO’VE DEVOTED THEIR LIVES TO BETTERING OUR UNDERSTANDING. DISEASES CAN PRESENT THEMSELVES IN DIFFERENT WAYS IN WOMEN THAN MEN FROM CHRONIC ILLNESSES LIKE HEART DISEASE TO CANCER. HOW THEY’RE CHANGING THE FUTURE OF MEDICAL TREATMENT FOR WOMEN, AND THEIR CONCERN THAT THEIR WORK COULD BE IN JEOPARDY. PLUS, ALICE WATERS CALLS HERSELF A FOOD ACTIVIST. I WANT TO PAY FOR FOOD RATHER THAN HEALTH CARE. THANK YOU. I TALK WITH THE CULINARY ICON ABOUT PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE ORGANIC FARMING, AND WE TRAVEL TO WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM, THE WIDE OPEN SPACES OF WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA, THEIR ANCIENT TRADITIONS ARE TAKING ROOT IN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST SOME VERY MODERN PROBLEMS. WE NEED TO REALLY PROTECT THE YOUNG PEOPLE BY BRINGING THEM BACK INTO OUR GARDENS. WE’LL MEET THE TRIBE GROWING A NEW SOLUTION TO SAVE THEIR COMMUNITY. THOSE STORIES AND MUCH MORE. RIGHT NOW ON MATTER OF FACT. IT WAS ONLY 30 YEARS AGO THAT WOMEN WERE INCLUDED IN MEDICAL RESEARCH STUDIES. BEFORE THAT, EVEN THE RATS USED IN STUDIES WERE EXCLUSIVELY MALE. BUT IN 1993, CONGRESS PASSED THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH REVITALIZATION ACT, WHICH MANDATED THE INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND MINORITIES IN NIH FUNDED CLINICAL TRIALS. SINCE THEN, LIFE SAVING ADVANCES IN WOMEN’S HEALTH HAVE BEEN MADE. STILL, A RECENT CONGRESSIONALLY MANDATED REPORT FOUND THAT ONLY ABOUT 8% OF NIH GRANT SPENDING BETWEEN 2013 AND 2023 FOCUSED ON WOMEN’S HEALTH RESEARCH. NOW, EVEN THAT LEVEL OF FUNDING IS AT RISK, WITH FEDERAL CUTS TO MORE THAN 1700 MEDICAL RESEARCH GRANTS. OUR CORRESPONDENT DINA DEMETRIUS INTRODUCES US TO TWO WOMEN ON THE FRONT LINES OF FEDERALLY FUNDED WOMEN’S HEALTH RESEARCH TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEIR WORK SHAPES WOMEN’S LIVES AND WHAT’S AT STAKE. IF THAT RESEARCH ENDS. BASICALLY, THE CHEMOTHERAPY DIDN’T KILL THESE TUMOR CELLS. DOCTOR JOAN BRUGGE AND HER RESEARCH TEAM AT HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL HAVE BEEN TRYING TO CRACK THE COMPLEX CODE OF HOW TO PERMANENTLY DESTROY OVARIAN CANCER. THESE ARE THE ONES THAT WE’RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT. WHAT ARE THEIR VULNERABILITIES? MEANWHILE, IN THE LAB NEXT DOOR, A BREAKTHROUGH. OH MY GOSH, PAMONA, THIS IS GREAT. YEAH, WE’VE BEEN TRYING TO DO THIS FOR YEARS. FINALLY, THEY HAVE OVARIAN TUMOR CELLS THRIVING ENOUGH IN CULTURE TO CONDUCT THE EXPERIMENTS THEY’VE BEEN WAITING TO DO. AND IN A THIRD BRUGGE LAB, POSTDOC FELLOW MIKE OLIPHANT HELPED DETECT THE EARLIEST BREAST CANCER CELLS THAT CARRY CHROMOSOMAL CHANGES. NOW WE CAN HOPEFULLY MAKE REALLY CRITICAL INSIGHTS AND BE ABLE TO FIND WAYS TO PREVENT, YOU KNOW, THESE WOMEN WHO NORMALLY UNDERGO VERY, YOU KNOW, TRAUMATIC, VERY SERIOUS SURGERIES TO PREVENT CANCER. MORE THAN HALF OF THE RESEARCH IN BRUGGE LABS IS FEDERALLY FUNDED. BUT ON MAY 15TH, THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES NOTIFIED BRUGGE THAT HER GRANTS FOR ONGOING BREAST CANCER RESEARCH AND FOR A POSTDOC FELLOW WITH SPECIAL SKILLS IN OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH HAD BEEN TERMINATED. MY KNEES JUST BUCKLED AND I ACTUALLY HAD TO SIT DOWN BECAUSE IT WAS IT WAS JUST SUCH A VISCERAL, GUT GUT RESPONSE. IT WAS LIKE THIS GUT PUNCH. THERE WAS NO REASON. IT WAS ACROSS THE BOARD. ALL HARVARD GRANTS WERE CUT. IT’S AN EXTRAORDINARY NEW CHALLENGE FOR BRUGGE, WHO 40 YEARS AGO HELPED PIONEER THE USE OF VIRUSES IN UNDERSTANDING AND TREATING CANCER, A PATH FORGED IN COLLEGE BY THE DEATH OF HER 20 YEAR OLD SISTER, PATSY OF GLIOBLASTOMA. IT KEEPS ME ON FOCUS, FOR SURE, AND I THINK MY MOTIVATION FOR DOING IT IS IS BECAUSE OF THAT. WOMEN ARE NOT JUST SMALL MEN. WOMEN HAVE DIFFERENT CHROMOSOMES. THAT MEANS EVERY CELL IN YOUR BODY IS DIFFERENT FROM AN XY CELL. DOCTOR MARSHA STEFANICK IS THE LONGTIME PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR FOR ONE OF FOUR REGIONAL CENTERS OF THE WOMEN’S HEALTH INITIATIVE, OR A 30 YEAR OLD STUDY THAT CHANGED MEDICAL PRACTICE FOR HORMONE THERAPY AND CARDIOVASCULAR AND BONE HEALTH. WITH DATA FROM NEARLY 162,000 WOMEN, THE CURRENT WOMEN’S HEALTH INITIATIVE INFRASTRUCTURE IS A BACKBONE FOR OTHER ANCILLARY STUDIES. THIS IS A COHORT THAT WE’VE BEEN FOLLOWING SINCE THEY WERE 50 TO 79. SO IT’S TREMENDOUS LONG TERM AGING RESEARCH. THE NIH IS NATIONAL HEART, LUNG AND BLOOD INSTITUTE SUPPORTS THE WITH A REPORTED $10 MILLION A YEAR. FOUNDED IN 1993 BY THE FIRST WOMAN TO HEAD THE NIH DIRECTOR, BERNADINE HEALY, WE ALSO HAD BACK THEN A POLITICAL CAUCUS OF WOMEN THAT WERE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE. THEY DID NOT SEE IT AS A RED BLUE SITUATION. THEY SAW IT VERY MUCH AS A WOMEN’S HEALTH ISSUE, AND THEY WERE FUNDAMENTAL TO GETTING THE WOMEN’S HEALTH INITIATIVE FUNDED. IN APRIL, WAS NOTIFIED THAT THERE WERE FOUR REGIONAL CENTERS WOULD BE CUT, AND LATER THE COORDINATING CENTER. AFTER A WEEK, HHS PUBLICLY WALKED THAT BACK. WE’VE GOT OUR INFORMATION ABOUT HOW WE PROCEED TO SECURE THE FUNDING FOR ANOTHER TWO YEARS AND FOUR MONTHS. THAT SAID, OUR REAL HOPE IS THAT WE’RE GOING TO CONTINUE THIS COHORT FOR 5 TO 10 YEARS BECAUSE WE STILL HAVE 42,000 WOMEN, STEFANICK SAYS. IT’S A REPRIEVE, BUT GOOD RESEARCH NEEDS A LONGER TIME HORIZON. WE’RE USED TO THE POLITICS AFFECTING THE SCIENTIFIC PRIORITIES OF THE COUNTRY, BUT TO HAVE SOMETHING LIKE WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW, THIS IS JUST UNPRECEDENTED BECAUSE OF THE LEVEL OF UNCERTAINTY, THE LEVEL OF UNCERTAINTY, BUT JUST THE RASH CUTTING WITHOUT CONSIDERATION OF WHAT’S BEING CUT. WHILE SOME APPLAUD A VARIETY OF BUDGET CUTS TO ADDRESS A BALLOONING DEFICIT, STEFANICK LIKENS IT TO A STORY ABOUT AN INJURED VETERAN WHO HAD SHRAPNEL IN MY ARM. AND I’M SO GRATEFUL THAT THE SURGEONS PICKED IT OUT PIECE BY PIECE AND DIDN’T JUST CUT OFF MY ARM. SO I THINK THAT’S THE WAY WE NEED TO GO ABOUT REDUCING THE DEFICIT IS BE THOUGHTFUL, PICK OUT THE PIECES, BUT DON’T JUST CUT OFF THE ARM. BOTH STEFANICK AND BRUGGE SAY THEY’RE YOUNG RESEARCHERS PUSHING THE NEXT FRONTIER OF WOMEN’S HEALTH ARE AS VITAL TO WOMEN AS THE DISCOVERIES ALREADY MADE. WHAT IS THE STRATEGY NOW THAT YOUR RESEARCH FUNDING HAS BEEN CUT? SO THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS FOR US TO TRY TO FIND FUNDING TO REPLACE THE FUNDING THAT WAS LOST, SO THAT I DON’T HAVE TO LET ANYONE GO. AND THEN WHAT WE’RE DOING IS STRATEGIZING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE CAN WE SALVAGE FOR RESEARCH THAT WE HAVE. WHAT ARE THE LEAST IMPACTFUL CUTS? AND THEN BASICALLY KEEP EXPENSES AS LOW AS WE CAN SO THAT WE CAN KEEP GOING. IN BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, I’M DINA DEMETRIOS, FOR MATTER OF FACT. WE REACHED OUT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FOR A COMMENT ABOUT THE CUTS, BUT DID NOT RECEIVE A REPLY. NEXT, ON MATTER OF FACT, IT’S THINKING ABOUT OUR FOOD AND OUR SEEDS. IS OUR RELATIVES TAKING CARE OF US? WHY THIS INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY IS HOPING TRADITIONAL WAYS OF FARMING CAN BUILD A HEALTHIER FUTURE. PLUS, BLACK WOMEN LOST THE HIGHEST NUMBER OF JOBS IN APRIL, ACCORDING TO THE LATEST DATA. WHAT ECONOMISTS THINK IS BEHIND IT. BUT FIRST, SHE CALLS IT A DELICIOUS REVOLUTION. I TALKED TO SELF-PROCLAIMED FOOD ACTIVIST AND RESTAURATEUR ALICE WATERS ABOUT HER MISSION TO PROMOTE GOOD, FRESH AND LOCALLY SOURCED CUISINE FOR ALL YOU’RE WATCHING. MATTER OF FACT, AMERICA’S NUMBER ONE NATIONALLY SYNDICATED PUBLIC AFFAIRS NEWS MAGAZINE. ALICE WATERS IS A CULINARY PIONEER. MORE THAN FIVE DECADES AGO, SHE LAUNCHED WHAT IS STILL ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS AND INFLUENTIAL RESTAURANTS IN THE UNITED STATES, CHEZ PANISSE. IT ALIGNS WITH WHAT’S CALLED THE SLOW FOOD MOVEMENT, PROMOTING FRESH, HEALTHY FOOD FOR ALL. IN CONTRAST TO AMERICAN FAST FOOD. EARLIER THIS YEAR, I SAT DOWN WITH WATERS, WHO’S NOW 81, TO TALK ABOUT HER LEGACY, HER MISSION TO EDUCATE YOUNG PEOPLE THROUGH HER EDIBLE SCHOOLYARD PROGRAM AND WHAT INSPIRED HER TO BECOME A FOOD ACTIVIST. WHAT FIRST GOT YOU INTO FOOD? MY PARENTS HAD A VICTORY GARDEN DURING THE WAR, AND I CAN REMEMBER TO THIS DAY. THE TASTE OF A SUMMER TOMATO FROM THAT GARDEN AND A STRAWBERRY. AND THEY ARE. PERMANENTLY IN MY TASTE MEMORY. WHEN WAS CHEZ PANISSE OPENED? WELL, 53 YEARS AGO. 1970S. IT WAS A RESTAURANT WHERE YOU YOU DECIDED LIKE, THIS IS WHAT’S FOR DINNER. THIS IS WHAT’S FOR DINNER. EXACTLY. THEY HAD NO CHOICE. THAT WAS VERY UNUSUAL IN THE 1970S. VERY UNUSUAL. AND WHAT WAS THE REACTION AT FIRST? JULIA CHILD SAID WHEN SHE FIRST CAME, IT’S LIKE EATING AT HOME, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT THAT WAS A WONDERFUL COMPLIMENT. I WANTED TOTALLY ORGANIC FOOD, AND I ONLY WANTED IT IN SEASON. SO WE PUT OUT A CALL THAT WE WOULD BUY IT DIRECTLY FROM THE FARMER AT THE REAL COST. WAS THAT UNUSUAL FOR A RESTAURANT? COMPLETELY UNUSUAL. IT WAS A DELICIOUS REVOLUTION. YOU CAN CHOOSE TO SUPPORT THE PEOPLE WHO TAKE CARE OF THE LAND, AND YOU CAN LEARN FROM THEM. ORGANIC IS EXPENSIVE. WELL, THAT’S THE AD FROM THE FAST FOOD INDUSTRY. IT IS EXPENSIVE. IT IS. AND IT’S NOT WHEN IT’S IN SEASON, IT’S NOT AS EXPENSIVE. BUT I WANT TO PAY FOR FOOD RATHER THAN HEALTH CARE. THANK YOU. PEOPLE IN THE FAST FOOD INDUSTRY GLOBALLY KNOW HOW TO GET THE PUBLIC ADDICTED. SWEET AND SALT. BUT I JUST KNOW THAT IT’S CURABLE AND IN CHILDREN. WHEN DID YOU START EDUCATING CHILDREN? BECAUSE GETTING CHILDREN TO EMBRACE GARDENS AND GARDENING HAS BEEN A HUGE PART OF YOUR LEGACY. WHEN THE PRINCIPAL OF A MIDDLE SCHOOL IN BERKELEY CALLED ME UP AND HE SAID, YOU KNOW, I’M HAVING TROUBLE WITH THESE TEENAGE KIDS, MAYBE YOU COULD HELP TO GET A GARDEN GOING AT THE SCHOOL. SO THEY HAD A VACANT LOT OVER THERE, AND THEY HAD A BIG AREA THAT WAS BLACKTOP AND ALL THESE BUILDINGS. AND I SAID, OH, I SEE IT ALREADY. YOU SAW A GARDEN? I SAID, THE GARDEN SHOULD BE IN THE VACANT LOT. AND WHY THAT TEMPORARY BUILDING THAT’S NOT USED? WE COULD MAKE A KITCHEN CLASSROOM. DID PEOPLE THINK YOU WERE CRAZY? WELL, NEIL NEIL SMITH. WELL, I HEAR YOU, BUT SLOW IT DOWN, LADY. I’LL GIVE YOU A CALL. AND SO I WAS VERY SURPRISED WHEN HE CALLED ME UP SIX MONTHS LATER AND SAID, WE’RE READY. HAS THE SLOW FOOD MOVEMENT BEEN SUCCESSFUL ALL THESE YEARS LATER? WELL, THE EDIBLE SCHOOLYARD MOVEMENT, ABSOLUTELY. I WENT TO MANY, MANY CLASSES. I COULD SEE THE KIDS EVEN PICKING UP CRUMBS, CLEANING OFF THE TABLE, SETTING THE UTENSILS. THEY HAD SUCH PRIDE IN WHAT THEY HAD MADE. AND I THINK IT SHOULD BE ADOPTED FOR EVERY SCHOOL ON THE PLANET. WATERS EDIBLE SCHOOLYARD NETWORK HAS NOW GROWN TO CONNECT MORE THAN 1800 PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD. COMING UP, HOW AN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY IS PASSING ON TRADITIONAL FARMING METHODS, PLUS THE ECONOMIC DATA IS COMING IN. WHAT IT SHOWS US ABOUT THE IMPACT OF CUTS TO FEDERAL JOBS ANDAMERICA’S NATIVE POPULATION H LONG FACED HEALTH DISPARITIES. THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF AMERICAN INDIANS AND ALASKA NATIVES IS 11 YEARS SHORTER THAN THE COUNTRY’S AVERAGE 65 YEARS, COMPARED TO 76. RESEARCHERS SAY FOOD IS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR. MANY TRIBES RELY ON GOVERNMENT RATIONED FOOD, WHICH IS OFTEN HIGHLY PROCESSED. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY ROBERT F KENNEDY HAS SAID THE ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS ARE IN HIS WORD, A GENOCIDE ON NATIVE AMERICANS. BUT THE US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CUT THE PROGRAM THAT GETS TRIBAL COMMUNITIES FRESH, LOCAL FOODS IN WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA. OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT JOEY CHEN FOUND ONE TRIBE TAKING THE LEAD ON SAVING THEIR TRADITIONAL FOODS AND THEIR WAY OF LIFE. IN THE DARK SOIL OF THE FOUR SISTERS GARDEN, FIMBREZ PLANTS A MESSAGE TO HER ANCESTORS. MORAGA ECO. I WANT MY CHILDREN TO KNOW YOU. FIMBREZ CARRIES ON A FARMING TRADITION THAT DATES BACK HUNDREDS OF YEARS. THE SAHNISH PEOPLE OF THE MANDAN, HIDATSA, ARIKARA NATION BEGAN TO SETTLE ALONG THE KNIFE RIVER MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS AGO. RANGER DARIAN KATH TAKES US ON A TOUR OF A RECREATED EARTH LODGE. THIS IS THE TRADITIONAL DWELLING OF THE TRIBE THAT LIVED HERE. KATH POINTS TO THE TRIBE’S RESOURCEFULNESS AND THE VALUE THEY PLACED ON THEIR HARVESTS, PRESERVING CORN AND CROPS IN CAREFULLY DESIGNED UNDERGROUND CACHE PITS. THAT WAS A CORNERSTONE OF THE CULTURE STILL IS TODAY. SO MUCH SO THAT THE SEEDS OF THE TRIBE’S TRADITIONAL CROPS, HANDED DOWN THROUGH GENERATIONS, ARE NOW KEPT UNDER LOCK AND KEY. IT BELONGED IN A SAFE. YES, YES. DOCTOR RUTH DELA CRUZ TEACHES AT THE NUETA HIDATSA SAHNISH TRIBAL COLLEGE, WHERE A NEW EFFORT TO RETURN THE TRIBE TO ITS TRADITIONAL FOODS IS TAKING ROOT. SOME OF THESE VARIETIES HAVEN’T BEEN CONSUMED BY OUR PEOPLE IN OVER A HUNDRED YEARS. THAT’S CHANGING NOW, THANKS TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF TRIBAL ELDERS AND EDUCATORS LIKE BERNIE YOUNGBERG CHEZ. THE MOUNDS. IT’S RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FOUR CORN MOUNDS. EVEN AT THE END OF SPRING IN NORTH DAKOTA, FROST IS STILL A RISK. FLOODING TO TRADITIONAL GARDENERS USED DOMED MOUNDS AND GROUPED THE THREE SISTERS CORN, BEANS, AND SQUASH TO PROTECT THEIR CROPS. NOW USING THE SAME ANCIENT TECHNIQUES, A NEW GENERATION IS PLANTING TO SECURE THE COMMUNITY’S HEALTHY FUTURE. THIS IS A TRADITIONAL SEED. JUST FINDING FRESH FOOD HERE HAS LONG BEEN A CHALLENGE. THE FORT BERTHOLD RESERVATION ENCOMPASSES NEARLY A MILLION ACRES, WITH ONLY ONE SUPERMARKET. FACED WITH A VAST FOOD, DESERT, GARDENERS ARE PLANTING THE REVIVED SEEDS ACROSS THE RESERVATION IN A PROJECT THAT ALSO AIMS TO FEED THE SOUL OF THE COMMUNITY. THEY ALL HAVE A TIE TO US AS A RELATIVE, AND SO WHEN WE TAKE CARE OF THEM, BECAUSE THEY TAKE CARE OF US. FOLLOWING AN OLD ADAGE ABOUT THE POWER OF CHEZ, WHO HOLDS THE SPOON, IT’S WOMEN AND GIRLS WHO LEAD THE GARDEN WORK, AND THE WOMEN ARE THE ONES DISHING OUT THE FOOD. YOU DECIDE WHO GETS FED FIRST AND YOU KNOW WHO GETS FED LAST. OR IF THERE ISN’T ENOUGH, WHO YOU KNOW GOES HUNGRY. THAT’S A REALLY POWERFUL ROLE. TODAY, THEY MAINTAIN A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP WITH FEDERAL AGENCIES TO REDEVELOP THEIR SEED STOCK IN A CAMPAIGN FOR RESTORATIVE JUSTICE. I THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY OF OUR GENERATIONS ENDED UP BEING TAKEN OUT OF OUR COMMUNITIES TO BOARDING SCHOOLS AND SIMILARLY, OUR SEEDS HAD LEFT OUR COMMUNITIES. THEY LEFT OUR COMMUNITIES. AND SO NOW WE’RE BRINGING OUR RELATIVES HOME AND PLANTING A FUTURE FROM THE SEEDS OF THEIR PAST. ON THE FORT BERTHOLD RESERVATION IN NORTH DAKOTA, I’M JOEY CHEN, FOR MATTER OF FACT, AHEAD ON MATTER OF FACT, WE EXPLORE WHY RECENT CUTS TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MAY BE HAVING AN OUTSIZED IMPACT ON BLACK WOMEN. PLUS, THE EFFORT TO COMBAT CLIMATE CHANGE HEADS TO THE FARM. WHY RESEARCHERS ARE STUDYING COWS DIETS TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH. MATTER OF FACT, SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER ATWELCOME BACK TO MAT THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE REMAINS RELATIVELY LOW AT 4.2%, BUT CLOSER EXAMINATION OF THE DATA REVEALS SOMETHING CONCERNING THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FOR BLACK WOMEN HAS BEEN TICKING UP. IN MAY, IT STOOD AT 6.2%, UP FROM 5.3% THE PREVIOUS YEAR, ACCORDING TO REPORTING BY PROPUBLICA. THAT IS IN PART BECAUSE BLACK WOMEN HAVE BEEN DISPROPORTIONATELY IMPACTED BY THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S CUTS. BLACK WOMEN WORK IN HIGHER NUMBERS IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, NEARLY 12% COMPARED TO AROUND 6% IN THE CIVILIAN WORKFORCE. AT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, FOR EXAMPLE, BLACK WOMEN MADE UP ABOUT 28% OF WORKERS. THAT DEPARTMENT WAS NEARLY CUT IN HALF AT THE U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT. AT STAFF WAS ABOUT 40% MINORITIES BEFORE THE ADMINISTRATION EFFECTIVELY SHUTTERED IT. OF COURSE, THE CUTS TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DON’T PAINT THE FULL PICTURE. ECONOMISTS ALSO POINT TO THE ROLLBACK OF DEI EFFORTS, WHICH HAS IMPLICATIONS FAR BEYOND THE FEDERAL WORKFORCE. BLACK UNEMPLOYMENT IN THE US ALWAYS TRENDS HIGHER THAN THE OVERALL NUMBER. STILL AHEAD ON MATTER OF FACT, COULD CATTLE FEED HELP MITIGATE CLIMATEAND FINALLY, COULD BETTER AND FEWER BURPS HELP CURB CLIMATE CHANGE. SCIENTISTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA HOPE SO. THEY’RE STUDYING 500 DAIRY COWS AND TESTING DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS OF WHAT THEY EAT. RESEARCHERS BELIEVE A DIFFERENT TYPE OF FEED COULD HELP RELEASE LESS METHANE GAS FROM BURPS AND FLATULENCE. THE LEAD SCIENTIST ON THE PROJECT SAYS A SINGLE COW CAN PRODUCE 250 TO 500L OF METHANE DAILY. METHANE ACCOUNTS FOR ROUGHLY 30% OF GLOBAL WARMING. SO WHAT’S THE RECIPE? WELL, RESEARCHERS CREATED A SUPPLEMENT WITH FLAXSEED AND PEA PROTEIN, WHICH IS ALSO RICH IN OMEGA THREE FATTY ACIDS. THEY FOUND A 20% REDUCTION IN METHANE PRODUCTION IN THE FIRST LABORATORY TRIALS. THE COWS ALSO HAD BETTER MILK QUALITY. THERE’S NOW A PLAN TO KEEP FEEDING THE COWS THE SUPPLEMENT TO SEE IF THE RESULTS FOUND IN THE LAB CAN MATCH WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FIELD. THAT’S IT FOR THIS EDITION OF MATTER OF FACT, I’M SOLEDAD O’BRIEN. I’LL SEE YOU BACK HERE NEXT WEEK. TO WATCH MORE STORIES LIKE THIS ANYTIME, HEAD TO MATTEROFFACTTV.