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High-Priority ARS 



Crosscutting 



Programs 



Food Safety 



• Reduction or elimination of inlroduced loxicanls. with emphasis on chemical contami- 

 nants, mycotoxins. and toxin-producing and pathogenic microorganisms. 



• Reduction or elimination of toxins that occur naturally in plants and cause stock losses 

 in animal production, transfer to animal products, or occur in plants that are directly 

 consumed by humans and are potentially significant to human health. 



Improved Human Nutrition and Health 



• Definition of human nuirilional requirements for optimal function and safe limits of 

 energy and nutrient intakes through the life cycle, with emphasis on infants, pregnant 

 and lactating women, and the elderly. 



• Research on molecular and cellular basis of human nutrition to yield data applicable to 

 reduction of risks associated with obesity and chronic disease. 



• Research to determine the bioavailability of nutrients important to health in agricul- 

 tural products as eaten. 



• Development of methods to assess marginal nutritional status under field conditions. 



• Development of biotechnology, management, and processing strategies to change food 

 production systems that will enhance the nutritional value of animal and plant foods. 



Water Quality Protection 



• Research to assess agricultural effects on water quality, with emphasis on fundamental 

 processes affecting fate and transport of agricultural chemical contaminants and 

 evaluation of current agricultural practices. 



• Development of new agricultural practices and systems to remediate or preclude water 

 quality problems in cropping areas and to reduce effects on other ecosystems. 



Environmentally Compatible Pest Control 



• Fundamental research to unravel complexities of microbial and other biological 

 associations that affect efficacy of biological control agents. 



• Development of new systems for pest management designed to keep pest populations 

 below the economic damage threshold, including host genetic resistance. 



• Development of crop cultural practices complementary to cultivars with genetic 

 resisunce to pests. 



• Research leading to development of alternative disease management strategies. 



