Food Resources Lifecycle Integrated Science Team Active

Access to an adequate, safe, and sustainable supply of plant and animal products is one of the highest priorities for our society. During the growing and raising of such products requires the management of pests, diseases, and other threats by using a variety of tools such as organic and inorganic nutrients, pesticides, and veterinary pharmaceuticals. These tools often have the added advantage of improving crop yields and increasing livestock weight gain.  Best management practices, manufacturer's guidance on safe use, and chemical registration and approval processes administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration help farmers minimize health threats. Public concerns, however, regarding potential health threats to fish, wildlife, livestock, and humans posed by use of these tools and management practices are common,and are often based on perceptions rather than scientific information. The Food Resources Lifecycle Science Team designs and implements interdisciplinary research needed to help understand whether these concerns are warranted, and provides objective, unbiased information that decision makers need to address legitimate concerns.

Scientific Focus 

Sources/Usage: Public Domain.

The Food Resources Lifecycle Integrated Science Team, part of the Environmental Health Program in the Ecosystems Mission Area, focuses on hazards to the environment and humans associated with complex chemical and biological contaminant mixtures (i.e., antibiotic resistance bacteria/genes, viruses, pesticides, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances [PFAS], pharmaceuticals, microplastics, etc.) that could originate from the growing, raising, and processing/manufacturing of plant and animal products. The team conducts research in both field and laboratory settings to collectively deliver science to document contaminant sources, fate/transport through the environment to points of exposure, and whether such contaminant exposures pose a health hazard either individually or as complex mixtures.

Research Trajectory  

The Team's research consists of multi-year/multi-phased/multidisciplinary efforts conducted to answer questions of national and global significance. These studies build on the knowledge gained from previous research that identified chemical, microbial, and zoonotic environmental contaminants translating to wildlife and human exposures and potential effects. This research often employs a One Health (where human, plant, animal, and environmental interactions are characterized) combined with a source-to-receptor approach to understand chemical and biological contaminants in the environment from their sources through to aquatic and/or terrestrial organisms.

Priority Research Examples

Sources/Usage: Public Domain.

Infectious avian Influenza (AIV) in environmental waters.  AIV maintained in wild bird hosts is episodically spread to domestic poultry, which can lead to economically disastrous outbreaks. The Team is determining if the environment is a medium for maintenance and spread of AIV, which has important implications for the economy, food security, and human/animal health.

Environmental source and distribution of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antibiotic genes (ARG). Antimicrobial resistance poses a major threat to human health globally. The Team is determining the role of environmental sources and transfer plays in the development and distribution of AMR and ARG using a One-Health approach that acknowledges the connection between the physical environment and the health of humans and wildlife.

Fate and effects of process wastewaters from food, beverage, and feedstock processing plants. Municipal wastewater treatment plants and urban storm water runoff are well documented sources of environmental contaminants.  This Team is providing a comparable understanding of chemical and biological contaminants from food-related plant discharges and their potential effects on humans and wildlife.

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Environmental exposures and effects of recycled waste reuse on farmland. The demand for treated effluent reuse (as a beneficial source of water) and recycling of solid waste (as a beneficial source of nutrients) is growing and this Team is examining the potential effects and consequences of such reuse and recycling of liquid and solid waste onto farmland.

Effects of agricultural management practices on insect pollinators. Insect pollinators (both domestic and wild) provide a critical role through the maintenance of global plant diversity and pollination of food and fiber crops. Research is underway to better understand the effects of pesticides and other agricultural management practices on insect pollinators.

Environmental exposures to neonicotinoid insecticides. Neonicotinoid pesticides have quickly become the most widely used insecticide globally. Previous research has documented widespread environmental and human exposures and toxicity to selected organisms upon exposure.  Consequently, additional research is underway to better understand human and wildlife environmental exposures to neonicotinoid pesticides and effects on humans and wildlife.

Sources/Usage: Public Domain.