Increased investment in nutrition research across REE
Declining appropriations for nutrition-relevant research and statistics at USDA, compounded by declining public investment in agrifood research and development, is limiting the nation's ability to fully understand and leverage the critical nexus between agriculture, food, and health (12, 146, 147). An emphasis on agricultural production research has created pressure on the USDA nutrition portfolio to respond to these growing research needs and opportunities with its limited budget. Strong Congressional appropriations for nutrition research across REE is critical to reestablish the US as the global leader in food and agricultural science and technology, which creates healthy and productive communities, families, and youth. A renewed commitment to advancing and integrating nutrition into the overall crop, livestock, food manufacturing, food safety, natural resources, and climate research agendas has tremendous potential to improve economic growth, national security, competitiveness, sustainability, climate resilience, food security, and public health. Such investment would also maximize cross-governmental coordination and public–private partnerships with the greatest potential to accelerate progress in this complex nexus.
The USDA also implements major nutrition programs and thus must rely upon an integrated focus that connects nutrition research to policy and practice to improve the health of the public. To accomplish this integrated approach, each of the science mission areas at ARS, ERS, and NIFA must be at full capacity including sufficient staffing and resources. Nutrition research investment in ARS is essential for food-composition research and development, dietary surveys and food databases instrumental to national surveillance and scientific discovery, and the Human Nutrition Research Center network that pursues long-term, translation research priorities impractical to assess in short-term programs. NIFA complements ARS with competitive extramural funding vital to strengthening our nation's capacity to address opportunities related to diet, health, food safety, food security, and food science and technology. In addition, ERS provides invaluable food supply data, federal nutrition assistance program evaluations, and surveys on food insecurity and food acquisition and purchases.