NUTRITION REVIEWS VOL. 22 MAY 1964 No. 5

HEALTH AND AGRICULTURE-A VITAL PARTNERSHIP

, The U.S. Department of Agriculture rec- ognizes that progress in health and progress in agriculture go hand in hand.

The Department has long been concerned with the health of man, his soil and his crops, his livestock and poultry. This con- cern is shared by the States, which cooperate with USDA in a great deal of research, in- formational, and regulatory work.

It often turns out that work aimed pri- marily a t more efficient farming also results in more healthful living. For example, sci-

engaged in research on livestock on were the first to isolate some of the

mins and learn the functions of certain als later shown to be essential to hu-

rts to eradicate brucellosis and tuber- sis from the Nation’s livestock are im-

g human health, too. In reducing the ce of brucellosis in cattle by more

cent, we have helped to cut the ases from some 6,000 a year to less . Before the attack on bovine tuber-

sis, hundreds of children died annually berculous meningitis and miliary tuber- sis contracted from cows’ milk or other

th infected cattle. ural scientists are painstakingly

knowledge of interrelationships ils, plants, and animals-such as g that muscular dystrophy is com- vestock in areas where soils and

re low in selenium. These studies broad significance from the fact

ny diseases of man as well as of occur in unique geographic pat-

le our people gain many side benefits esearch and regulatory activities de- to crops and livestock, other impor-

t benefits stem from Department work

pointed directly toward the improvement of human health.

For example, USDA’s experience in com- bating pests led the Armed Forces to call on the Department early in World War I1 to find improved ways to protect fighting men from insect vectors of disease. From this wartime research came chemical weap- ons to control the mosquitoes that carry malaria, yellow fever, and encephalitis ; the lice that carry typhus; the fleas that carry bubonic plague; and the ticks that carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Not only was the war effort materially helped but, since that time, millions of lives have been saved and hundreds of millions of illnesses prevented all over the world.

Department scientists have been among the pioneers and world leaders in research on human nutrition. We have acquired a great deal of knowledge about human re- quirements for various nutrients, as well as the nutritive values of hundreds of foods. This knowledge has helped to bring about a marked improvement in diets in the United States. Emphasis has been placed on proper balance in the total diet: balance in kinds of foods, balance in nutrients, and balance in amount of food energy related to the needs of occupational groups.

Most people in this country take it for granted nowadays that the meat we buy is safe to eat. This confidence is based on the accomplishments of our Federal meat in- spection system. Every working day, hun- dreds of thousands of pounds of undesir- able meat are kept off the market by Department inspectors. This system has be- come a model for protecting consumers the world over.

These few examples serve to demonstrate someaspects of USDA’s deep interest in

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130 NUTRITION REVIEWS [Vol. 22, No. 6

human health. At the same time, our main job is to support the nation's farmers in ful- filling their responsibility to keep the people of this country well fed.

Never before have a people been privi- leged to enjoy so much food of such high quality and wide variety a t all seasons. And it costs us less than a fifth of our take-home pay-far below what people spend in most other countries.

How are we doing it? By improving our efficiency through the application of science to every phase of agriculture. Although our population has doubled over the last half century, we can get along with half as many farmers because they can now produce four times as much per hour. They can do that because research has given them better crops, better livestock, better feeds, better veterinary medical service, better machin- ery, better cultural methods, and so on.

As Secretary Freeman pointed out not long ago, however, all other advances in agricultural technology would have little meaning if we lacked safe and effective means for protection against thousands of insects, diseases, weeds, and other pests. This point needs emphasis because it is sometimes lost in discussions of the use of chemical pesticides.

These materials often have been the only effective and dependable pest control weap- ons. They have greatly increased food pro- ducing efficiency by holding down the dam- age pests do, cutting the cost of control, and reducing labor requirements. Pesticides have improved the quality of our food. Insect- infested, scabby, scalded, or blotched prod- uce has all but disappeared from our con- sumer markets. Sanitation standards have been raised because chemicals enable us to protect foods from contamination by insects and rodents as well as deterioration caused by mold and bacteria.

This is a remarkable record. To be sure, most pesticides are poisonous and can be dangerous if misused. But I have no hesi-

tancy in stating that a very high degreeof safety has been achieved in the development and use of pesticides. There is no need for alarm as long as the proper controls and safeguards are observed.

USDA, along with the States and in. dustry, has played a leading role in the dramatic sophistication of pesticides over the last few decades. Department scientists have helped to identify valuable new chemi- cals as well as devise safer and more ef- fective ways to use them.

But the Department's horizons in pest control research are not limited to con. ventional pesticides. The fact is that thia work now accounts for less than a third of the total effort, and our scientists are ranging far beyond. One new approachi the imaginative sterility technique, which has proved spectacularly successful against the screwworm, a pest of livestock, poultry wildlife, and even sometimes of man. BJ raising our own screwworms, steriliziq them with gamma radiation, and releasii them in great numbers to mate with th native flies, we tricked the screwworms int eliminating themselves over a vast area.

Now we have discovered that some i~ sects can also be sterilized with chemical This opens up the possibility of controllir such pests as flies and mosquitoes by i~ ducing sterility in the natural populatioi of these insects. One of the most exciti prospects is the use of the sterility princir against the tsetse fly, which carries devast ting sleeping sickness to man and animals Africa.

Another interesting approach is the (

velopment of attractants that draw inse to places where they can be poisoned, sti lized, or mechanically destroyed. This i( is based on the fact that insects are tracted to host plants and animals, to opposite sex, and to lights, sounds, I

other types of radiation. The old established approaches to j

control hoId further prowise, and they

May 19641 NUTRITION REVIEWS 131

being vigorously exploited, too. These in- dude devising effective cultural practices, breeding resistant varieties of crops, and bghting pests with natural enemies such as msects, bacteria, fungi, viruses, and pro- tozoa.

Department scientists are moving for- ward as rapidly as possible to expand basic investigations in such areas as the life proc- esses of insects, and the behavior of chemi- cals in plants, animals, and soils. Work like this is essential to provide the fundamental knowledge needed to develop even safer and more effective methods of combating pests. The Department is putting substantial

tffort into devising methods of use that re- luce pesticide residues, identifying special ypes of chemicals that leave no residue, and leveloping controls that do not involve the ise of chemicals a t all. In the meantime, food must be produced

ind protected. Pesticides must be used. laturally, these materials must be used nith full consideration for the health of rveryone concerned-farm workers, neigh- b y and consumers of food, as well as tops, livestock, fish, wildlife, and bene- hial insects.

is need for caution is one of the main ns USDA has been assigned the vital

onsibility of registering pesticides. The artment must pass on the effectiveness safety of a tremendous range of prod- * insecticides for mosquitoes, herbi-

for cotton, fungicides for wood, and lizers for surgical instruments, to

n only a few. stration is a stringent process. , a manufacturer must submit de- and exhaustive data, based on ex- scientific work, to convince our

petent staff of specialists that a new icide will be safe when used in accord- with the warnings and precautions on

label. In making their decision on the of a product, USDA experts regularly t with authorities in other scientific in-

stitutions and Government agencies, includ- ing the Food and Drug Administration and the Public Health Service. Safety and effec- tiveness both receive full consideration. No matter how effective a chemical is, it will not be registered as a pesticide unless we can expect it to be used safely.

Science and technology have helped us achieve a more healthful life here in the United States. What about our friends in other parts of the world?

I n many developing lands, nine out of ten workers devote their energies to tilling the soil-yet, millions are underfed. This leads to high infant mortality, retarded growth in children, poor working efficiency in adults, shorter life expectancy, and gen- eral apathy. There is a critical need to make better use of natural and human resources in many countries.

It has been estimated that current world food needs could be met by applying present technology to the lands now under cultiva- tion. And additional land, perhaps three times the acreage now under cultivation, is potentially available for use. So there are resources to feed many more people than the earth supports a t the present time.

How can the job be done? I believe the guiding principles are to be found in our experience here in the United States. The influence of three forces has been important in shaping our agricultural revolution:

First, research a t the national and state levels supplies new knowledge and develops ways to apply it. Second, teaching in the State Land-Grant institutions and other uni- versities disseminates knowledge and trains scientists and other workers : agronomists, veterinarians, entomologists, chemists, and so on. Third, extension work in cooperation with these State institutions provides farm- ers with instruction and practical demon- stration in new agricultural techniques, and this gets research findings into practice throughout the country. Research, teaching, and atension-it takes all three.

132 NUTRITION

Some of the agricultural technology that we have developed can be put to use a t once by emerging countries. But they cannot de- pend on this alone, because techniques that succeed in one place may fail in another where conditions are different.

The scientific knowledge gained from our basic research is easier to transfer, and i t is readily available to all emerging coi~ii- tries. But that knowledge will be useful only if farmers and others have the help of nd- visors with knowledge of scientific principles combined with knowledge of local condi- tions.

It is essential, therefore, and a matter of the most urgent priority, that each of these countries improve its schools, colleges, and graduate training to provide its own teach- ers, agronomists, veterinarians, entomolo- gists, chemists, and the many other scien- tists i t needs. Meanwhile, we can help them improve their research operations to solve specific problems in farm management, use of soil and water, production of crops and livestock, and the control of diseases and insects.

Almost 900 technicians are now sharing our agricultural technology with emerging countries through the Agency for Interna- tional Development. Thousands of foreign technicians have visited the United States to study our production and marketing meth- ods. A number of agencies, public and private, are making important contribu- tions.

REVIEWS [Vol. 22, N0.d

The Animal Health and Production Division of the Food and Agriculture 01- ganization of the United Nations is doing splendid work. The diverse efforts of thii Division are aimed a t one objective: the in- crease of edible protein the world over. Thi Division’s activities have focused inter- national attention on the crucial role of veterinary medicine in combating hunger, misery, disease, and economic paralysis.

Yet, even with these and other efforts de- voted to agricultural development, there h still a great deal more to do in most coun- tries to meet the tremendous challenge of applying science to food production and protection. Also, we are constantly reminded that the technical problems of producii and protecting food may be easier to solm than some of the social and economic prob lems of distributing this food to the peoph who need it.

I n spite of the difficulties, we see re8 progress being made in many emerging countries. This should spur us to step UP the pace so that modern agriculture c ~ l l

make the full range of its transforming con. tributions felt in the health and welfareoi people all over the world.

M. R. CLARKSON, D.V.M., L.L.B Associate Administrator Agricultural Research Service United States Department 4

Agriculture

TOCOPHEROL REQUIREMENTS IN INFANCY

Premature infants appear to thrive on “tocopherol free” diets, despite low levels o f tocopherol in the blood.

During the past few years, the value of studies on the prematurely born infant has become increasingly evident to the student of nutrition. These tiny babies grow, if everything goes well, a t an amazingly rapid rate; hence it can be conjectured that nutri- tional needs are large, and that deficiency states will be quick to appear in the face of

an inadequate diet. Growth rates, it is do not approach those of small labor animals; nonetheless the rate of the he young premature baby is conside higher than that during any other per’ human infancy and childhood.

I n an attempt to rddd some inform to our knowledge of tocopherol re