(NAFB.com) – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, in partnership with USDA and the Environmental Protection Agency, announced over $1 billion to study the impact of “cumulative chemical exposures” on human health. The agencies are also looking to eventually reduce reliance on “chemical crop protection tools.” HHS is contributing $200 million toward this effort, of which $100 million will be spent on a grand prize challenge for researchers to identify creative solutions for evaluating the exposure, diagnosis, and treatments of cumulative chemical exposures on individual health. The other $100 million from HHS will be put towards developing new technologies to reduce reliance on chemical crop protection tools in order to improve human health. USDA is committing $840 million, with $700 million of that going toward regenerative agriculture projects. The EPA is also providing $30 million for finding alternatives to the pre-harvest desiccation use of pesticides.
