Celebration of the past: nutrition at USDA

The knowledge gained in the past 100 years about how nutrients in our foods can affect our health represents a great achievement. This knowledge was essential for the widespread improvements in human health, and the major advances in food production and economic development. USDA and State Experiment Stations were the first scientific organizations in the U.S. to establish a food and nutrition research program and make the results available to people. Human nutrition activities in USDA, initiated by W. O. Atwater in 1894, always have been linked with the nutritive value of foods, human nutritional requirements, the kinds and amounts of foods that Americans consume relative to their needs, and strategies for improving diets and the food supply. Despite recent progress, the science of nutrition is still relatively new, and our knowledge is far from complete. Application of new technologies can be expected to identify the basis for individual differences in nutritional requirements, describe nutrient interactions and define those food constituents needed for healthful diets. Consumers must be given sound research-based information about foods and nutrition, as demand in the market place ultimately determines the foods agriculture and industry produce.