Title 7 — AgricultureRelease 119-73not60
§3172 Duties of Secretary of Agriculture
Title 7 › Chapter 64— AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND TEACHING › Subchapter IV— NATIONAL FOOD AND HUMAN NUTRITION RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROGRAM › § 3172
Summary
The Secretary must create and run a national food and human nutrition research and extension program. It must study human nutrition needs; how food makeup and farming, handling, processing, and cooking change nutrients; check the nutrition people get from Department of Agriculture food programs; study why people choose foods; and develop tools to help people pick nutritious meals.
Full Legal Text
Title 7, §3172
Agriculture — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
In order to carry out the policy of this subchapter, the Secretary shall develop and implement a national food and human nutrition research and extension program that shall include, but not be limited to—
(1)research on human nutritional requirements;
(2)research on the nutrient composition of foods and the effects of agricultural practices, handling, food processing, and cooking on the nutrients they contain;
(3)surveillance of the nutritional benefits provided to participants in the food programs administered by the Department of Agriculture;
(4)research on the factors affecting food preference and habits; and
(5)the development of techniques and equipment to assist consumers in the home or in institutions in selecting food that supplies a nutritionally adequate diet.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
Section effective Oct. 1, 1977, see section 1901 of Pub. L. 95–113, set out as an
Effective Date
of 1977 Amendment note under section 1307 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
7 U.S.C. § 3172
Title 7 — Agriculture
Last Updated
Apr 3, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60