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USDA cyclospora research projects shelved amid funding cuts and relocations, Politico reports
Congress cut funding for two projects, and all scientists declined to move the third, leaving cyclospora research without staff support.
- On Sunday, Politico reported that The Trump administration is shuttering two of three U.S. Department of Agriculture research projects studying cyclospora, a foodborne parasite that has sickened more than 17,000 Americans across 48 states plus the District of Columbia.
- Congress defunded two projects earlier this year through the FY2026 Agriculture Appropriations Act, while a third project is slated to relocate from Maryland to Iowa this fall as part of a broader USDA reorganization.
- All scientists working on the parasite have declined to relocate to Iowa, with researchers retiring or leaving the Agricultural Research Service. Joelle Mosso, associate vice president for science at the Western Growers Association, warned that 'it takes decades to build expertise.'
- A USDA spokesperson told Politico that 'none of the research has been disrupted,' yet federal agencies investigating the outbreak are already unable to obtain needed assistance from ARS, and private institutions depend on cyclospora specimens the agency supplies.
- The federal government completed a $32 million renovation of BARC's food safety lab in 2022, yet the new locations are not expected to be as modernized or updated, according to USDA employees. Internal documents show the USDA expects as many as a quarter of all employees to quit rather than relocate.
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USDA cyclospora research projects shelved amid funding cuts and relocations, Politico reports
The Trump administration is shuttering two of the three U.S. Department of Agriculture research projects studying cyclospora, a foodborne parasite that has sickened thousands of Americans this summer, Politico reported on Sunday.
·London, United Kingdom
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Total News Sources13
Leaning Left1Leaning Right3Center6Last UpdatedBias Distribution60% Center
Bias Distribution
- 60% of the sources are Center
60% Center
C 60%
R 30%
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