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Modes of production and food processing can also have environmental impacts that affect human health, by exposing populations to different contaminants released into the air, water and soil. These environmental impacts can affect the health of ecosystems and in turn have effects on human health through the degradation of ecosystem regulations and its consequences on modes of production, the characteristics of products, and the spread of pathogens

Generally speaking, progress must be made in understanding mechanisms and linking models and databases at three levels:  

1. characterising the flow of contaminants (abiotic but also biotic) in different compartments (plant, animal, water, air, soil) involved in agricultural practices and food processing;
2. the relationship between these contaminant flows and the exposure of different types of populations - farmers, residents, vulnerable populations (e.g. pregnant women) or the general population
3. characterising and quantifying the health impacts associated with this exposure, by boosting knowledge of pathways particularly involved in environmental exposure (inhalation, cutaneous)