Research priorities
• Breeding plant varieties, in particular rice varieties, with low cadmium content and high iron and zinc content in order to reduce cadmium bioavailability: Animal studies show that diets low in zinc, iron and calcium may increase cadmium absorption as much as tenfold;
• Breeding plants with high cadmium uptake, for phytoremediation purposes;
• Developing economically viable decadmiation techniques to remove cadmium from phosphate fertilizers and other sources that could contribute to the cadmium input;
• Developing reliable methods for measuring bioavailable cadmium;
• Conducting more reliable studies assessing the socio-economic costs and benefits before imposing new regulations.