Agricultural production practices have created a plenitude of foodstuffs with sufficient calories, protein, vitamins and minerals on a per capita basis to make possible adequate nutrition for the entire population. These practices have also created a series of potential health hazards related to the widespread use of antibiotics and pesticides. A critical review of the procedures for establishing tolerances for pesticide residues in foodstuffs, for the monitoring of residues, and for the enforcement of tolerances suggests that there are significant gaps and contradictions in these systems. Community exposures to pesticides and their residues or metabolites include food and drinking water contamination, drift from agricultural applications, and leakage from waste sites. Biological sampling of non-occupationally exposed populations provides evidence that past and current practices result in widespread exposure; the health effects of these exposures are largely unassessed, and will be difficult to ascertain in epidemiologic studies. © 1986, Journal of Public Health Policy, Inc.