CAST is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization composed of scientific societies and many individual, student, company, nonprofit, and associate society members. CAST's Board is composed of representatives of the scientific societies, commercial companies, and nonprofit or trade organizations, and a Board of Directors. CAST was established in 1972 as a result of a 1970 meeting sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences and National Research Council. The primary work of CAST is the publication of task force reports, commentary papers, special publications, and issue papers written by scientists from many disciplines. The CAST Board is responsible for the policies and procedures followed in developing, processing, and disseminating the documents produced. These publications and their distribution are fundamental activities that accomplish our mission to assemble, interpret, and communicate credible science-based information regionally, nationally, and internationally to legislators, regulators, policymakers, the media, the private sector, and the public. The wide distribution of CAST publications to non-scientists enhances the education and understanding of the general public. CAST addresses issues of animal sciences, food sciences, agricultural technology, plant and soil sciences, and plant protection sciences with inputs from economists, social scientists, toxicologists, plant pathologists, entomologists, weed scientists, nematologists, and legal experts.