BENEFITS AND RISKS OF DRUG USAGE

Never before in human history has our planet been so densely populated nearly 6 billion people now live on Earth and, even though birth rates are decreasing in some developing countries, others are experiencing constant birth rates at a higher level (1-4). In the aggregate, the population of the developing countries 

A major difficulty arises simply from the rate with which food supplies would have to be expanded to keep pace with or exceed population growth rates in countries experiencing high growth rates. To stay even with population growtli, it will be necessary to expand food supplies, globally, by the rate of population increase. For many countries, the rate of population expansion is in the range of 

Increased animal productivity and improved feed efficiency cannot occur without the benefits derived from the use of drugs. Drug are administered in relatively large dosages to treat sick animals and in lower dosages to prevent disease in exposed animals. Without drugs, diseases that could lead to reduced 

Other hormones are used for increasing the milk production and efficiency of lactating dairy cows. In the United States an estimated 63% of all cattle and about 90% of feedlot animals are implanted witli growth hormones. Beef and sheep may be also implanted but not swine. When implants are used in young 

Drug usage has also reduced the amount of animal waste per animal and hence alleviated the problem of environmental pollution. For competitive reasons, the stimulus to improve efficiency in the production of animals is also beneficial to the consumer in the reduction of food costs. The total aggregate of these benefits to all of animal agriculture is very substantial it has been estimated at as much as 3.5 billion per year reduction in food costs to the US consuming public in 1981 (20). The future role of drugs in this endeavor will be more important than in the past in providing a wholesome and ample food supply. 

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