Impacts on Human Health and Safety of Naturally Occurring and Supplemental Hormones in Food Animals

Since the end of the Second World War, the United States has pursued a national policy of an abundant and inexpensive food supply. This policy has been hugely successful at meeting these goals. The average share of disposable personal income spent on total food by consumers in the U.S. from 1960 to 2018 fell from 16.8% to 9.7%, driven by a declining share of income spent on food at home (Figure 1). Concomitantly, increased animal productivity has improved efficiencies of animal production and reduced the carbon footprint for production of meat, milk, and eggs (Capper 2011; Capper and Cady 2020; Pelletier, Ibarburu, and Xin 2014; Putman et al. 2017; Thornton 2010).