ABSTRACT
There has been a great deal of interest in the concept of sustainable food production for many different reasons. The predominant force driving this debate is the rise of the global human population first above 7 billion in 2011 and a projected increase to greater than 9 billion by 2050. With the global backdrop of growing concern over the rapid increase in human population, there has been a growing social demand for food production services that help to address relationship between humans, agricultural production systems and then natural environment. Throughout history, hormones and their metabolites that are naturally produced by animal and human populations have been reaching the environment. However, the quantity and concentration of hormones and their metabolites within a localized area that are excreted into the environment are increasing as populations grow. Children and the fetus in utero are considered at greater risk from exposure to hormones because their normal physiological hormone concentrations are much lower than adults.
