Enormous increases in agricultural productivity can properly be associated with the use of chemicals. This statement applies equally to crop production through the use offertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides, as to livestock production and the associated use of drugs, steroids, and other growth accelerators. There is, however, a dark side to this picture and it is important to balance the benefits which flow from the use of agricultural chemicals against their environmental impacts, which sometimes are seriously disadvantageous. Within this volume we explore a variety of issues which currently are subject to wide-ranging debate and are of concern not only to the scientific establishment and to students but also.
