El engorde del ganado español en el siglo XX: Los modificadores metabólicos, cara y cruz de una panacea

Abstract

Among the factors that have influenced livestock industrialization in the 20th century, the implications of substances that promote fattening and animal growth (growth promoters) have not been thoroughly addressed. Their role in the transformation of Spanish farming is the key question of this article. A wide range of these substances became available in the mid-twentieth century and use peaked in the 1970s and 1980s. We compared veterinary, livestock, and specialized sources to analyze market penetration and use of the main growth promoters as well as the consequences on global trade policies and agreements. Complex links between public health effects and impacts on trade policies led to their prohibition as protectionist agri-food measures were introduced in the European Union. This analysis reveals how growth promoters played an important role in promoting industrial livestock, but their misuse and the food surpluses they have generated add weight to the trend that calls for critique and revision of the intensive production model.