Alerts the medical and public health professions to the severe risks of morbidity and mortality posed by human consumption of plants, including cereals and herbal medicines, containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Citing well over 500 published studies, the book draws together the evidence documenting acute and often fatal organ damage arising from both accidental consumption va contaminated staple crops and the deliberate consumption, in developed and developing countries alike, of medicinal herbs containing these alkaloids. Risks to farm animals are also fully documented.