Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Agriculture as a Target: Overview of Terrorist Threat
Agroterrorism is a subset of the more general issues of terrorism and bioterrorism.
People more generally associate bioterrorism with outbreaks of human illness (such
as from anthrax or smallpox), rather than diseases first affecting animals or plants.
Agriculture has several characteristics that pose unique problems for managing the
threat:
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Agricultural production is geographically disbursed in unsecured environ-
ments (e.g., open fields and pastures throughout the countryside). Although
some livestock are housed in secure facilities, agriculture in general requires
large expanses of land that are difficult to secure from intruders.
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Livestock are frequently concentrated in confined locations (e.g., feedlots
with thousands of cattle in open-air pens, farms with tens of thousands of
pigs, or barns with hundreds of thousands of poultry). Concentration in
slaughter, processing, and distribution also makes large-scale contamination
more likely.
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Live animals, grain, and processed food products are routinely transported
and commingled in the production and processing system. These factors cir-
cumvent natural barriers that could slow pathogenic dissemination.
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The presence (or rumor) of certain pests or diseases in a country can quickly
stop all exports of a commodity, and can take months or years to resume.
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The past success of keeping many diseases out of the United States means that
many veterinarians and scientists lack direct experience with foreign diseases.
This may delay recognition of symptoms in the case of an outbreak.
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The number of lethal and contagious biological agents is greater for plants
and animals than for humans. Most of these diseases are environmentally
resilient, endemic in foreign countries, and not harmful to humans—making
it easier for terrorists to acquire, handle, and deploy the pathogens.
The general susceptibility of the agriculture and food industry to bioterrorism
is difficult to address in a systematic manner because of the highly dispersed, yet
concentrated nature of the industry, and the inherent biology of growing plants and
raising animals.
The results of an agroterrorist attack may include major economic crises in the
agricultural and food industries, loss of confidence in government, and possibly
human casualties. Humans could be at risk in terms of food safety or public health,
especially if the chosen disease is transmissible to humans (zoonotic). But an agro-
terrorist attack need not cause human casualties for it to be effective or to cause
large-scale economic consequences.
The production agriculture sector (Figure 16.2) would suffer economically in
terms of plant and animal health, and the supply of food and fiber may be reduced,
especially in certain regions. The demand for certain types of food may decline
