For better or for worse, the nation’s food industry has become global. The United States imports finished food products, as well as the raw materials many manufacturers use to produce their goods. According to Dr. Lester Crawford, Acting Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner, the U.S. imports 33% of all fresh fruits and 55% of all seafood through importation from other countries1. Some of the nation’s food-related businesses rely solely upon imported raw materials (such as coffee, tea and cocoa). This reliance makes the nation’s food supply vulnerable to contamination prior to the importation of product or material into the U.S.
The potential for harm to the food supply is magnified by the nation’s food processing system. To facilitate the rapid movement of product from processing/harvesting to consumers, a network of centralized, large distribution centers for multiple retail outlets has evolved. Ironically, the very system of efficient distribution that ensures an American’s access to abundant and varied food makes the U.S. food processing distribution system (including the packaging process) particularly susceptible to terrorist activity. A single, successful act of terrorism to the food supply could have catastrophic economic, psychological and public health impact to the entire nation.
According to al Qaeda documents, the group intends to use the food supply as a terrorist tool. Terrorism can strike anywhere from the farm to the table. Following operations in Afghanistan, U.S. troops seized documents that outline attacks to U.S. livestock, crops and food processing operations. In addition, an al Qaeda plot to poison rations for British troops was discovered when Ricin was uncovered in the apartment of a militant who worked for the catering company in England. Based on information discovered in Afghanistan, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a September, 2004 warning, that terrorists might attempt to contaminate the nation’s food or water supply with nicotine and solanine.
The U.S. Congress recognizes the need for federal programs to assist local and state jurisdictions with preparations against the threat of WMD terrorism. Recent events within the U.S. and abroad have raised the alarm for acts of terror at virtually every location in the country. These past threats involved weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), and they had a profound effect upon the nation’s psyche and economy. As devastating as the WMD attacks were, however, an attack on the nation’s food supply would be even more disastrous. If the nation’s food supply is to remain safe, a network of adequately trained, equipped, and exercised community planners must be enlisted.
This Preparedness and Response to Agricultural Terrorism course, developed by Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College’s (LSU) National Center for Biomedical Research and Training (NCBRT), is a major initiative supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through the Office for State and Local Government Coordination and Preparedness (OSLGCP). It is designed to provide community planners as well as those in the food production chain, who would be among the first to note the effects of an attempted attack on the nation’s food supply, with information to respond to an act of agricultural terrorism.
