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As defined by the Rand Corporation (3), agroterrorism is “the deliberate introduction of a disease agent, either against livestock or into the food chain, for the purposes of undermining socioeconomic stability and/or generating fear. Depending on the disease agent and pathogenic vector chosen, agroterrorism is a tactic that can be used either to cause mass socioeconomic disruption or as a form of direct human aggression”. The Department of Homeland Security defines agricultural bioterrorism as an intentional attack on agriculture or the food system using a disease causing
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In May 2005, the House of Representatives held hearings to specifically evaluate the threat of agroterrorism. (5) Based upon the testimony provided, the committee concluded the threat is real and that the intelligence community must do a better job of relaying threat information down to the state and local level. Concerns were expressed during testimony regarding Al Qaeda training manuals recovered in Afghanistan which specifically identified the targeting of agriculture as a means to impact a nation’s economic …show more content…
Agriculture is a trillion dollar industry in the US; estimates range as high as 1 out of every 6 jobs in the United States having some direct or indirect link to agriculture. Because of our advanced and extremely productive agriculture system, Americans spend less that 11% of their disposable income on food, compared with a global average of 20-30 %. Should our food supply be constrained, this percentage could increase dramatically. Nearly 10% of all US exports are agriculture related products. A serious FAD outbreak would immediately shut down relevant export markets which total more than $50 Billion annually. Concerns regarding the safety of US agricultural products would impact the role of the US in the global
In May 2005, the House of Representatives held hearings to specifically evaluate the threat of agroterrorism. (5) Based upon the testimony provided, the committee concluded the threat is real and that the intelligence community must do a better job of relaying threat information down to the state and local level. Concerns were expressed during testimony regarding Al Qaeda training manuals recovered in Afghanistan which specifically identified the targeting of agriculture as a means to impact a nation’s economic …show more content…
Agriculture is a trillion dollar industry in the US; estimates range as high as 1 out of every 6 jobs in the United States having some direct or indirect link to agriculture. Because of our advanced and extremely productive agriculture system, Americans spend less that 11% of their disposable income on food, compared with a global average of 20-30 %. Should our food supply be constrained, this percentage could increase dramatically. Nearly 10% of all US exports are agriculture related products. A serious FAD outbreak would immediately shut down relevant export markets which total more than $50 Billion annually. Concerns regarding the safety of US agricultural products would impact the role of the US in the global