Recent titles 

in the McNair

Paper series:

64

The Strategic Implications

of a Nuclear-Armed Iran

Kori N. Schake and

Judith S. Yaphe

63

All Possible Wars? 

Toward a Consensus View

of the Future Security

Environment, 2001–2025

Sam J. Tangredi

62

The Revenge of the

Melians: Asymmetric

Threats and the Next QDR

Kenneth F. McKenzie, Jr.

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Illuminating 

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Holger H. Mey

From the pages of

Agricultural

Bioterrorism: 

A Federal Strategy

to Meet the Threat

The United States ignores the

potential for agricultural bioterrorism at its peril. The relative

ease of a catastrophic bioweapons attack against the

American food and agriculture

infrastructure, and the devastating economic and social consequences of such an act, demand

that the Nation pursue an aggressive, focused, coordinated, and

stand-alone national strategy to

combat agricultural bioterrorism.

The strategy should build on

counterterrorism initiatives

already underway; leverage existing Federal, state, and local programs and capabilities; and

involve key customers, stakeholders, and partners. The U.S.

Department of Agriculture

should lead the development of

this strategy.
About the Author

Henry S. Parker is National Program Leader for Aquaculture at the

Agricultural Research Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and has

served in several other positions related to aquaculture and marine science. 

Dr. Parker is a former associate professor at the University of Massachusetts,

Dartmouth, and instructor at the University of Rhode Island, where he earned 

a master’s degree in marine affairs and a doctorate in biological oceanography.

He retired from the Naval Reserve with the rank of captain. Dr. Parker researched

and wrote this paper while attending the Industrial College of the Armed Forces,

where he was a distinguished graduate. He is the author of Exploring the Oceans

(Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1985).

■■■■

The National Defense University (NDU) is a joint professional military education institution

operating under the direction of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Its purpose is to

prepare military and civilian leaders for service at the highest levels of national defense

and security. The principal operating elements of NDU are the Industrial College of the

Armed Forces, National War College, Joint Forces Staff College, Information Resources

Management College, Institute for National Strategic Studies, and Center for Hemispheric

Defense Studies.

The Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS) conducts strategic studies for the

Secretary of Defense, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and unified commanders in

chief; supports national strategic components of NDU academic programs; and provides

outreach to other governmental agencies and the broader national security community. 

The Publication Directorate of INSS publishes books, monographs, reports, and

occasional papers on national security strategy, defense policy, and national military

strategy through National Defense University Press that reflect the output of university

research and academic programs. In addition, it produces Joint Force Quarterly, a

professional military journal published for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Agricultural

Bioterrorism: 

A Federal Strategy 

to Meet the Threat

Henry S. Parker

McNair Paper 65

INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL STRATEGIC STUDIES

NATIONAL DEFENSE UNIVERSITY

WASHINGTON, D.C.

2002
The opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within 

are those of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the 

Department of Defense or any other department or agency of the Federal

Government. This publication is cleared for public release; distribution unlimited.

Portions of this work may be quoted or reprinted without further permission,

with credit to the Institute for National Strategic Studies. A courtesy copy of any

reviews and tearsheets would be appreciated.

First printing, March 2002

For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office. To order, contact

Superintendent of Documents, Mail Stop: SSOP, Washington, D.C. 20402–9328

(ISSN 1071–7552)
Contents

Foreword ................................ v

Acknowledgments ........................ vii

Introduction ............................. ix

Chapter One

Bioterrorism, Biowarfare,

and National Security ...................... 1

Chapter Two

An Emerging Threat to Food Security ........ 11

Chapter Three

Countering the Threat ..................... 25

Chapter Four

Recommendations and Conclusion ......... 47

Appendix A

Framework for National Coordination 

for Security, Critical Infrastructure,

and Counterterrorism ..................... 55

Appendix B

High-Priority Research Needs .............. 57

iii
Appendix C

Federal Agencies with 

Counterterrorism Responsibilities ........... 59

Appendix D

Key Federal Programs and Capabilities 

to Combat Bioterrorism ................... 63

Appendix E

Selected Agricultural and 

Environmental Organizations .............. 65

Appendix F

Acronyms ................................ 69

Endnotes ................................ 71

References ............................... 79

iv CONTENTS
Foreword

The astonishing specter of September 11, 2001, jarred America and,

indeed, all free nations, into accepting the previously unthinkable—the world’s only remaining superpower is vulnerable to catastrophic attack and asymmetric warfare, even within its own borders. In

a few short hours Americans came to realize that, for a fanatical, resourceful, and patient enemy, there are neither ethical bounds nor societal

mores to delineate the nature of the target, the weapon of choice, or the

scale of the violence. To put it another way, for these enemies there are no

rules of engagement and there is no honor.

Since September 11, our national sense of vulnerability has

steadily risen. We have been in a near-constant state of high alert because

of credible threats to our Nation’s nuclear installations, power plants,

transportation nodes, and other critical national infrastructures. We

know that at least nine countries support offensive terrorism programs,

and that Al Qaeda—Osama bin Laden’s international terrorist organization—has been committed to developing and deploying weapons of mass

destruction against U.S. targets. And the possibility that the recent anthrax attacks were perpetrated by a domestic terrorist with access to a

Federal Government, academic, or private laboratory that possessed anthrax for legitimate scientific reasons has brought fear to the doorsteps of

virtually every home, business, and public institution in the country.

We are now also facing up to a less publicized, but potentially

devastating threat—terrorism directed against the Nation’s food and

agricultural infrastructure. As this paper elucidates, American farms,

food, and agriculture systems are exceedingly vulnerable to deliberate

disruption by hostile interests intent on undermining confidence in food

supplies or wreaking havoc on the agricultural sector of the American

economy, which accounts for one-sixth of our gross domestic product.

v
Because of its breadth, diversity, and unparalleled success, U.S.

agriculture is an inviting target for terrorists. Not only are food supplies

vital for feeding our own population and others around the world, and

important for the Nation’s economic health, but American agriculture is a

vivid example of the capabilities of modern scientific farming. Intelligence

reports indicate that a number of countries have active research programs

that could produce biological agents to threaten crops and livestock.

Naturally occurring outbreaks of diseases signal the devastation

that could result from a carefully choreographed intentional release. Thus

the recent Foot and mouth disease epidemics in Taiwan and Great

Britain, or hog cholera in the Netherlands, or the infection of Florida

citrus trees with citrus canker, aptly demonstrate the vulnerability of

living targets to biological pathogens and the economic chaos that can

result from an outbreak—intentional or otherwise.

Floyd P. Horn

Director for Food, Agriculture, and Water Security

Office of Homeland Security

Executive Office of the President

vi FOREWORD
Acknowledgments

Many individuals and organizations supported, encouraged, and

assisted in the research that led to this paper. I am grateful to the

U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Agricultural Research

Service (ARS) for the opportunity to attend the Industrial College of the

Armed Forces (ICAF), where this research was conducted. I particularly

appreciate the support and encouragement of Floyd Horn, ARS Administrator, and Caird Rexroad, ARS Associate Deputy Administrator for Animal Production, Product Value, and Safety. I am also grateful to Lew Smith

for assuming my duties on the ARS National Program Staff while I was on

assignment at ICAF.

I benefited from the expertise of a number of authorities in the

public and private sectors. In particular, Norm Steele of ARS freely shared

his extensive knowledge of agricultural biotechnology and bioterrorism issues, suggested valuable contacts, and reviewed drafts of the report manuscript thoroughly. I appreciate the perspective, suggestions, and time of

Michael Goldblatt of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and

Randall Murch of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency. I am also obliged

to Terry Wilson of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service at the

U.S. Department of Agriculture for his encouragement, time, information,

and draft manuscript on agricultural bioterrorism.

I am indebted to many individuals at ICAF for their support and

assistance. The ICAF program successfully combines strong scholarship,

professional and personal development, and fun—a combination often

aspired to but seldom achieved. I appreciate the leadership of the ICAF

Commandant, Major General Richard Engel, USAF, during my tenure in

the program. My research advisor, Joseph Goldberg, was always accessible

and helpful, providing sound advice for the original research proposal,

scrupulously reviewing and offering valuable suggestions on report

vii
drafts, facilitating interactions with experts, and generously sharing his

wealth of knowledge. I am also grateful to my principal faculty advisor,

Richard Shivar, for his support, encouragement, and insights into the

Federal emergency management structure. Seth Carus of the Center for

Counterproliferation Research at the National Defense University, a recognized authority on terrorism, and Gregory Foster of ICAF served on

my research committee. Their expertise and suggestions were invaluable.

Colonel James Toth, USMC (Ret.), was an unofficial mentor throughout

my ICAF program. I appreciate his encouragement and support.

I also wish to acknowledge the contributions of Stephen Flanagan,

Director of the Institute for National Strategic Studies at National Defense

University (NDU). Dr. Flanagan’s unflagging support from the outset of

this project was instrumental in bringing it to fruition. Thanks are also

due to the staff of NDU Press—General Editor William Bode, and editors

George Maerz, Lisa Yambrick, and Jeffrey Smotherman—who turned the

manuscript into a polished publication under the supervision of Robert

Silano, Director of Publications.

Finally, and most importantly, I am deeply grateful to my wife,

Susan, and our sons, James and John, for their support and patience. They

suffered through innumerable readings of draft sections and somehow

managed to convey both genuine interest and helpful suggestions.

viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Introduction

The attacks of September 11, 2001, have made Americans acutely

aware of their vulnerability to terrorism. Now the Nation is focused on improving defensive measures and rooting out and destroying the global infrastructure of terrorism. In response to the terrorist

offensive, the Bush administration has engineered an international coalition against terrorism; dedicated substantial new resources to prevent or

deter this blight; undertaken military action against blatant practitioners

of terrorism; and established a new Office of Homeland Security, under

the leadership of former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge, to coordinate

the Federal response to terrorism.

As America prepares defenses against catastrophes barely conceivable only a few months ago, the threat of bioterrorism in particular

looms larger than ever. Fears of anthrax, smallpox, and plague pervade

the American consciousness, fueled by reports that some of the plane hijackers involved in the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks had specific interest in crop duster aircraft that could be used to disseminate

aerosols of pathogens. Because of this, the Nation is stepping up its defenses against bioterrorism.

Nevertheless, little attention has been given to agricultural biowarfare and bioterrorism or to the roles and responsibilities of the public and

private sectors in deterring and responding to potential attacks. Few

Americans appreciate the gravity of the threat of bioterrorist attacks

against the American food and agriculture infrastructure. This point is exemplified in a General Accounting Office (GAO) report on combating

terrorism released 9 days after the attacks of September 11.1 The report did

not address threats to American agriculture, nor did it involve participation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It focused only on

terrorism directed against “civilian targets”; therefore, according to GAO, it

ix
“did not focus on terrorism directed against agricultural targets.” GAO

explained that agriculture was not included in the review because it has

not been designated a critical national infrastructure.

But agriculture is a critical American infrastructure. It constitutes

one-sixth of gross domestic product (GDP)—over a trillion dollars a year.

The food and agriculture sector is the Nation’s largest employer; one of

eight Americans works in an occupation directly supported by food production. Agriculture exports total over $50 billion annually, making the

farm sector the largest positive contributor to the national trade balance.

The farming system is the most productive and efficient in the world, enabling Americans to spend less than 11 percent of disposable income on

food, compared to a global average of 20 to 30 percent.

Officials are beginning to recognize that this vast network of food

and fiber production, processing, distribution, and sales is a potential—

even inevitable—target of hostile interests employing biological agents

for political, economic, or criminal objectives. Even the threat of attack

could jeopardize consumer confidence, disrupt commodity markets, and

wreak economic havoc.

American agriculture is often concentrated, highly accessible, vertically integrated, and of limited genetic diversity; historically it has been free

of major disease outbreaks, so vaccines are not routinely used. Consequently, pathogens could be introduced easily and spread rapidly.

Widespread use of antibiotics in livestock production makes U.S. animals

vulnerable to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Advances in genetic engineering

have raised the prospect of transgenic pathogens and pests that are resistant

to conventional control methods. In addition, it may be hard to distinguish

a biological attack from a natural disease outbreak. Signs of infections may

be manifested slowly, delaying effective response by authorities. Finally,

attacks against agriculture may be less risky to perpetrators than attacks

against humans because many anti-agriculture pathogens are comparatively safe to work with. Also, public reaction may be less intense because

humans are not being directly targeted (unless the goal is food contamination), and there is currently no national policy prescribing criminal penalties for biological attacks against targets other than humans.

The Federal Government is beginning to respond to the emerging

threat of agricultural biowarfare and bioterrorism. Federal intelligence

agencies, in cooperation with USDA, are defining the extent of the threat

and briefing key Government officials. Federal research agencies, led by

USDA, are mobilizing resources and developing research plans to detect

x INTRODUCTION
and identify, epidemiologically map, and control deliberately introduced

pathogens and pests. Agriculture and food safety are now included in a

National Security Council (NSC) framework for preparedness against

weapons of mass destruction. Yet, despite these initiatives, the Nation is

poorly prepared to prevent and respond to attacks on its food and agriculture infrastructure. The Federal Government must act quickly and decisively to protect food and agriculture systems. If we fail to act, the consequences could be far more damaging and long lasting than a direct and

more visible terrorist attack against people.

To combat this threat, it is critical that the Federal Government,

state and local governments, and the agribusiness sector clearly identify

mutual roles and responsibilities and develop a coordinated strategy to address the threat. USDA should lead the development of this strategy.

To assure readiness, USDA should provide Federal leadership with

a coordinated, stand-alone, interagency strategy and program to combat

agricultural biowarfare and bioterrorism. Stand-alone attention and USDA

leadership are both desirable and justified because the department has

overall Federal responsibility for food safety and security and a broad range

of programs and capabilities to deter and respond to threats against food

and agriculture. It also has connections with the grassroots interests and the

national agribusiness spectrum through an extensive network of field offices, agricultural extension specialists, research facilities, and land-grant

universities in virtually every American county. In fact, USDA may be

unique among Federal agencies in the closeness of its ties to constituencies.

If subsumed into larger Federal programs, agricultural concerns could be

buried in the enormously complex national security and counterterrorism

bureaucracy, where it would be overshadowed by human health issues,

cyberterrorism, and more conventional threats.

However, stand-alone attention should not be construed as acting

in a vacuum. A national program to protect food and agriculture must be

strongly linked to other national security and counterterrorism programs

through the NSC structure and should involve strategic partnerships with

other Federal, state, and local agencies and nongovernmental organizations—all of which have programs and capabilities that can contribute to

the agriculture program—and with the private sector. Key objectives of a

national strategy should be to:

■ establish clear, well-coordinated Federal interagency mechanisms

for gathering, assessing, and sharing sensitive intelligence information about hostile threats to U.S. food and agriculture

INTRODUCTION xi
■ increase significantly Federal research capabilities related to

animal or plant health, food safety, and agricultural biowarfare

and bioterrorism

■ expand Federal staff in key areas

■ create well-coordinated interagency mechanisms among USDA, the

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Defense for

collaborative forensics investigations

■ identify and include elements of other Federal terrorism and

bioterrorism strategies that are applicable to countering agricultural bioterrorism

■ expand and strategically site national supplies of critical vaccines

and pharmaceuticals to protect against and treat the agricultural

diseases most likely to be launched by terrorists

■ establish a nationwide electronic communications and data management network that links the private agribusiness community

with emergency management staff, field response personnel, and

key Federal, state, and local agencies

■ develop and implement a national emergency disease response plan

for food and agriculture

■ establish clear roles, responsibilities, expectations, and performance

measures, as well as coordination mechanisms, for Federal, state,

and local public and private organizations and interests

■ identify feasible options for providing financial assistance to

agribusiness interests impacted by biological attacks

■ develop and implement professional and public education programs

■ improve international cooperation to deter and respond to agricultural biowarfare and bioterrorism.

This paper reviews the nature and threat of agricultural bioterrorism, examines present national capabilities and plans to meet the

threat, and proposes a USDA-led Federal strategy, including partnerships

with key public and private organizations, that could strengthen American ability to prevent, respond to, and remediate biological attacks against

national food and agriculture infrastructures. This paper focuses particularly on agricultural bioterrorism; however, a scenario of agricultural

biowarfare, carried out by hostile nations, or a criminal action (biocrime),

is at least as plausible as an act of terrorism, and a strategy to deter and

respond to agricultural bioterrorism would apply equally to biowarfare

and biocrime.

xii INTRODUCTION
Chapter One

Bioterrorism, Biowarfare,

and National Security

The United States faces a host of threats to its national security from

diverse, nontraditional, unpredictable, and potentially covert

sources. Of special concern are hostile nations or special interest

groups that represent a spectrum of causes from religious fundamentalism

to extreme environmentalism and threaten a wide range of military and

civilian targets. These interests are likely to use weapons of mass destruction to achieve their goals, employing tools and technologies that are not

only powerful but also difficult to detect or deter. A resourceful enemy

bent on a destructive mission has potential access to an arsenal of horrific,

readily transportable, and easily hidden weapons, including conventional

explosives, nuclear weapons, and chemical and biological agents.

An Emerging Threat

Biowarfare and bioterrorism are emerging as particularly worrisome and insidious threats.2 The Clinton administration National Security Strategy (NSS) included several references to the containment of

the spread of biological weapons and enhancement of domestic preparedness for a biological weapons attack.3 President Clinton became

personally engaged in the issue, reportedly after reading The Cobra

Event, Richard Preston’s 1997 novel about a bioterrorism attack on New

York City.4 Yet, despite this high-level concern and attention, the Nation

remains poorly prepared to deal with a biological attack. Of particular

concern, there is not yet a cohesive national strategy to address a bioterrorism threat.5 Current policies are inadequate to address terrorism attacks because there are no provisions for attribution or retribution.6

Defining Bioterrorism and Biological Agents

Terminology relating to bioterrorism can be confusing. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines terrorism as a “deliberate act or

1
threat committed by an individual or group for political or social objectives.”7 This definition evidently does not preclude terrorism carried out

by sovereign nations. With greater specificity, the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) defines terrorist as a “a non-state actor not provided

with a state-developed weapon.”8 Complicating the issue, Rebecca Hersman and Seth Carus note the increasing difficulty of distinguishing

between not only a terrorist event and an act of war but also terrorist and

military use of chemical and biological weapons (CBW).9 For example,

they suggest that state adversaries may use terrorist surrogates to carry

out attacks on civilian or military targets. Furthermore, biological attacks

carried out by individuals or small groups for nonwarfare or nonpolitical

purposes (especially for economic objectives) may be more properly described as biocrimes. 10 This paper simplifies the terminology by considering terrorism as a hostile, covert act committed by any inimical interest

against an individual, interest, or group for political, economic, or social

gain that occurs outside the framework of a formally declared war.

Although terrorists may employ a wide variety of means to accomplish objectives, from acts of vandalism and violence to the use of

conventional or unconventional weapons, most observers are concerned

about the potential employment of weapons of mass destruction (WMD)

by terrorists. The General Accounting Office defines WMD as “chemical,

biological, and nuclear weapons or agents.”11 Others have added radiological to this listing and use the acronym CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) to describe devices of mass destruction.12

Carus defines bioterrorism as “the threat or use of biological

agents by individuals or groups motivated by political, religious, ecological, or other ideological objectives.”13 Paul Rogers, Simon Whitby, and

Malcolm Dando cite a Federal Government definition of biological warfare as “the intentional cultivation or production of pathogenic bacteria,

fungi, viruses... and their toxic products, as well as certain chemical

compounds, for the purpose of producing disease or death.”14 In this

paper, biological warfare (synonymous with biowarfare) denotes the hostile use of biological agents against an enemy in the context of a formally

declared war. Bioterrorism is considered an act of terrorism that employs

biological agents. Although this paper focuses on bioterrorism (considered synonymous with biological terrorism), much of the discussion also

applies to biological warfare or biocrimes—the consequences of which are

likely to be similar whether conducted by a nation-state during a formally

declared war or by a hostile actor outside of war.

2 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
Biological agents that could be employed as biological weapons

include living organisms (micro-organisms and macro-organisms),

chemical products of living organisms (including biological toxins), manufactured substances that mimic the action of biological substances,15 and

genetically modified organisms.16 Some 39 agents have been identified as

potential bioweapons.17 Among biological agents, anthrax and smallpox

have the greatest potential for mass human casualties and disruption.18

Both agents are highly lethal; stable enough to be applied as an aerosol;

capable of large-scale production; and have already been weaponized by

hostile nations (anthrax by Iraq and both anthrax and smallpox by Russia). There are limited vaccines for both agents, and there would likely be

a delay before their effects are recognized. Each would carry a powerful

psychological punch as well. Other agents of significant human concern

include plague, tularemia, botulinum toxins, and viral hemorrhagic

fevers, such as Ebola.19

Scientists have recently expressed concern that terrorists could

exploit the potential for the creation of life forms using new knowledge

about the gene sequences of living organisms. This technology could

result in the manufacture of genetically engineered pathogens, toxins, or

synthetic superbugs, which could be employed as biological weapons or

even programmed to target specific ethnic groups.20 Russian scientists recently reported that they have developed a genetically engineered anthrax

strain that is resistant to the vaccine currently being given to U.S. troops.21

Terrorists could also develop and deploy a cocktail involving

multiple biological agents or a combination of biological and chemical

agents, severely impeding efforts to identify the cause of illness and to

provide effective treatment. Saddam Hussein employed a chemical cocktail involving multiple agents in his attack on the predominantly Kurdish

Iraqi town of Halajba in March 1988.22 Soviet émigré Kenneth Alibek,

former first deputy chief of Biopreparat—the biological weapons program of the former Soviet Union—is concerned that Russian scientists

may have recently developed a recombinant virus containing genetic

components of both Ebola and smallpox virus.23

The most effective biological weapon agents would be highly infectious, communicable, and lethal; efficiently dispersible; easily produced in large quantities; stable in storage; resistant to environmental

degradation; and lacking vaccines or effective treatments.24 Biological

agents may be targeted directly against humans through injection or topical application; deployed against agricultural crops, livestock, poultry,

BIOTERRORISM, BIOWARFARE, AND NATIONAL SECURITY 3
and fish; applied as a contaminant of food or drinking water; disseminated as an aerosol; or introduced through a natural vector such as an

insect.25 Motives of terrorists may include commission of selective or

mass murder; incapacitation of enemies; achievement of political goals;

undermining of social stability or creation of mass panic; or pursuit of

economic objectives through destabilization, blackmail, extortion, or

market disruptions.26 Potential perpetrators cover the spectrum from

hostile nation-states and large, well-funded, and possibly state-supported organizations to small, political or religious extremist groups

such as the Aum Shinrikyo, the Japanese sect responsible for the sarin gas

attack in a Tokyo subway system in 1995.27 Even disaffected individuals

could be bioterrorists.

Biological warfare (BW) agents are easily distinguished from

chemical warfare (CW) agents. Unlike BW agents, CW agents do not involve the use of living organisms for their application or manufacture. In

addition, CW agents are targeted against specific areas to achieve tactical

effects. In contrast, BW agents can have enduring effects over very large

areas to achieve strategic objectives.

Biological Agents as Weapons: Pros and Cons

Biological agents have much to make them appropriate as weapons

of warfare or terrorism—whether employed against humans or used to attack agricultural targets (see table 1). First, they are relatively easy and inexpensive to obtain from culture collections or to produce.28 Saddam Hussein

purchased his base anthrax culture from an American mail order biological

supply company, which obliged the dictator by shipping it via overnight express.29 Kathleen Bailey, formerly with the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, reportedly believes that a substantial biological weapons arsenal could be constructed in a 15-by-15-foot room at a cost of $10,000—the

price of a beer fermenter, a protein-based culture, a gas mask, and a plastic

lab coat.30 Compounding the problem of ease of manufacturing biological

agents is that the technology to produce them is dual-use, which means

that they could also be put to such benign and legitimate purposes as fermentation or vaccine manufacturing. These purposes could easily provide

cover to the would-be terrorist.31 This presents significant challenges to

implementing an effective verification program for any international

protocol or convention banning biological weapons.32

Silent, invisible, microscopic, and odorless, biological agents can

be introduced without fanfare and strike without warning. Because

4 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
micro-organisms readily reproduce in hosts at rapid rates, a tiny amount

of pathogen, properly introduced, can quickly cause a devastating infection. An infection in the host can then be transmitted rapidly to nearby

members of the population. An infection may go undetected or undiagnosed for days; thus, a major disease outbreak could be well under way

before medical, veterinary, or agricultural authorities are alerted.

BIOTERRORISM, BIOWARFARE, AND NATIONAL SECURITY 5

Table 1. Selected antipersonnel biological agents

Agent Type Effect on humans Notes

Pathogens

Anthrax Bacteria 95–100 percent Entry inhalatory or cutaneous; 

(Bacillus anthracis) mortality in only cutaneous form is

untreated persons contagious; spores

stable and persistent

Ebola Virus 50–90 percent Highly contagious and 

(Filoviriodae) mortality infectious via aerosols

Plague (Yersinia Bacteria 100 percent Disease carried by fleas; also

pestis) mortality in known as Bubonic plague

untreated persons and Black Death.

Can be delivered in 

aerosol form

Q-fever (Coxiella Rickettsia Mortality less than Rarely contagious

burnetii) 1 percent

Smallpox (Ortho Virus High mortality Highly contagious. Disease 

pox-virus variolua) eradicated in 1980 but 

stocks remain in the 

United States, Russia, and

maybe elsewhere

Tularemia (Fran- Bacteria 30–40 percent Infectious at low doses in 

cisella tularensis) mortality untreated persons

Toxins

Botulinum toxin Bacterial 60–90 percent Noncontagious in untreated

or botulism toxin mortality persons 

(Clostridium botulinum)

Ricin Toxin from — Historical assassination 

castor bean agent

Sources: Lois R. Ember, “Bioterrorism: Countering the Threat,” Chemical and Engineering News 77, no. 27 

(July 5, 1999); and Mark G. Kortepeter and Gerald W. Parker, “Potential Biological Weapons Threat,” Emerging 

Infectious Diseases 5, no. 4 (July/August 1999), available at <http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no4/kortepeter.htm>.
Another advantage of biowarfare, or bioterrorism, is the wide

range of effects that biological agents can confer on victims, ranging from

near-certain mortality to temporary disability. The toxins of some living

organisms—including microscopic bacteria, viruses, and venomous

snakes and marine animals—are among the most poisonous agents

known. In fact, some biological agents are more lethal than thermonuclear

weapons; by one calculation, 100 kilograms of anthrax, effectively dispersed, could kill twice as many people as a one-megaton nuclear warhead.33 Other biological agents may cause short-term incapacitation. Consequently, biological agents can be selected and employed according to the

specific military, political, or economic objective. Mortality is not necessarily required to accomplish the objective. Furthermore, authorities may

be persuaded that a disease outbreak is natural, providing cover or plausible deniability to biological terrorists.34 This is exemplified by the outbreak

of West Nile virus in the greater New York area in the summer of 1999.

Authorities have been unable to determine if the exotic disease, never before identified in America, was a naturally transmitted infection or an act

of bioterrorism.35 The investigation has been complicated by a report,

prior to the outbreak, that Iraq was developing and planning to deploy a

strain of the virus as a bioweapon.

Use of biological agents as weapons offers significant psychological advantages to terrorists, triggering primal fear reactions among

humans familiar with the horrors of Dark Age plagues and popularized

accounts of hypothetical or real modern-day disease outbreaks, such as

Mad Cow disease and Ebola virus.36 Even the threat of bioterrorism could

cause panic in populations, providing substantial leverage to terrorists.

Bioterrorism may also exploit fundamental national vulnerabilities—including porous borders, an open society, and dense population centers—

and severely challenge the public health infrastructure, which presently

does not have the experience, surveillance capability, or treatment capacity to monitor or respond to massive, widespread, and simultaneous 

disease outbreaks.37 Finally, it is important to recognize that during the

Cold War, the approach of the U.S. national security community was to

describe a threat first (by collecting incriminating intelligence) and 

then to formulate an appropriate response. In the post-Cold War era of

asymmetric threats, a clear understanding of national vulnerabilities is a

prerequisite to identifying and elucidating a threat.38

While biological agents have many benefits as instruments of

warfare or terror, they are not ideal weapons, particularly in a battlefield

6 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
situation. To be effective, most agents must be widely disseminated, infecting numerous targets simultaneously. The most effective dispersal

method would be an aerosol cloud; however, microscopic pathogenic

agents lose virulence or die rapidly on release because of exposure to ultraviolet radiation and desiccation. There are also substantial practical

difficulties in controlling the dispersal path of the agents in unpredictable

conditions of atmospheric or other transport.39 Further, biological

weapons, in contrast to high explosives, lack the overwhelming and immediate show of physical force that demoralizes enemies.40

Additional disadvantages of biological weapons include the need

to protect handlers from accidental contamination; the difficulty of maintaining quality control and containment during manufacture and harvesting of agents; the poor survival in storage of agents; and the difficulty of

maintaining biological weapons in a delivery state.41 Finally, using water or

food as a vector for biological contaminants or pathogens is complicated

by the fact that agents would be diluted in water; potable water is routinely

purified in municipal treatment facilities, and cooking food would destroy

most (but probably not all) biological toxins or pathogens.42

Current and Future Threats

National and international authorities are beginning to sound the

alarm that American agriculture is an increasingly likely target of biological warfare.43 The concerns largely derive from expanding knowledge

about bioweapons programs in other nations, including those inimical to

the United States. As summarized in table 2, it is well documented that at

least 17 nations have current known or suspected bioweapons programs

and that another 12 nations conducted biowarfare programs in the past.

It has also been well established that both Iraq and the former Soviet

Union have had substantial anti-agriculture programs targeting the

United States.

In contrast, there is considerable debate about the extent to

which America in general, and the food and agriculture infrastructure in

particular, are threatened by biological attacks carried out by terrorist

organizations (as opposed to attacks by nation-states or criminal acts

conducted by individuals). There are only two documented examples of

biological attacks attempted by terrorist organizations (table 2). The first

example is widespread food poisoning carried out by the Baghwan Shree

Rajneesh cult in Oregon in 1984. The other example is a number of unsuccessful attempts by the Japanese-based Aum Shinrikyo organization,

BIOTERRORISM, BIOWARFARE, AND NATIONAL SECURITY 7
in the early 1990s, to spread anthrax and botulinum toxin. The General

Accounting Office considers bioterrorism to be an emerging threat but

has concluded that terrorists are less likely to use biological weapons than

conventional explosives.44 It does consider the possibility that terrorist use

of bioweapons may increase over the next decade and does acknowledge

that there are substantial differences of opinion among experts regarding

8 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM

Table 2. Nations and organizations with known or suspected current

or historical capability or interest in biowarfare or bioterrorism

Nations with current known or 

suspected bioweapons programs Status of program

Bulgaria Suspected

China Suspected

Cuba Suspected

Egypt Suspected

India Suspected

Iran Known

Iraq Known, including anti-agriculture

Israel Suspected

Libya Known

North Korea Known (30 years)

Pakistan Suspected

Romania Suspected

Russia Suspected

South Africa Suspected

Sudan Suspected (links to Osama bin Laden)

Syria Known

Taiwan Suspected

Political/religious extremist groups

implicated in bioterrorism Incidents

Aum Shinrikyo Ten unsuccessful attempts to spread anthrax and 

(cult group) botulinum toxin in Japan (1990–1995)

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh Widespread food poisoning with Salmonella in 1984 

(cult group) (Oregon); 751 victims (no deaths); political goals

German Red Army Faction Discovery of biological weapons and documents in 

France by police (1980)
BIOTERRORISM, BIOWARFARE, AND NATIONAL SECURITY 9

Table 2. Nations and organizations with known or suspected current

or historical capability or interest in biowarfare or bioterrorism

(continued)

Other extremist organizations that could employ bioterrorism include religious fundamentalist groups,

animal rights extremists, ecoterrorists, politically motivated terrorists, criminal organizations, and

drug cartels. It was recently reported that elements in Egypt loyal to Osama bin Laden obtained

biological agents through the mail. Potential sources include former Warsaw Pact countries and 

some East Asian nations.

Nations with past

biowarfare programs History

Belgium Biowarfare research program after World War I

Canada Biowarfare research program after World War I. Program combined

with the United States and Great Britain

France Biowarfare research program after World War I

Germany Ambitious biowarfare program including anti-livestock in World War I.

Biowarfare research program in World War II

Great Britain Biowarfare research program initiated after World War I. Program

combined with Canada and U.S. agricultural biowarfare research

program in World War II, with German beef industry potential target

Italy Biowarfare research program after World War I

Japan Biological warfare program from 1918 to 1945; included experiments

on Chinese prisoners in Manchuria (1932–1945)

Netherlands Biowarfare research program after World War I

Poland Biowarfare research program after World War I

South Africa Suspected extensive biowarfare program during apartheid years,

directed against Rhodesian guerrillas; allegedly included agricultural

biowarfare (for example, distribution of anthrax spores among cattle)

United States Biowarfare research program initiated after World War I. Program

combined with Canada and Great Britain. Offensive biowarfare

program initiated in 1942. Program included research and

development and large-scale production of weapons, including

agricultural biowarfare agents. Program terminated by Presidential

Executive Order in 1970

USSR/Russia Biowarfare research program after World War I. Extensive program

(Biopreparat) until early 1990s; included assassinations, accidental

contamination of civilian populations, and development of agricultural biowarfare agents. Concerns persist that program was never

terminated
the extent of the bioterrorism threat. GAO recommends the undertaking

of sound threat and risk assessments to ensure that counterterrorism investments are wisely spent and that effective, well-coordinated preparedness programs are formulated and implemented.

Regardless of whether a biological attack, targeting food or agriculture, is carried out by hostile states, terrorists, or criminals, the consequences of such an attack could be devastating. Risks, however small, are

ignored at peril. It may also be assumed that any entity that has the

demonstrated interest or capability to conduct biological warfare could

inflict biological agents on food and agriculture interests as well as on

human populations.

10 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
Chapter Two

An Emerging Threat 

to Food Security

Agriculture is a critical national infrastructure. Agriculture’s overall

contribution to the Nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) is

over a trillion dollars a year—one-sixth of the national total

GDP.45 The food and agriculture sector is the Nation’s largest employer.

Although farming directly employs less than 3 percent of the U.S. population, one out of eight Americans works in an occupation directly supported by food production.46

With a solid research foundation and extensive infrastructure, the

American farming system is the most productive and efficient in the world.

As a consequence, Americans spend less than 11 percent of their disposable

income on food, compared with a global average of 20 to 30 percent.47 In

1998, the United States produced 48.1 percent of the world’s soybeans, 41.5

percent of its corn, 20.5 percent of its cotton, 11.8 percent of its wheat, and

over 16 percent of its meat.48 Also, agriculture may have a critical regional

impact; for example, in some Northern Plains states, farming accounts for

over 10 percent of total employment and gross state product.49

Agricultural exports total over $50 billion annually, making the

farm sector the largest positive contributor to the U.S trade balance.50 Exports of American agricultural products account for 15 percent of all

global agriculture exports.51 The economic multiplier of a farm commodity is a measure of total economic activity associated with a commodity

and is a reflection of the farm gate value for that commodity, plus the

value accruing from transportation, marketing, and processing of the

commodity.52 The Department of Commerce has concluded that the economic multiplier of exported farm commodities is 20 to 1; this compares

with a multiplier of less than 2 to 1 for domestic crop sales (and the manufacture of major weapon systems) and less than 3 to 1 for domestic livestock sales.53

11
Potential Targets

There are five potential targets of agricultural bioterrorism: field

crops; farm animals; food items in the processing or distribution chain;

market-ready foods at the wholesale or retail level; and agricultural facilities, including processing plants, storage facilities, wholesale and retail

food outlets, elements of the transportation infrastructure, and research

laboratories. To date, concern about agricultural bioterrorism has focused

primarily on field crops and farm animals on the production side. It is

important to remember that bioterrorism attacks could also be directed

against foods destined for near-term human consumption, or against facilities, including research laboratories engaged in investigations that may

be offensive to extremist organizations.

Vulnerability of U.S. Agriculture

Despite the importance of agriculture to the U.S. economy and

the well-being of American citizens, scant attention has been given to

agricultural vulnerability to terrorist attack. Simply put, America is exceedingly vulnerable to agricultural bioterrorism. The reasons for this situation are numerous. To begin, there is limited appreciation for the economic and social importance of agriculture in the industrialized West.

Abundant, affordable, and safe food supplies are largely taken for granted,

and agricultural products are not viewed as vulnerable to significant disruption.54 It is hard for American citizens to imagine a world where the

availability of food radically changes for the worse.

Moreover, because of its large size and complexity, the U.S.

agribusiness infrastructure is a tempting target,55 and access to American

farms and agribusiness facilities is comparatively easy.56 Much of the agricultural industry is highly concentrated in monoculture (single species)

croplands, livestock feedlots, poultry houses, and major food processing

and distribution centers, making it relatively easy for infection or contamination to spread rapidly.57 The extent of production concentration in

agriculture is indicated by the fact that a large proportion of sales of individual commodities originates in a relatively small percentage of farms.

For example, less than 10 percent of cow and calf production facilities,

approximately 20 percent of American grain and vegetable and citrus

farms, 25 percent of dairy cattle and pig farms, 33 percent of poultry

farms, and about 45 percent of cotton farms account for 75 percent of

U.S. sales of those commodities.58

12 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
The industry’s widespread vertical integration (where a single

company controls much of the commodity production, processing, and

distribution system) also facilitates the geographical spread of

pathogens.59 This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the American

retail food industry presently does not have established procedures for

preventing food contamination by terrorists; therefore, it is highly vulnerable to such incidents because of the large number of undocumented

workers in the industry, particularly in fast food restaurants.60 Monitoring

for deliberate terrorist contamination of foods in retail establishments is

significantly complicated by the large number of potential food-borne

pathogens that could be employed; by the current absence of continuous,

in-line monitoring of food products; and by the difficulty of holding food

items long enough at any point in the distribution process to enable precise and accurate detection of pathogens.61 In addition, it would be difficult to distinguish between natural contamination by food-borne

pathogens and a terrorist incident.

Current animal husbandry methods in the United States (including crowding, hormone injections, branding, dehorning, castration, and

disinfectant sterilization) have increased stress levels in livestock and

poultry, lowering their resistance to infection.62 Also, limited genetic diversity in most U.S. agriculture species may make those species particularly vulnerable to specific pathogens.63 Because American livestock and

poultry are the most protected and healthiest in the world, vaccines are

not routinely used. Moreover, because many foreign diseases are not endemic to the United States, animal agriculture is highly vulnerable to a

non-endemic pathogen.64 Widespread use of antibiotics to treat common

diseases makes American animals vulnerable to antibiotic-resistant

pathogen strains.65

Rapid advances in genetic engineering of commercial plants to

confer enhanced performance or desirable traits have raised the prospect

of the creation of transgenic plant pathogens, pests, or weeds that are resistant to conventional control methods.66 This prospect has already been

realized through the development of a genetically mutant superweed,

which is reportedly resistant to current herbicides. The superweed was reportedly designed to “attack corporate monoculture” and target genetically engineered crops.67 Pathogens developed for plant bioterrorism do

not have to be highly specific for the targeted crop, thus making them

easier to produce than human pathogens.68 It could be hard to distinguish

a bioterrorist attack from a natural outbreak of animal or plant disease,

AN EMERGING THREAT TO FOOD SECURITY 13
thus providing cover for a terrorist.69 In contrast to humans and animals,

signs of infection in plants may take some time to develop, delaying effective response by authorities.70

Compared with attacks against humans, attacks against agriculture are less risky to perpetrators. Anti-agriculture pathogens are generally safer to work with than human pathogens.71 It also is easier to develop and deploy biological agents against agriculture than against

humans: less technical knowledge is required.72 In addition, public reaction may be less intense because, unless the goal is contamination of

processed, ready-to-eat food, humans are not being directly targeted.73

However, some livestock and poultry diseases are zoonotic, presenting the

possibility that they could jump to humans, resulting in widespread

human disease.

Although the economic consequences of a biological attack on

U.S. agriculture are likely to be severe, penalties for agricultural biowarfare and bioterrorism prescribed by existing U.S. Code are trivial, and the

record of prosecution has been sparse.74 Financial losses would accrue

from a number of interrelated consequences, including:75

■ direct losses of agriculture commodities to diseases

■ costs of diagnosis and surveillance

■ required destruction of contaminated crops and animals to contain

disease

■ costs of disposal of mortalities and carcasses

■ damage to consumer and public confidence

■ need for long-term quarantine of infected areas

■ losses due to export and trade restrictions

■ disruption of commodity markets.

In fact, because the economic impact of terrorism directed against U.S.

agriculture is likely to be substantial, the term econoterrorism has been

proposed as an alternative to agricultural bioterrorism.76

When one considers the economic and social consequences of the

natural outbreak of Mad Cow disease in England in the 1990s, the potential impacts of a well-coordinated, targeted bioterrorist act come into perspective. Mad Cow disease has already cost England between $9 billion

and $14 billion in compensation costs to farmers and laid-off employees,

and at least another $2.4 billion in loss of export markets.77 These costs

continue to escalate as confidence in British beef has been severely undermined; it will be exceedingly difficult to restore public confidence.

Consider another example. A devastating outbreak of Foot and

mouth disease (FMD), a highly contagious viral disease of cloven-hoofed

14 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
animals, was first reported in Taiwan in March 1997. FMD, comprising

over 70 different strains, is the most infectious virus known, capable of

spreading as a wind-driven aerosol over 170 miles from its source.78

Within 6 weeks, FMD had spread throughout Taiwan, necessitating the

slaughter of more than 8 million pigs and shutting down the nation’s

valuable pork exports.79 The origin of the disease was reportedly traced to

a single pig from Hong Kong, and China was suspected of deliberately introducing the disease into Taiwan.80 The disease is still affecting Taiwan,

and the ultimate costs to that nation are estimated to be at least $19 billion—$4 billion to diagnose and eradicate the disease and another $15

billion in indirect losses from trade embargoes.81 Was this an act of

biowarfare or bioterrorism? The answer may never be known, but it is a

plausible hypothesis that it indeed was. The recent (spring 2001) outbreak

of FMD in England could ultimately have even more devastating consequences than the Taiwan epidemic.

Could an FMD outbreak in America have similar consequences?

Given the fact that the Nation’s 100 million cattle, 70 million pigs, 10

million sheep, and over 40 million wild, cloven-hoofed animals are susceptible to the 70-odd strains of FMD in the world, America is at great

risk for a devastating outbreak that could persist for years.82 It has been

estimated that even a limited outbreak affecting no more than 10 farms

could have a $2 billion economic impact. Because one infected pig could

release enough virus every day to infect, in theory, 100 million cows, it

would be exceedingly difficult to contain the disease to such a small

number of farms.83

FMD is by no means the only disease of livestock that would have

devastating consequences if an outbreak occurred. A study published in

1994 projected the economic impact on the U.S. swine industry of an

outbreak of African swine fever.84 The authors concluded that the cost,

over a 10-year period, would approximate $5.4 billion, a figure that could

be three to five times higher today.

While the economic impact of bioterrorism against farm animals

would be substantial, experts have concluded that an attack against

American crops would have even greater consequences.85 Crops comprise

a larger percentage (54 percent) of the $202.3 billion farm gate value of

American commodities than farm animals and their products and contribute more to exports.86 More important, crops comprise the major

components of prepared feeds for livestock, poultry, and farm-raised fish.

Finally, deliberate contamination of processed foods by terrorists could

AN EMERGING THREAT TO FOOD SECURITY 15
have devastating consequences, not only in terms of human health, but

also because of economic impact and loss of consumer confidence in the

safety of the Nation’s food supplies.

Agricultural Bioterrorism Agents

Just as there are a number of micro- and macro-organisms that

could be employed in biological warfare against humans, a host of diverse

bioweapons could be used against agriculture. These include microscopic

pathogens, insects, weeds, and other organisms or biological substances. 87

Table 3 provides a summary of categories of biological agents that could

be employed against agriculture.

There have been recent efforts to assess the anti-agriculture

bioweapons potential and threat from the host of biological agents that

could be used. Table 4 presents a comprehensive, unclassified listing developed for the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Table 5 lists additional animal pathogens, not included in the DIA assessment, which other observers

have identified. Both lists signify agents that cause animal diseases recognized as List A diseases by the Organization Internationale des Epizooties

(OIE). List A diseases are considered not only to be highly infectious and

capable of being widely and rapidly spread across international borders but

also to have the potential to inflict catastrophic economic losses and social

disruption.88 List A diseases are rigorously monitored worldwide by OIE,

whose member countries are required to report outbreaks of List A diseases

within 24 hours of laboratory confirmation. Reports of List A outbreaks

trigger immediate, severe trade restrictions on affected products. It is noteworthy that a number of existing or potential bioweapons pathogens are

not included among the disease agents in List A (tables 4 and 5).

Historical Perspective

Biological warfare is not a recent phenomenon; in fact, there are

many examples throughout history of lethal or debilitating biological

agents being used against enemies.89 Two millennia ago, the Romans

dumped bodies into wells to foul enemy drinking water supplies. In the

14th-century siege of Kaffa, Tartars catapulted plague-infested bodies into

the walled city to spread disease, perhaps triggering a subsequent outbreak of Bubonic plague that swept medieval Europe, causing 25 million

deaths. Historians believe that an epidemic of smallpox that decimated

Indian populations during the French and Indian War was attributable to

16 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
AN EMERGING THREAT TO FOOD SECURITY 17

Table 3. Potential agricultural biowarfare or bioterrorism agents

Category/Agent Potential target Examples

Micro-organisms

Bacteria, rickettsia Commercial animals, plants, Bacillus anthracis (anthrax);

fish, food-borne pathogens Xanthomonas spp., botulinum

toxin; Salmonella spp.

Viruses Commercial animals, Foot and mouth disease; Avian 

plants, fish, food- influenza virus; African swine fever

borne viruses virus; Newcastle disease virus; 

banana bunch top virus

Fungi Commercial plants, fish South American wheat blight; corn

seed blight; wheat smut; soybean 

rust; rice blast

Protozoans Commercial animals, fish, MSX disease of oysters; Whirling 

food-borne protozoans disease of fish; protozoan parasites

Microalgae Commercial fish, shellfish “Red Tide”; Pfiesteria piscicida

Macro-organisms

Insects, worms Commercial plants, animals Boll weevil; screw worm; whitefly;

wheat aphid; grape louse; Asian

longhorn beetles; nematodes

Weeds Commercial plants —

Aquatic vertebrates Commercial fish and shellfish Lamprey eel; zebra mussel; sea lice

and invertebrates 

Biologically derived Commercial animals, plants, fish —

active substances

Artificially designed Commercial animals, plants, fish Biological toxins 

biological-mimicking 

substances

Genetically modified Commercial animals, plants, fish Superweeds and 

organisms superbugs

Sources: “Bioterrorism May Be Threat to Crops,” USA Today 128, no. 2655 (1999), 7; “Genetics Activists Create Superweed Kit,” Cultural Terrorist Agency, January 24, 1999; Ronald E. Hurlbert, “Microbiology 101 Internet Text:

Chapter XV, Addendum: Biological Weapons; Malignant Biology,” 1999, accessed at <http://www.wsu.edu/~hurl

bert/pages/101biologicalweapons.html>; Ronald P. Kadlec, “Twenty-First Century Germ Warfare,” Battlefield of 

the Future, eds. Barry R. Schneider and Lawrence E. Grinter, Maxwell AFB, AL: Air University Press, 1995; Ronald P.

Kadlec, “Biological Weapons for Waging Economic Warfare,” eds. Schneider and Grinter; Norm W. Schaad et al.,

“Crop Biosecurity,” APSnet, Abstracts of the 1999 American Phytopathological Society Annual Meeting Symposium:

Plant Pathology’s Role in Anti-Crop Bioterrorism and Food Security (September 15–October 31, 1999), available at

<http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/BioSecurity/Top.html>.
18 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM

Table 4. Animal and plant pathogens with potential bioweapons

application

Pathogens weaponized or 

pursued for weaponization potential Additional pathogens with weaponization potential

Animal Pathogens

African swine fever* African horse sickness*

Anthrax Avian influenza*

Foot and mouth disease* Bluetongue*

Hog cholera/classical swine fever* Bovine spongiform encephalopathy*

Ornithosis/Psittacocis Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia*

Rinderpest* Lumpy skin disease*

Trypanosomiasis Newcastle disease*

Poxvirus Paratuberculosis/Johne’s disease

Peste des petits ruminants

Pseudorabies virus

Rift valley fever*

Sheep and goat pox*

Swine vesicular disease*

Vesicular stomatitis*

Plant Pathogens

Rice blast (Magnaporthe grisea) Wheat Pathogens

Wheat stem rust (Puccinia graminis) Wheat dwarf geminivirus

Wheat smut (Fusarium graminearum) Barley yellow dwarf virus

Pseudomonas fascovaginaei

Clavibacter tritic

Corn Pathogens

Barley yellow dwarf virus

Pseudomonas fascovaginaei

Scleropthora rayssiae 

(Brown stripe mildew)

Peronoschlerospora sacchari 

(Sugarcane downy mildew)

P. philippinensis 

(Philippine downy mildew)

P. maydis (Java downy mildew)

Soybeans

Phakospora sachyrhizi (soybean rust)

Soybean dwarf virus

Pyrenochaeta glycines (Red leaf blotch)

Cotton

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Vasinfectum

(Australian)

Xanthomonas campestris pv. 

Maloacearium (Africa); Geminivirus

Source: Norm Steele, “Econoterrorism: U.S. Agricultural Productivity, Concentration, and Vulnerability to

Biological Weapons,” Unclassified Defense Intelligence Assessment for DOD Futures Intelligence Program,

January 14, 2000. 

* Office Internationale des Epizooties List A Disease.
AN EMERGING THREAT TO FOOD SECURITY 19

the deliberate issue of smallpox-exposed blankets by the English to Indians presumed loyal to the French.

Given its relative ease and low risk, surprisingly few national or

international incidents of agricultural bioterrorism have occurred. Carus

has undertaken a comprehensive inventory and assessment of bioterrorism and biocrimes in the 20th century.90 He has documented 222 cases,

categorizing the cases and number of reported cases:

■ confirmed use of biological agents............................. 24

■ probable or possible use ....................................... 28

■ threatened use (probable or confirmed possession)............ 11

■ threatened use (no confirmed possession)..................... 121

■ confirmed possession (no known attempts or 

threats to use)................................................. 5

■ probable or possible possession ............................... 6

■ possible interest in acquisition (no known possession) ........ 13

■ false cases and hoaxes ......................................... 14

It is surprising that there have been only 222 bioterrorism-related incidents in a 100-year period and that in only 24 cases have there been confirmed attacks—an average of 1 every 4 years worldwide. Furthermore,

only one attack resulted in mass human casualties—the Salmonella contamination of food by the Rajneeshee cult in Oregon in 1984.91

Fourteen of the 24 confirmed cases of bioterrorism or biocrimes

are food or agriculture-related; of these cases, 11 involved food poisoning

and only 3 targeted commercial animals or plants (table 6). Of the 222

Table 5. Additional animal pathogens with bioweapons potential

Pathogens

Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus

Teschen disease virus (Porcine enterovirus 1)

Porcine Enterovirus Type 9

Lyssa viruses and rabies viruses

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus

Heartwater (Cowdria ruminantium)

Screw worm myiasis

Source: Terrance M. Wilson et al., “A Review of Agroterrorism, Biological Crimes, and Biological Warfare

Targeting Animal Agriculture,” draft manuscript, 2000.
20 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM Table 6. Selected agricultural or food bioterrorism incidents in the 20th century Year Nature of incident Alleged perpetrators Confirmed Use 1997 Spreading rabbit hemorrhagic virus among wild rabbit population in New Zealand New Zealand farmers 1996 Food poisoning in Texas hospital using Shigella Hospital lab worker 1995 Food poisoning of estranged husband using ricin Kansas physician 1984 Food poisoning of residents of The Dalles, Oregon, using Salmonella Rajneesh religious cult in restaurant food 1970 Food poisoning of Canadian college students Estranged roommate 1970 Food poisoning with typhoid and dysentery agents Japanese physician 1952 Use of plant toxin to kill livestock Mau Mau (Kenya, Africa)

1939 Food poisoning via Salmonella-contaminated pastry Japanese physician

1936 Food poisoning via Salmonella (typhoid) Japanese physician

1932 Attempted food poisoning of Lytton Commission members investigating Japanese military

Manchuria takeover via fruit contaminated with cholera

1916 Food poisoning involving numerous pathogens New York dentist1915 Infection of U.S. and allied draft animals and livestock with glanders German intelligence

and anthrax

1913 Food poisoning of family members with cholera and Former employee of

typhus organisms (Germany) chemist’s shop

1912 Food poisoning using poisonous mushrooms Frenchman trained as a druggist
AN EMERGING THREAT TO FOOD SECURITY 21

Threatened use (not related to food poisoning)1989 Threat to release “Medflies” (fertile Mediterranean fruit flies) in California to The “Breeders,” an 

infect crops in protest against pesticide spraying extremist environmental group

1984 Attempt to kill a race horse with pathogens (insurance Two Canadians

scam, confirmed possession)

1984 Threat to spread Foot and mouth disease to wild pigs, which would then spread Australian prison inmate

disease to livestock (no confirmed possession)

1980 Threat to use biological agents against crops (no confirmed possession) Tamil guerrillas, Sri Lanka1970 Epidemic of African hog fever virus in Cuba alleged to have been deliberately U.S. Government (CIA)

inflicted by the United States (false case, no evidence)

Source: W. Seth Carus, “Bioterrorism and Biocrimes: The Illicit Use of Biological Agents in the 20th Century,” Center for Counterproliferation Research, National Defense University

(August 1998; July 1999 revision).

The following additional incidents are reported by other sources:–1997: Foot and mouth disease outbreak in Taiwan necessitated slaughter of eight million pigs. China suspected of “agro-sabotage.” See “U.S. Could Face New Terror Tactic:

Agricultural Warfare,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 22, 1999; Grant Robertson, “Crop Warfare Combat Plan Urged,” Calgary Herald, August 21, 1999.

–Mid 1990s: Poisoning of Nestle food products for extortion purposes by a German metal worker (nature of poison not related). Perpetrator was convicted. See “Man Who Poisoned Food Gets 11-Year Jail Term,” The Boston Globe, September 24, 1999, A16.

–1985: Outbreak of screw worm parasite, which affects both animals and people, in Mexico. Believed to be deliberately caused by disgruntled workers at a U.S. screw worm

eradication research laboratory in Mexico. See “Agriculture Fears Terrorist Threats to Food Supply,” Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory Commission Monthly Terrorism and

Security Report 3, no. 10 (October 1999); Judith Miller, “U.S. To Use Lab for More Study of Bioterrorism,” The New York Times, October 8, 1998, 26.

–1982–1984: Infection of horses with glanders perpetrated by Russian military forces in Afghanistan. See Terrance M. Wilson et al., “A Review of Agroterrorism, Biological

Crimes, and Biological Warfare Targeting Animal Agriculture,” draft manuscript, 2000.

–1978–1980: Poisoning of cattle with anthrax by Rhodesian security forces in South Africa. Ibid.
documented incidents, only 6 appear to be clearly linked to attacks on

commercial plants and animals (table 6).

One sobering statistic from the Carus survey is that 144 incidents occurred in the 1990s—nearly two-thirds of the total. This may reflect better incident

tracking and record keeping in recent years, or it may indicate a dramatic increase

in the propensity of terrorists or criminals to employ biological agents.Available evidence supports the latter premise.For example,FBI statistics indicate that U.S.incidents involving weapons of mass destruction using chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear materials have soared from 37 in 1996 to over 200 in 1999, with

three-fourths of the cases involving biological agents—usually the threatened

release of anthrax.92 Notably, the vast majority of incidents have been

directed against individuals or small groups, not mass populations.

Terrorism by Animal Rights Extremists

One additional category of agriculture-related terrorism merits

close attention: acts of violence or vandalism conducted by animal rights

extremists.93 Though often directed against the agricultural infrastructure,

these acts are not technically considered agricultural bioterrorism because

they do not typically involve the use of biological agents (although they

could), and they may target commercial animal enterprises that are not

strictly agricultural (for example, pet shops, zoos, aquariums, rodeos, and

circuses). There is strong evidence that these incidents are increasing.

In response to the Animal Enterprise Protection Act of 1992, the

Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Agriculture jointly

provided Congress with a comprehensive report on the extent and effects of

domestic and international terrorism on animal enterprises through 1992.

The Act defines animal enterprise as “1) a commercial or academic enterprise that uses animals for food or fiber production, agriculture, research,

or testing; 2) a zoo, aquarium, circus, rodeo, or lawful competitive animal

event; or 3) any fair or similar event intended to advance the agricultural

arts and sciences.”94 The report identified 313 incidents of terrorism involving 28 different kinds of animal enterprises by animal rights extremists between 1977 and June 1993. Of these incidents, 79 targeted agriculture or

food enterprises, including agricultural or food production facilities (28 incidents); markets, delis, or butcher shops (33); restaurants (6); breeding

ranches (7); fur-animal farms or breeders (3); and feed cooperatives (2). In

addition, 63 incidents occurred at university medical and research facilities,

21 at private research facilities, laboratories, or medical centers, 8 at Federal

research or medical facilities, and 3 at local government facilities.

22 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
In a more recent report, the National Animal Interest Alliance

cited 42 incidents of such terrorism conducted by animal rights extremists

between 1996 and 1999, of which 35 occurred in the United States.95 Incidents included the release of domesticated animals raised for the fur trade;

attacks on animal research facilities, pet stores, restaurants, supermarkets,

slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants; and threats against farmers.

Most incidents perpetrated by animal rights extremists have

involved vandalism or theft and release of animals. There have been no

documented attacks that involved the use of biological agents. Nonetheless, the potential for animal rights extremists or ecoterrorists to employ

biological agents should be taken seriously.

AN EMERGING THREAT TO FOOD SECURITY 23
Chapter Three

Countering the Threat

Current Federal Frameworks and Initiatives

Understanding government roles and responsibilities in preparing

for and responding to acts of terrorism is complicated by the fact that a

plethora of Federal, state, and local agencies and programs have important,

often overlapping responsibilities for activities that are directly applicable to

terrorism. To begin, there is in place a substantial framework—the Federal

Response Plan (FRP)—for managing Presidentially declared disasters. The

Disaster Relief Act of 1974 (as amended by the Stafford Act in 1988) defines

disaster as “all conceivable manmade or natural occurrences whose catastrophic consequences could lead to a (state) governor’s request for Federal

assistance.”96 Presidential declarations of major disasters or emergencies

have usually been invoked for weather-related events, but a recent annex 

to the FRP (“Terrorism Incident Annex”) now includes terrorism in the 

FRP framework.

While the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has

overall responsibility for Federal disaster assistance, FRP recognizes that

local governments have the primary responsibility for preparing for and

managing disasters that affect communities. FRP sets forth policies, plans,

and structures by which the Federal Government “mobilizes resources

and conducts activities to augment state and local response and recovery

efforts.”97 FRP also clarifies the roles of 27 Federal departments and agencies in providing disaster assistance. Key areas of responsibilities and primary responsible agencies include:

■ transportation (Department of Transportation)

■ communications (National Communications System)

■ public works and engineering (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

and DOD)

■ firefighting (Forest Service and USDA)

25
■ information and planning (FEMA)

■ mass care (American Red Cross)

■ resource support (General Services Administration)

■ health and medical services (Health and Human Services)

■ urban search and rescue (FEMA)

■ hazardous materials (Environmental Protection Agency)

■ food (Food and Nutrition Service and USDA)

■ energy (Department of Energy).

Catastrophic, highly publicized terrorist incidents (for example,

the bombings of the World Trade Center in 1993, the Alfred P. Murrah

Federal Building in Oklahoma City, and American Embassies in Africa, as

well as the sarin nerve gas attack in Tokyo in 1995) have pushed the Federal Government to develop a separate but related framework for consequence management, with specific application to WMD incidents and

terrorism. Presidential Decision Directive (PDD) 39, issued in June 1995,

designated the FBI as the lead Federal agency for response to domestic

terrorism incidents. In 1996, Congress passed the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (P.L. 104–132), which established national policy to counter terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction directed

against personnel. In the same year, Congress passed the Defense Against

Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1996 (P.L. 104–201, “Nunn-LugarDomenici Act”), which authorizes DOD to develop a Domestic Preparedness Program to combat terrorism.98

Building on PDD 39, President Clinton issued two new decision

directives in 1998: PDD 62, “Combating Terrorism,” and PDD 63, “Critical

Infrastructure Protection.” Establishing a new National Coordinator for

Security, Critical Infrastructure, and Counter-Terrorism in the National Security Council to coordinate the policies in both directives has effectively

linked these two PDDs.99 The structure linking PDD 62 and 63 is envisioned to provide a coordinated mechanism to address critical infrastructure protection and terrorism through three interagency groups: WMD

Preparedness Group; Counter-Terrorism Security Group; and Critical Infrastructure Protection Group. In addition to the NSC, 10 Federal departments (Defense, Justice, Energy, State, Agriculture, Health and Human

Services, Commerce, Treasury, Interior, and Transportation) and 7 independent Federal agencies (Office of Management and Budget, Office of

Science and Technology Policy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Emergency

Management Agency, and General Services Administration) were designated responsibilities for WMD and terrorism issues.100 In addition, the

26 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
National Science Foundation supports major research programs that could

support science-based counterterrorism initiatives. The Federal framework,

under PDD 62 and 63, for national coordination for security, infrastructure

protection, and counterterrorism is presented in appendix A.

Agriculture and Food Safety was identified as one of eight subgroups in the NSC structure, with USDA in a nominal coordinating role.

In addition to the framework provided by PDD 62, a number of Federal

programs to coordinate efforts to combat terrorism have been established

in various agencies, including:

■ National Domestic Preparedness Office and the Domestic Terrorism/Counterterrorism Planning Section (FBI)

■ Office of Emergency Preparedness, National Disaster Medical System (Health and Human Services)

■ Office of Emergency Response (Department of Energy)

■ Defense Threat Reduction Agency (a new DOD agency reporting to

the Under Secretary for Acquisition and Technology)

■ Federal Emergency Management Agency, Federal Response Plan,

Rapid Response Information System (RRIS)

■ National Response Center and National Response Team (EPA).

Appendix C depicts Federal agencies and programs—more than 40

altogether—with responsibilities or capabilities for counterterrorism.

Appendix D provides more detailed information on key Federal antiterrorism programs with specific applicability to bioterrorism and biowarfare.

Efforts to strengthen the Federal role in anti- or counterterrorism,

including combating bioterrorism, have largely focused on DOD because

of its specialized expertise in consequence management and unique capabilities to deter and respond to WMD attacks.101 In turn, DOD has enhanced its ability to work closely with civilian authorities through the creation of a Joint Task Force for Civil Support under the newly established

Joint Forces Command.102 The Office of Management and Budget requested $10 billion for Federal programs to combat terrorism in the fiscal

year 2000 budget.103 Funding for fiscal year 1999 was $9.647 billion.104

Preparedness for Countering Terrorism

Despite these programs, initiatives, and capabilities, there is still

widespread concern that the Nation is poorly prepared to combat terrorism in general and bioterrorism in particular.105 Credible observers have

expressed many concerns. For instance, there is no official definition of

consequence management, nor an official explication of the relationship

between consequence management and disaster preparedness or

COUNTERING THE THREAT 27
response.106 The Department of State (responsible for consequence management abroad) has nine separate definitions for consequence management; DOD has two; and FEMA has its own separate definition. All of

these definitions “differ on the scope and type of disasters that would be

addressed by consequence management.”107 Similarly, terminology related

to terrorism is confusing and often ambiguous.108 For example, there are

multiple definitions among different Federal agencies and others for

weapons of mass destruction, mass casualties, and terrorism.

The large and growing number of Federal agencies involved in

counterterrorism efforts complicates program management and coordination. There is existing and potential overlap among programs.109 Also,

Congressional roles and responsibilities for counterterrorism issues are dispersed among several committees.110 There is no overarching strategy with

a clear definition of end state to guide Federal efforts to manage potential

WMD incidents.111 Development of Federal budgets for counterterrorism

has occurred in the absence of “soundly established, defined, and prioritized program requirements” that cut across agencies.112

No credible national-level risk assessment has been undertaken of

potential chemical and biological terrorism.113 This lack has resulted in disagreement among authorities regarding terrorist threats and preoccupation

with worst-case scenarios.114 Timely and accurate sharing of information

about terrorist threats is impeded by national security considerations in regard to protecting classified intelligence data.115 While combating terrorism

is a national responsibility, domestic response to emergencies is almost

always a state and local responsibility. In the case of terrorism incidents, apportionment of Federal responsibilities is complicated by the complex Federal structure relating to terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.116

More problematic, there has not yet been clear designation of overall Federal leadership for domestic counterterrorism. PDD 62 did establish

a National Coordinator for Security, Critical Infrastructure, and CounterTerrorism in the National Security Council. In addition, on October 8,

2001, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge was sworn in as the director of a

new White House Office of Homeland Security. By reporting directly to the

President, the director has substantial authority to improve the focus and

effectiveness of the complex Federal antiterrorism bureaucracy. However,

even though a National Coordinator in the NSC and new Office of Homeland Security will bring greatly needed order to the Federal counterterrorism structure, coordination should not be confused with leadership.

Complicating matters, a number of Federal agencies have been assigned

28 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
various counterterrorism leadership roles. The National Domestic Preparedness Office in the FBI has been tasked with developing a national

strategy to address domestic preparedness.117 PDD 39 designates the FBI as

the “lead Federal agency for crisis response in the event of a terrorist incident in the United States” and identifies FEMA as the “lead Federal agency

for consequence management.”118 The boundary between a crisis and a

consequence management situation is, at best, diffuse.119 There is similar

fragmented or uncertain leadership for responding to terrorist attacks on

U.S. civilians or support infrastructures overseas.120 DOD does have clear

responsibility for responding to terrorist attacks on the Armed Forces and

military facilities in foreign lands, but not for attacks on U.S. civilian

personnel and facilities where a State Department lead is likely.

While DOD would assume primary leadership in the event of

terrorist attacks on domestic military installations and personnel, probable collateral effects on civilian populations (particularly if bioweapons

are employed) would necessitate shared responsibilities and close coordination with civilian agencies. Hersman and Carus point out that the

DOD role in responding to terrorism is complicated by the increasingly

blurred line between an act of warfare (where DOD would have lead

responsibility) and an act of terrorism (where civilian agencies would

have major responsibilities).121 Complicating the situation still further,

responsibilities for preventing or deterring terrorism are even less well

defined than for managing the consequences of terrorism.

Countering Agricultural Bioterrorism

As inadequately prepared as America is to combat terrorism in

general, the Nation is even less prepared to counter terrorism directed

against the food and agriculture infrastructure. Agricultural bioterrorism

has gotten little attention in Federal counterterrorism initiatives.122 There

are three principal reasons for this lack of attention. First, Americans take

food for granted. With availability of abundant, safe, and affordable food

the status quo for most of the 20th century, citizens find difficulty in conceiving of circumstances under which food would be scarce, expensive, or

risky to consumers. Second, the national visibility of agriculture has been

declining for decades. Though the United States produces more food than

ever, far fewer Americans are involved in its production. Farming

accounted for 2.6 percent of U.S. employment in 1998—down from 23

percent in 1929—and the number of American farms declined from 6.3

million to 2.2 million in the same period.123 Finally, there is limited public

COUNTERING THE THREAT 29
or official awareness of the potential threat of bioterrorism directed

against food and agriculture. Most Americans think immediately and

exclusively of human diseases when considering bioterrorism.

Consequently, agriculture is not included among the eight critical

national infrastructures identified in PDD 63, “Critical Infrastructure

Protection.”124 Agriculture and Food Safety is identified as one of eight

subgroups of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Preparedness group in

the new NSC WMD and Terrorism structure established by PDD 62.125

USDA serves as chair of this subgroup; however, this department is a relative newcomer to national security and defense structure and presently

lacks requisite visibility and clout to champion greater Federal attention

to countering agricultural bioterrorism.126 Agriculture tends to be overshadowed by other terrorism issues—including cyberterrorism and nuclear, chemical, and biological terrorism against humans—that already

have the attention of the national defense community.

Even the catastrophic events of last September have failed to galvanize national attention to the American agriculture infrastructure. For

example, a recent analysis of national vulnerability to chemical and biological attacks cited 39 articles in the popular press published since the

terrorist attacks. Only one article made specific reference to potential attacks on U.S. food supplies.127

As a result, Federal efforts to develop a strategy to counter agricultural terrorism are hindered by limited funding to date. Federal and

national attention to bioterrorism has been primarily focused on potential attacks against people, resulting in substantial new resources directed

to counter terrorist-initiated human disease outbreaks. For example,

counterterrorism funding in the Department of Health and Human Services increased from $13.8 million in fiscal year (FY) 1997 to $160 million

in FY 1999. The budget request for FY 2000 was $230 million. In contrast,

the food and agriculture sector has been largely ignored so far. No funds

were specifically appropriated for USDA for counterterrorism in FY 1999

or requested in FY 2000.128 The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) requested $391 million for fiscal year 2001 to support research to combat

agricultural terrorism.129 However, ARS FY 2001 appropriations specifically designated for counterterrorism research were only $500,000.

The terrorist attacks of September 11 have resulted in one encouraging response from Congress in regard to protecting the Nation’s food

supplies. Senators John Edwards and Chuck Hagel recently drafted new legislation entitled “The Biological and Chemical Weapons Preparedness Act

30 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
of 2001.” Among bill provisions are proposed appropriations ($250 million

for FY 2002 and “such sums as may be necessary through [FYs] 2003

through 2006”) for the Department of Agriculture for protecting the

American food supply from biological or chemical terrorism.

Need for a Coordinated National Strategy

The United States ignores the potential for agricultural bioterrorism at its peril. The relative ease of a catastrophic bioweapons attack

against the American food and agriculture infrastructure, and the devastating economic and social consequences of such an act, demand that the

Nation pursue an aggressive, focused, coordinated, and stand-alone national strategy to combat agricultural bioterrorism. The strategy should

build on counterterrorism initiatives already underway; leverage existing

Federal, state, and local programs and capabilities; and involve key customers, stakeholders, and partners. USDA should lead the development of

this strategy.

USDA Leadership of a Stand-Alone Initiative

USDA should provide strong Federal leadership to develop and

manage a coordinated, stand-alone interagency plan and program to

combat agricultural bioterrorism. Stand-alone attention is desirable for

two reasons. First, if subsumed into larger national counterterrorism programs, agricultural concerns may be buried in the enormously complex

Federal counterterrorism bureaucracy and may be overshadowed by

human health issues, cyberterrorism, and more conventional military

threats. This concern is borne by the lack of dedicated appropriations to

combat agricultural bioterrorism. Second, the U.S. food and agriculture

community is clearly distinct from the medical and public health community and the traditional national defense establishment. However,

stand-alone attention should not be construed as acting in a vacuum. A

national program to counter agricultural bioterrorism should not only be

linked to other national counterterrorism programs through the PDD 62

structure but also should involve strategic partnerships between USDA

and other agencies and organizations with programs and capabilities that

can contribute to the agriculture program.

While USDA chairmanship of the Agriculture and Food Safety

subgroup under PDD 62 seemingly provides USDA with a mandate to exercise Federal leadership, this mandate would be strengthened by clear administration and Congressional designation of leadership, initially through

a Presidential Executive Order, and, subsequently, through legislation.

COUNTERING THE THREAT 31
Formal designation of leadership should be accompanied by a requirement

for USDA to develop, within a reasonable time period, a comprehensive

agricultural counterterrorism plan, involving Federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as the private sector.

There are likely to be objections to a USDA-led, stand-alone program to combat agricultural bioterrorism. Other Federal agencies may

have territory concerns, especially where overlapping jurisdictions already

occur (for example, food safety responsibilities in the Food and Drug Administration at the Department of Health and Human Services and in the

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service). Agencies may also perceive

that new funding targeting agricultural terrorism may detract from other

funding initiatives. Some agencies may believe that agriculture is adequately addressed in the existing NSC antiterrorism framework, obviating

the need for a separate initiative. Still others may not be convinced of a

threat against agriculture—or may believe that agriculture is not a critical

national infrastructure, thus not a priority for antiterrorism programs.

Other objections may come from outside the Federal government. State and local agencies with responsibilities for farm programs or

public safety may not support substantial Federal involvement in what

could be viewed as a regional or local issue. Agribusiness interests may

oppose a counterterrorism initiative because they are not convinced of

the threat, because of the potential expense to taxpayers, or because of

concerns that elevated public awareness may reduce confidence in the

safety of the Nation’s food and integrity of its agriculture systems.

These objections can be overcome. Skepticism about the threat

can be addressed by a thorough, objective threat and risk assessment that

provides a sound basis for an action plan and proposed budget. Concerns

about territory and competing budgets can be offset by involving all relevant agencies in a counterterrorism plan; clarifying roles and responsibilities; ensuring that budget initiatives include appropriate funding for

agencies with relevant programmatic responsibilities; building strategic

partnerships; and ensuring effective, ongoing communications.

USDA should lead the development of an agricultural bioterrorism strategy because it has overall Federal responsibility for food safety

and security; it has a broad range of programs to deter and respond to

threats against food and agriculture (including natural disease outbreaks); and it is exceedingly well-connected to the national agribusiness

spectrum through an extensive network of field offices, agricultural

extension specialists, research facilities, and land-grant universities. In

32 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
fact, USDA may be unique among Federal agencies in its closeness to constituencies. Randall Murch, formerly of the Advanced Systems and Concepts Office at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, appreciates these

points. Dr. Murch has a background in plant pathology and is aware of

the unique expertise and experience required for protection of the Nation’s food and agriculture infrastructure. He is supportive of USDA providing leadership for a coordinated, interagency program to combat agricultural bioterrorism, while recognizing the challenges presented by this

role.130 The consequences of a successful terrorist attack against agriculture could be devastating—in terms of both its economic impact and the

undermining of public confidence in the Nation’s food supply. Given the

potential risks—and the fact that the United States is inadequately prepared to deter or respond to an attack—it cannot afford not to act.

Finally, an aggressive, well-coordinated effort to combat agricultural bioterrorism will have substantial ancillary benefits. Many antiterrorism actions could simultaneously help improve food safety for

consumers and prevent or contain natural livestock and crop diseases,

including an abundance of newly emerging diseases. Natural diseases

cost U.S. agriculture billions of dollars annually. In addition, the effort

will likely strengthen partnerships and improve coordination among

agencies and organizations with responsibilities, programs, and capabilities to address a significant national threat. Because the threat is,

arguably, more focused and manageable than other potential threats

against the national infrastructures, an effective, coordinated program

may provide a model for other counterterrorism efforts.

Relevant USDA Programs and Capabilities

USDA has substantial existing programs and capabilities that are

directly applicable to combating agricultural bioterrorism. Key among

these are programs in agricultural research and education, prevention

and control of diseases and pests, and food safety.

Research and Education

The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal inhouse research agency of USDA and is one of four agencies in the USDA

Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area. ARS conducts

research in over 100 national and international locations where approximately 1,900 ARS scientists carry out close to 1,100 research projects

annually. The ARS appropriation was approximately $1 billion in FY

2001. It has proactively sought to strengthen agency capacity to conduct

COUNTERING THE THREAT 33
research to combat agricultural bioterrorism. ARS administers several

major facilities that conduct research on animal diseases. The Plum

Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC), located in New York state, undertakes “research and diagnosis to protect United States animal industries and exports against catastrophic economic losses caused by foreign

animal disease (FAD) agents accidentally or deliberately introduced into

the United States.”131 PIADC research is presently focusing on Foot and

mouth disease and African swine fever. PIADC is collocated with the

Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (FADDL) of the Animal

and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of USDA.

ARS also administers the National Animal Disease Center

(NADC) in Ames, Iowa, the primary USDA facility for conducting research on animal diseases of economic importance to U.S. agriculture.

NADC is located immediately adjacent to the APHIS National Veterinary

Service Laboratories (NVSL) and the APHIS Center for Veterinary Biologics (CVB). The ARS Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory (SPRL) in

Athens, Georgia, is the major USDA poultry health research facility for

conducting research on exotic and emerging poultry diseases.

The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service

(CSREES) is the USDA research agency that provides leadership for and

works closely with the land-grant university system and other research and

educational institutions in agricultural research and education endeavors,

including extension education. CSREES partners with approximately 75

universities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and six U.S. territories. Appropriation is approximately $1 billion in FY 2001. As part of its

education mission, CSREES supports the Extension Disaster Education

Network (EDEN). EDEN is a collaborative, multistate network to provide

agricultural extension educators and agents with ready access and linkages

to information and resources related to disaster preparedness, recovery,

and mitigation.132

The Economic Research Service (ERS) is the principal intramural

economics and social science research agency of the department. ERS

conducts research on the efficiency, equity, and efficacy of issues related

to food safety and nutrition, rural development, and the environment.

Appropriation in FY 2001 was approximately $66 million.

Prevention and Control of Diseases and Pests

The USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has the

principal Federal responsibility for ensuring the health and care of animals

and plants, including preventing and responding to outbreaks of diseases

34 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
and pests affecting American agriculture. Two major divisions of APHIS—

Veterinary Services and Plant Protection and Quarantine—carry out this

responsibility, working closely with state and local veterinarians or plant

or pest control officials. The Veterinary Services (VS) division of APHIS is

responsible for protecting the farm animal industry, including livestock,

poultry, and cultivated fish, from diseases. Personnel include veterinarians,

scientists, epidemiologists, and diagnosticians. Since 1983, VS has administered a National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) to track

the health and productivity of farm animals and establish a long-term

database on American livestock and poultry diseases, disease conditions,

and associated costs and production practices. NAHMS is coordinated

through a Center for Animal Health Monitoring and conducted cooperatively with the farm animal industry.133

Veterinary Services also administers an Emergency Programs staff

that works closely with private veterinarians to prepare for and respond

to exotic animal disease outbreaks. Program components include surveillance systems to detect and diagnose diseases rapidly and coordinate

prompt Federal and state responses through an animal health emergency

plan.134 VS administers its emergency response program through a formal

organization, the Regional Emergency Animal Disease Eradication Organization (READEO). READEO works closely with state and local authorities to contain and respond to livestock disease outbreaks.135

Veterinary Services both employs a Field Epidemiologic Data

System (FEDS), which is accessible to regional and national emergency

management and response personnel,136 and operates two major laboratories that serve as principal biocontainment reference centers for contagious

and virulent animal diseases. One laboratory is in Ames, Iowa (National

Veterinary Services Laboratories, immediately adjacent to the ARS National

Animal Disease Center); the other is on Plum Island, New York (Foreign

Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, administered by ARS and colocated with the ARS Plum Island Animal Disease Center). Plum Island is

the only U.S. location where studies can be conducted on foreign animal

disease agents.137

The Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) Division of APHIS

is responsible for protecting American agricultural crops and plants from

the national and international spread of diseases and pests.138 Since 1982,

PPQ has conducted a Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey that gathers

information about plant diseases, weeds, insects, and other pests and

compiles it in a nationwide database called the National Agricultural Pest

COUNTERING THE THREAT 35
Information System. If a foreign or exotic disease were discovered, PPQ

would activate Rapid Response Teams to contain the disease. PPQ also

administers the agricultural quarantine inspection (AQI) at airports, seaports, and borders. AQI is the Nation’s first line of defense against the introduction of foreign diseases and pests.139 APHIS also administers a

Wildlife Services Division to manage agricultural problems, including

diseases, caused by wildlife.

Food Safety

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is the USDA

agency responsible for ensuring that the Nation’s meat and poultry products are safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged. FSIS responsibilities are addressed in several pieces of legislation, including the

Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act.

The service shares regulatory responsibilities for food safety with the

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Department of Health and

Human Services. FDA is responsible for the safety of seafood, plant and

dairy foods and beverages, and special nutritional products, including dietary supplements and infant formulas. FSIS also administers a number

of programs to prevent or respond to outbreaks of food-borne illness.140

These programs would constitute an effective framework for combating

acts of deliberate food contamination by terrorists.

In 1996, FSIS implemented the Hazard Analysis and Critical

Control Point (HACCP) regulatory system. This science-based system

applies to slaughter and processing plants in the United States as well as

in countries that export meat and poultry products to America. FSIS is

expanding the HACCP program by undertaking a comprehensive farmto-table approach to improve product safety at each step in the production, processing, distribution, and marketing process. FSIS is a partner in

the Federal Food Safety Initiative launched in January 1997. The initiative includes improved food safety inspection and preventive measures;

expanded research; development of a national early warning system for

food-borne illness outbreaks; a national education campaign; and

improved interagency coordination and program efficiency.

Since 1995, FSIS has been collaborating with the FDA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state health departments, and

local investigators in a new program—the Food-borne Diseases Active

Surveillance Network (FoodNet)—to track food-borne illness throughout America.141 FoodNet initially targeted seven bacterial pathogens and

established seven locations across the country to monitor incidents of

36 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
food-borne illness and the effectiveness of food safety programs in preventing illness.142 FSIS also administers the Animal Production Food

Safety Program. This outreach and liaison program works with producers, researchers, and other relevant parties to apply scientifically based

practices to the reduction of food safety risks during the raising of live

food animals. FSIS is also involved with several programs to educate

consumers about food safety. These programs include the dissemination

of a variety of electronic and print-based information products; a

USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline; the Fight BAC Campaign (a highly

visible public education campaign similar to the “Smokey Bear” campaign); and participation in the Partnership for Food Safety Education,

a coalition of Federal agencies, industry representatives, and consumer

and public health organizations. If an incident of food contamination

recalled a food product, the recall would be initiated by the Emergency

Response Division (ERD) of FSIS, according to the category of risk presented by the contamination. Recalls are voluntary actions by food

manufacturers or distributors, but ERD provides close oversight of recall actions.143

In addition to the programs described above, USDA and FSIS

have undertaken several steps, in partnership with the FBI, Health and

Human Services, and state and local health departments, to respond to

acts or threats of deliberate contamination of food, including by terrorists.144 FSIS has written procedures for investigating and responding to

reports of deliberately or inadvertently contaminated food. A recall may

be requested (but not mandated) if warranted by the investigation. USDA

also has a Food Emergency Rapid Response and Evaluation Team, chaired

by the Under Secretary of Food Safety, which brings together all departmental agencies (including FSIS) that could contribute to responding to a

food emergency. This team is developing a response plan for deliberate

acts or threats of contamination, including by terrorists. USDA and DOD

jointly planned and conducted a multi-agency exercise, in August 1999,

involving Federal response to a hypothetical terrorist act of deliberate

biological contamination of FSIS-regulated food.

Other Relevant USDA Programs and Agencies

A number of additional USDA agencies have relevant responsibilities and capabilities that could contribute directly to a coordinated,

department-wide effort to combat agricultural bioterrorism. The Farm

Service Agency (FSA) administers farm commodity programs; farm ownership, operating, and emergency loans; conservation and environmental

COUNTERING THE THREAT 37
programs; emergency and disaster assistance; and domestic and

international assistance and international export programs.145 A particular strength of FSA is its grassroots organization: FSA delivers services to

the farming community through an extensive network of field offices, including over 2,500 USDA Service Centers and 51 offices in every state and

Puerto Rico. Elected committees, comprised of local farmers, have

responsibility for delivery of FSA services at the state and county level.

The USDA focal point for coordination of emergency planning

and response activities, including antiterrorism activities, is the Office of

Crisis Planning and Management (OCPM) under the Assistant Secretary

for Administration.146 The OCPM program coordinates USDA participation in the Federal Response Plan, described above, and is the department’s principal contact with FEMA and other Federal departments and

agencies that have emergency responsibilities. The program operates

through Headquarters Agency Emergency Contacts in the 50 states,

Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

The Department of Agriculture has mandated responsibilities

and substantial existing expertise, programs, and mechanisms in place to

protect the Nation’s food and agriculture infrastructure. These capabilities and networks could readily be brought to bear on combating bioterrorism because they extend to the grassroots level in virtually every

county of the United States. As with natural outbreaks of livestock and

crop diseases or food contamination, biological attacks will not be immediately apparent; therefore, existing frameworks for detecting, identifying,

reporting, tracking, and managing disease outbreaks will have to be applied to combating agricultural bioterrorism, and appropriate responses

will be formulated based on the specific pathogen, target organism, and

other circumstances surrounding the attack. The key is to develop a wellcoordinated strategy that leverages—to the maximum extent possible—

relevant programs, capabilities, and resources across the department and

Federal Government.

USDA Actions to Date

Based on intelligence reports subsequent to the Gulf War and

the breakup of the Soviet Union, USDA became aware that Iraq and the

former Soviet Union had active biological warfare programs directed at

animal and plant agriculture and that American agricultural and food

supplies were potential targets of bioweapons developed by these

nations and other hostile actors. Consequently, USDA has undertaken

several actions to address this threat.147 For instance, USDA has worked

38 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
closely with intelligence agencies, including through temporary personnel details and mutually developed briefings, to clarify the extent of the

threat and to expand awareness of the threat among Federal agencies

and the general public. In addition, an ad hoc interagency working

group has been established, with representatives from the USDA, CIA,

DIA, and FBI.148

A USDA interagency committee has developed a preliminary

plan to provide leadership to protect the Nation’s food and agriculture

against terrorism. Key goals of the plan are to prevent and deter terrorism within the United States and against its interests abroad; maximize

international cooperation to combat terrorism; improve domestic crisis

and consequence planning and management; safeguard public safety and

protect agriculture and the Nation’s food supply; safeguard critical infrastructures in agriculture and the Nation’s food supply system; and conduct research to enhance counterterrorism capabilities. Furthermore,

USDA participates in the NSC counterterrorism structure established by

PDD 62. The department chairs a subgroup on Agriculture and Food

Safety under the NSC Weapons of Mass Destruction Preparedness

Group. It also has established collaborative research programs with former Soviet scientists who were involved in the Soviet bioweapons programs. The collaborative research is funded by the Department of State’s

Biotechnology Collaborative Research Program under the Freedom Support Act. The program is a threat reduction initiative designed to provide appropriate and rewarding research opportunities to unemployed

former Soviet scientists whose expertise could be directed against the

United States.

In June 1999, USDA Secretary Dan Glickman established a

Counterterrorism Policy Council chaired by Deputy Secretary Richard

Rominger and co-chaired by Catherine Woteki, Under Secretary for

Food Safety. The council serves as the USDA senior policy forum to coordinate and leverage USDA-wide counterterrorism efforts. The Agricultural Research Service developed a proposal for a $391 million funding

initiative for FY 2001 for research to enhance the capabilities of U.S.

agriculture to prevent, respond to, and mitigate terrorist events.149 The

initiative included $214 million to upgrade ARS animal biocontainment

facilities at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center; the Southeast Poultry Research Facility; and the Arthropod-Borne Diseases Research Laboratory (A–B DRL). Unfortunately, only $500,000 was appropriated to

ARS for counterterrorism research initiatives.150

COUNTERING THE THREAT 39
Building a Strategy

The Department of Agriculture has an important opportunity to

build on promising actions to date and capitalize on relevant programs

and capabilities by providing strong leadership for a coordinated national

strategy to combat agricultural bioterrorism, involving public and private

customers, stakeholders, and partners at the Federal, state, and local levels. A comprehensive national plan to combat the threat of bioterrorism

against U.S. food and agriculture must identify actions to prevent acts of

terrorism in the first place and to respond to such acts if and when they

do occur. Required actions cut across mission areas and capabilities of

multiple Federal, state, and local agencies and organizations, and include

the following measures:

Preventive Measures

■ intelligence programs (identify potential threats and perpetrators;

understand motivations; predict behavior; and consider preemptive action)

■ monitoring programs (detect and track specific pathogens and 

diseases)

■ targeted research (see appendix B for a description of high-priority

counterterrorism research needs identified by ARS)

■ moral suasion (discourage use of biological weapons)

■ international treaties, protocols, and agreements (including effective verification programs)

■ first-strike-deterrence strategies

■ creation of agent-specific resistance in livestock, poultry, and crops

■ vaccination against specific biological weapons agents

■ modification, as appropriate, of vulnerable U.S. food and agriculture practices to minimize impacts of terrorist acts

■ education and training of Federal, state, and local agencies in

emergency drills

■ public awareness via education programs.

Response Measures

■ consequence management (also included in several of the following actions)

■ early detection and prediction of patterns of dispersion

■ early detection of specific biological weapons agents, delivery

mechanisms, origins, and targets

40 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
■ early management to check spread and minimize infection

■ epidemiology

■ treatment regimes

■ casualty management (including carcass disposal and decontamination)

■ diplomatic responses

■ military responses

■ legal responses

■ economic responses

■ compensation for losses

■ management of economic consequences (including disruption of

exports and commodity markets)

■ education and training of Federal, state, and local agencies in

emergency drills

■ public awareness via education programs.

The strategic plan should provide a detailed action plan for each

of these courses of action and a program for implementation, including

time frame, milestones, specific responsibilities of involved organizations

and interests, mechanisms for coordination and partnerships, budgetary

requirements, and accountability mechanisms, including appropriate

metrics to determine progress and success.

Key Issues to Address

In addition to identifying key actions to be undertaken in each of

the areas listed above, the strategic plan should address several additional

critical issues. These include linking or incorporating plan elements into

the agency- and department-wide strategic plans required by the Government Performance and Review Act; defining roles and responsibilities of

the private sector, including the agribusiness sector, to implement components of the plan; creating public awareness through education; and

building a strong case for funding.

Leveraging and Coordinating USDA Programs

It is essential that, at the outset, the Secretary of Agriculture issue

a strong and clear mandate to USDA agency heads, including specific

leadership responsibilities for development of the strategic plan. The Department of Agriculture should ensure full involvement of all departmental agencies that can contribute to efforts to combat agricultural bioterrorism. The department should identify specific roles and responsibilities

for all agencies, coordination mechanisms, and budgetary requirements.

COUNTERING THE THREAT 41
Strategic Partnerships

While USDA should provide Federal leadership for a national

strategy to counter agricultural bioterrorism, the department does not

possess sufficient resources or the requisite range of responsibilities and

capabilities to develop and implement the strategy. Instead, it must rely

on strategic partnerships to accomplish this goal. A plethora of public

and private organizations at the Federal, state, and local levels have responsibilities or capabilities related to protecting the Nation’s food supplies. Building strategic partnerships with these interests will stimulate

buy-in to the plan, facilitate consideration of different perspectives, leverage resources and capabilities across agencies, and help define specific

roles and responsibilities of different organizations and agencies, thereby

reducing program duplication and improving coordination.

Other Federal Agencies

Partnerships with other Federal agencies are desirable for two

principal reasons: to address gaps in a comprehensive counterterrorism

strategy, which are not within the USDA mission areas or range of capabilities, and to leverage capabilities in other Federal agencies with capabilities already existing in USDA. With reference to gaps, there are three

major functional areas where the lack of requisite mission or expertise in

USDA requires that these functions be performed by other agencies, in

close communication with USDA. The first is intelligence, which is properly the primary responsibility of Federal intelligence agencies, including

the CIA, DIA, armed services intelligence branches, and FBI. Timely, accurate, properly evaluated, and secure intelligence is critical to deterring

bioterrorism. It is equally important that relevant intelligence information be shared with USDA officials quickly enough to be useful; however,

because USDA has limited experience working with intelligence agencies,

and relatively few employees with security clearances, building effective

partnerships between USDA and intelligence agencies will be a challenging undertaking.

The second major gap is in the area of law enforcement and criminal proceedings. The USDA Office of Inspector General has responsibilities and capabilities to investigate threatened or actual criminal actions

against U.S. food and agriculture. The FDA Office of Criminal Investigations has similar responsibilities. However, law enforcement is clearly the

principal responsibility of the FBI, state and local law enforcement agents,

and the courts. The key to effective partnerships between USDA and these

42 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
entities is good communication, both at the local level and between the

USDA Office of Inspector General and the Department of Justice.

The third important gap area is international relations and diplomacy. Although the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has some

experience and capability in this area, with FAS personnel located in U.S.

Embassies in many countries, this is the principal responsibility of the

Department of State with support from U.S. intelligence agencies.

In addition to filling gaps in strategy, USDA should build strategic partnerships with other Federal agencies to leverage better its inhouse capabilities and resources with related capabilities in other agencies

and to enhance coordination of programs across agencies. There are five

principal areas where this applies: research; detection, identification, and

monitoring of biological agents and epidemiology; disease containment,

including development and application of vaccines, therapeutics, and

other treatments; consequence management, including disaster relief, financial relief, and cleanup and restoration of affected areas; education,

training, and communications. Appendix C provides a framework for

Federal agencies and programs that could complement USDA capabilities

in these areas.

There are numerous examples of existing, successful collaboration between USDA and other Federal agencies in efforts that could contribute to counterterrorism. Key examples include the cooperative and

collocated animal disease research programs of ARS and the U.S. Army

Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases in Fort Detrick, Maryland (APHIS is also a partner), and the cooperative efforts between USDA

and HHS in the area of food safety. In recent testimony before the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Senate Committee on Armed Services,

Robert J. Newberry, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Combating

Terrorism Policy and Support, identified several areas in which DOD and

USDA have cooperated in efforts to combat agricultural bioterrorism.151

Nonetheless, there is a significant opportunity to expand these

partnerships, to improve coordination among agency programs with

similar missions and capabilities, and to target more effectively Federal

resources and capabilities to support efforts to combat agricultural

bioterrorism. For example, there are substantial capabilities in the Centers for Disease Control in human disease detection and diagnosis, as

well as in epidemiology, that could be brought to bear on animal diseases. There is also an opportunity for expanded collaboration between

ARS, APHIS, and the Department of the Interior National Wildlife

COUNTERING THE THREAT 43
Health Center (NHWC) in monitoring diseases of domestic animals and

wildlife. NHWC has been working closely with HHS in disease diagnosis

and tracking and public education related to the recent outbreak of West

Nile virus in New York. The DOD Defense Advanced Research Projects

Agency (DARPA) could support research to combat agricultural bioterrorism. Reportedly, DARPA does not currently have the authority to

conduct agriculture-related research.152

State and Local Government Agencies

Because the primary responsibility for preventing and responding to acts of terrorism in the United States lies with local and state authorities, the strategic plan must address coordination and partnerships

between the Federal Government agencies and those authorities. This will

be facilitated greatly by the strong linkages between USDA and the state

and local agriculture interests through agricultural cooperative extension

programs, Farm Service Agency offices, land-grant universities, and state

departments of agriculture. However, USDA will be challenged to build

partnerships with state and local authorities—including public health

agencies—with which it has limited experience. It will be important to

work closely with other Federal agencies—such as HHS—that have closer

ties to these authorities.

Private Sector

In many ways, the most important partnerships will be with the

private sector, particularly with the agribusiness sector—the most likely

target of a terrorist act. Active involvement of the private sector in developing and implementing the strategy will generate buy-in to the strategy,

help build support for funding initiatives, and provide additional capabilities, communications networks, and site-specific disease monitoring

and tracking opportunities. Most important, the private sector will ultimately be responsible for developing and implementing biosecurity

measures to protect farms and agribusiness interests from acts of terrorism or to remediate the effects of terrorism if it should occur. Publicprivate partnerships will be essential to identify, encourage, and fund

actions to deter terrorism—including improved security on farms and in

businesses, revised management procedures, pathogen identification and

monitoring programs, information networks, and large-scale vaccination

efforts—and to manage the consequences of terrorist acts. It is encouraging to note, in the wake of the September 11 attacks, that the American

Farm Bureau Federation, the Nation’s largest farm group, urged the Bush

44 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
administration to appoint an agriculture specialist to serve in the new

Office of Homeland Security.153

Key components of the private sector that must be involved

include producers of crops, livestock, poultry, and aquaculture products.

While it will be important to engage key companies possessing strategic

market shares, the most effective approach will be to work with national

commodity organizations that represent the broad interests of their

constituencies, that have staff in place, and that are often involved in government affairs and lobbying activities. Examples of organizations representing key commodities include the American Soybean Association,

American Poultry Association, American Sheep Industry Association, Catfish Farmers of America, National Corn Growers Association, National

Cotton Foundation, National Livestock Producers Association, National

Milk Producers Federation, and National Pork Producers Council. It will

also be important to involve other agribusiness concerns, including major

agribusiness companies, other trade organizations, food wholesalers and

retailers, restaurants, slaughterhouses, processors, packagers, the transportation sector, feed companies, seed companies, other suppliers to the

industry, and equipment manufacturers.

Other important private sector partners include the private

research community, including universities (researchers from public universities and government laboratories must also be involved), private

research organizations, and research divisions in agribusiness firms; professional organizations such as the American Agricultural Economics

Association, American Society of Agricultural Engineers, American Society of Agronomy, American Society of Animal Science, and American

Veterinary Medical Association; consumer and environmental organizations; and international organizations. A comprehensive listing of potential private sector partner organizations is presented in appendix E.

COUNTERING THE THREAT 45
Chapter Four

Recommendations and

Conclusion

Prior to initiating development of a coordinated national strategy to

combat agricultural bioterrorism, USDA must identify critical

needs of such a strategy and give careful thought to an effective

approach to its development. This paper provides a number of separate

recommendations for Federal actions, as follows:

Clear, well-coordinated Federal interagency mechanisms must

be established for gathering, assessing, and sharing sensitive intelligence

information on terrorist threats to U.S. food and agriculture. The information must be relevant and timely, while simultaneously ensuring

security of classified data. Proposed mechanisms must be acceptable to

intelligence agencies.

There should be a significant expansion of research capabilities

related to animal or plant health and food safety, as well as a program

focus on agricultural bioterrorism, even as it is recognized that expanded

research in this area will benefit efforts in both food safety and the health

of livestock, poultry, and crops. The principal target of increased funding

should be USDA laboratories and programs. Expanded funding should be

provided for intramural research in ARS laboratories, extramural

research in universities and private laboratories through CSREES (via

major research programs such as the National Research Initiative), and

upgrading of laboratory facilities (see appendix B for relevant ARS

research funding needs).

Substantial funding should be provided to upgrade ARS and

APHIS biocontainment facilities, particularly at A–B DRL, Laramie,

Wyoming; FADDL and PIADC, Plum Island, New York; NADC and

NVSL, Ames, Iowa, and the Seafood Products Research Center, Athens,

Georgia. USDA presently has no biosafety level (BSL) 4 facilities. BSL 4

facilities are required for research on pathogens that confer highly

47
contagious, hot diseases, including the animal diseases Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, as well as Hendrah and Nipah viruses.154 An expanded research initiative should also include economics research, coordinated by ERS. It is also important to expand research related to

agricultural bioterrorism in non-USDA agencies with relevant capabilities or responsibilities, including FDA, the Centers for Disease Control

(CDC), U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases,

and DARPA. As noted earlier, DARPA does not presently have the legislative authority to support agricultural research.155

Professional Federal staff in key areas must be expanded. For example, there is a critical shortage of qualified personnel in APHIS Veterinary Services who could readily respond to widespread disease epidemics

that terrorists could initiate.156 Well-coordinated interagency mechanisms

must be established among the FBI, USDA, and DOD for collaborative

forensics investigations. In particular, USDA specialized expertise in

pathogens and diseases affecting agriculture must be effectively married

to the FBI forensics capability to ensure that credible evidence can be

gathered to support convictions of terrorists.157

CDC performance plans—“Public Health Response to Terrorism” and “Infectious Diseases”—should be considered for potential applicability to a national strategic plan to combat agricultural bioterrorism.158 These CDC plans are incorporated into the overall Health and

Human Services Strategic Plan required by the Government Performance

and Results Act. The plans address the following Performance Measures

related to bioterrorism:

■ establish sentinel networks to identify early victims

■ increase epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory capabilities of

state and major city health departments

■ establish a national, state-based network of reference laboratories to

detect bioterrorist agents and provide rapid and accurate diagnosis

■ provide training and technology transfer programs for state-of-theart diagnostics for use in bioterrorism

■ establish bioterrorism preparedness and response planning programs

in states and localities

■ expand electronic surveillance and communications systems in

major metropolitan areas

■ create a national pharmaceutical stockpile available for rapid deployment to areas impacted by bioterrorism.

48 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
Significantly, the Performance Measures related to bioterrorism 

either match or directly support those related to infectious diseases, and

vice versa.

A considerable Federal program must be initiated to expand and

locate the national supply of vaccines and pharmaceuticals to protect

against or treat the most likely agricultural diseases launched by bioterrorists. The initiative should include research to improve or develop new

vaccines and drugs (including effectiveness against a variety of agents

and shelf life extension); manufacturing and strategic stockpiling;

professional training; and assurance of a surge capability to expand

manufacture and distribution in a crisis. A Federally-coordinated nationwide electronic communications and data management network also

must be established that links the private agribusiness community with

emergency management staff, field response personnel, and key Federal,

state, and local agencies. This network could facilitate pathogen monitoring, reporting and tracking diseases, and communicating response

measures and their effectiveness. Chalk has recommended establishment

of “emergency management control centers” that could coordinate

communications and data management.159

A national emergency disease response plan should be developed

and implemented.160 In 1996, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service established a Working Group on National Animal Health Emergency Management, with representatives from the Veterinary Services division of APHIS, the Animal Agriculture Coalition, the U.S. Animal

Health Association, and the American Veterinary Medical Association.161

This working group could be expanded to include APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine representatives as well as key organizations and interests representing agricultural crops and could provide leadership for

development of an agriculture emergency response plan. The USDA Food

Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) could initiate a similar program for

bioterrorism targeting the food supply, building on existing frameworks

such as the Food-borne Diseases Active Surveillance Network. This program, described above, is a collaborative effort of FSIS, FDA, CDC, state

health departments, and local investigators to track food-borne illness

throughout the United States. Emergency response plans should include

provisions for training exercises with mock terrorist attacks.

Coordination must be improved and clear roles, responsibilities, expectations, and performance measures must be established for Federal, state,

and local organizations and interests (both public and private) that will be

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 49
involved in combating agricultural bioterrorism. Chalk has concluded that,

at present, there is inadequate coordination between APHIS and state and

local agencies involved in animal and plant health protection.162 Clearly,

there is an opportunity to improve coordination between USDA as a whole

and all interests that could be affected by terrorist attacks against U.S. food

and agriculture. It is particularly important to determine the appropriate

roles and responsibilities of the private sector, vis-à-vis those of government

agencies, in areas such as biosecurity; detection, diagnosis, tracking, and

reporting of pathogens or disease outbreaks; disease containment and treatment procedures; and post-disease remediation.

Feasible options must be identified and investigated fully to provide financial assistance to agribusiness interests impacted by terrorism.

For example, Chalk has suggested establishment of a national insurance

plan “where a percentage of (agricultural) sales are held in reserve to

help offset contingency costs in the event of a major or deliberate disease

outbreak.”163 Also, a coordinated, interagency, Federally funded professional education and training program that is related to agricultural

bioterrorism must be undertaken. The program should include focused

professional education to train plant pathologists, veterinarians, and

other first responders in the detection, identification, diagnosis, treatment, and containment of potential bioterrorist diseases and biosecurity

training for agribusinesses.

In addition, a coordinated, interagency, Federally-funded public

education and information initiative should be undertaken. Agriculture

extension personnel and land-grant university educators should lead this

effort. Public education and information programs must be carefully conceived and managed to raise public awareness without engendering public loss of confidence in the Nation’s food supply. Stronger international

cooperation should be encouraged to deter or respond to agricultural

bioterrorism, including cooperative research and exchange programs;

monitoring and identification of potential biological agents; and disease

detection, tracking, and containment. For example, the Office International des Epizooties is a highly effective de facto “world animal health

organization” that could include bioterrorism in its purview.164 It is also

important that international agricultural interests work to ensure both

that agricultural bioterrorism gets attention in the effort to strengthen the

international Biological Weapons Convention and that effective verification measures are developed and implemented for biological agents of

concern to food and agriculture.

50 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
Sequential Approach for USDA Strategy

Development

The Secretary of Agriculture appoints a small working group to develop the strategy. Michael Goldblatt, Deputy Director of Defense Sciences

at DARPA, and a former director of research at McDonalds Corporation,

has suggested that the development of the plan be an intense but lowprofile effort.165 In his opinion, it should be undertaken by a core working

group of objective, highly credible, nonagency personnel (with no vested

interests), with expertise in food and agriculture.166 Key individuals from

industry and both public and private organizations could serve as resource persons for the working group, which should have a strong mandate from the Secretary of Agriculture. It is important to emphasize that

this group will fundamentally create a Federal strategy—that it not purport to tell state and local agencies, or the private agribusiness sector,

what to do.

Assess threat and risk. The next step in developing the national

strategy should be a thorough assessment of the threat and risk of agricultural bioterrorism. When persons with access to sensitive information

regarding the threat are convinced that it is real and substantial, they may

question the need for a threat and risk assessment to confirm the

obvious.167 On the other hand, the General Accounting Office has concluded that the absence of such an assessment has impeded development

of a coordinated, effective, and appropriately focused strategy for combating bioterrorism in general.168 An objective assessment of the threat

and risk of agricultural bioterrorism, whether it provides substantial new

information, will provide a solid and credible foundation for proposed

counterterrorism actions and budget requests. The National Research

Council (NRC) of the National Academy of Sciences should be tasked

with conducting the assessment. An NRC report would assure objectivity

and engender credibility with skeptical observers.

Frame the issue properly. Development of an effective strategy to

combat agricultural bioterrorism is critically dependent on asking the

right questions at the outset. Goldblatt believes that, to engage fully the

agribusiness sector in counterterrorism activities, it is important to focus

on broad, important issues affecting food and agriculture today.169 Thus,

he proposes that the following two questions be asked up front: What are

the most important problems facing the food and agriculture industry

today? How do we solve these problems in a way that simultaneously deters terrorism? Goldblatt suggests that the two most important problems

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 51
are food safety and plant and animal diseases. Since agricultural bioterrorism is likely either to compromise food safety or to introduce catastrophic

diseases, strategies to assure food safety or the health of crops and farm

animals will simultaneously deter terrorism and engender support among

customers and stakeholders.

Identify and involve key customers, stakeholders, and potential partners (public and private) in development of the strategy. These individuals

could serve as resource personnel for the working group.

Review and evaluate related, relevant programs in other agencies

and organizations. This issue was addressed above where it is recommended that CDC Performance Plans for “Public Health Response to

Terrorism” and “Infectious Diseases” might be models for a USDA-led

strategy. It is noteworthy that HHS in general, and CDC in particular,

were initially slow in developing strategies to respond to bioterrorism

but are now considered to be well on the way to developing highly effective interagency counterterrorism programs.170

Develop a white paper that lays out the key elements of the strategy for review and comment by stakeholders. It is important to take this

step before developing a full strategic plan, not only to ensure that its

proposed actions are feasible, complete, and acceptable, but also to help

establish buy-in from key stakeholders. The white paper should be

revised to address concerns and recommendations of the key stakeholders, then shared with the Secretary of Agriculture for review, comment,

and approval.

Draft a complete strategic plan, including an implementation plan

and timetable. Development of a full strategic plan, incorporating the

elements of the white paper, should be the responsibility of USDA

personnel, designated by the secretary, in cooperation with designated

representatives of other Federal agencies with relevant capabilities, programs, and responsibilities. It is important that the strategic plan is

consistent with and meshes well with the overall USDA strategic plan and

individual USDA agency plans, as mandated by the Government Performance and Review Act. The plan should identify implementation actions,

timetables for implementation, budget requirements, performance

measures, and accountability mechanisms. The plan should address each

of the Preventive Measures and Response Measures identified above, as

well as roles and responsibilities, opportunities for strategic partnerships,

and coordination issues.

52 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
Develop a budget. Paying for implementing the national strategy

will be a significant challenge—perhaps the key issue in the entire process.

It is particularly important that new, sustained funding be secured—to

require agencies to reallocate existing budgets would inevitably affect

performance in core mission areas. Securing funding for a new Federal

program is difficult under any circumstances. Resources are invariably

short, and competition among agencies and Congressional committees for

control of scarce resources exacerbates the problem. The challenge to secure new funding to combat agricultural bioterrorism is especially daunting because agriculture is a relatively minor player in the national security

establishment in general and in the counterterrorism arena in particular.

To overcome this challenge, it is important that a budget to prevent and

respond to agricultural bioterrorism be developed and presented as an interagency initiative. The proposed budget should identify appropriate levels of new funding for all Federal agencies that have roles to play in

implementing the national strategy. It should also emphasize strategic

partnerships among agencies that will reduce program overlap and duplication and effectively leverage appropriated resources. This approach will

not only enhance collaboration among agencies but also encourage nonUSDA agencies to champion the budget proposal. It is also important that

key representatives of the agribusiness community strongly endorse the

proposed budget. For example, the National Pork Producers Council has

already identified the need for expanded research to deter agricultural

bioterrorism as its highest research priority.171

Sell the plan. Once a draft of the strategic plan has been completed and accepted by the designated Federal team, it must be sold to the

current administration (via the Office of Management and Budget) and

to Congress. It will be important to enlist key, selected stakeholders in this

effort to provide confidence that the proposed plan is acceptable to, and

endorsed by, the agribusiness community and state and local organizations that will play a key role in plan implementation.

Conclusion

The consequences of a biological attack against U.S. food and

agriculture could be devastating—in terms of both economic impact

and the undermining of public confidence in the Nation’s food supply.

USDA should provide strong leadership for a coordinated Federal interagency strategy and program to combat agricultural biowarfare or

bioterrorism. The strategy and program must address coordination and

RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 53
strategic partnerships with all agencies, organizations, and private interests that have relevant roles, responsibilities, or stakes in program

outcomes. The program will not be cheap—an investment of several

hundred million dollars is needed. However, given the potential risk and

the fact that the United States is ill prepared to deter or respond to an

attack, it cannot afford not to act.

An aggressive, well-coordinated effort to combat agricultural

bioterrorism will have substantial ancillary benefits. Many antiterrorism

actions could simultaneously help prevent or contain natural livestock

and crop diseases, including a plethora of newly emerging diseases. Natural diseases cost U.S. agriculture billions of dollars annually. In addition, the effort could improve the safety of America’s food, already an

important national priority. Finally, this initiative will strengthen partnerships and improve coordination among agencies and organizations

with responsibilities, programs, and capabilities to address a significant

national threat. Perhaps, because the threat is more focused and manageable than other potential threats against the Nation’s infrastructures,

an effective, well-coordinated program may provide a model for other

counterterrorism efforts.

54 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
Appendix A. Framework for National Coordination for Security, Critical Infrastructures, and

Counterterrorism (lead agencies in parentheses; see appendix F for abbreviations)

E

/

55
57

Appendix B

High-Priority Research

Needs

The Agricultural Research Service has identified the following

high-priority research needs to counter agricultural bioterrorism:

1. Expand on-the-spot diagnostic capabilities to include plant, animal,

and insect threats

2. Conduct epidemiologic mapping of micro-organisms and pests to

pinpoint geographical origins

3. Engineer and manufacture vaccines in the United States that are effective against all highly infectious disease agents of concern

4. Improve plant genetic resistance to potential introduced pathogens

5. Develop mass vaccine delivery systems for animals, poultry, and fish

6. Develop alternatives to widespread aerial chemical control of mosquitoes, midges, and other insect vectors of human, animal, and

zoonotic disease

7. Conduct research to develop alternatives to malathion and other

chemicals for control of insect pests or plants

8. Conduct research to prevent and control pathogens that are potential

anticrop biological warfare weapons

9. Conduct research to identify genes that can enhance genetic resistance of major crops to pathogens that are potential biological warfare weapons

10. Develop innovative approaches to epidemic disease control

11. Conduct active research with foreign countries to clean up disease

threats at the source and remove the natural sources of infectious

agents and pests that terrorists or nations might easily access

12. Develop countertoxin technologies
Appendix C. Federal Agencies with Responsibilities (R), Programs (P), and Capabilities (C) that Directly

Support Efforts to Counter Terrorism

Support area code:1 Coordination2 Intelligence3 Crisis management, law enforcement, criminal investigations, and prosecution4 Research5 Agent detection, identification, and monitoring; epidemiology6 Disease containment including development and application of vaccines, therapeutics, and 

other treatments

7 Consequence management (disaster relief; financial relief; cleanup; restoration)8 Education and communications9 International cooperation/relations

Support area 

Agency/Program 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Central Intelligence Agency RPCDepartment of Agriculture

Agricultural Marketing Service CAnimal and Plant Health Inspection Service RPC RPC RPC RPC RPC RPCAgricultural Research Service RPCCooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service C CEconomic Research Service RPCForest Service CFarm Services Agency C CFood Safety and Inspection Service RPC RPC RPC

Department of Defense

Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center RPCAssistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and RPC

Low-Intensity Conflict

59
60 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM Appendix C. Federal Agencies with Responsibilities (R), Programs (P), and Capabilities (C) that Directly Support Efforts to Counter Terrorism—continued Support area code: 1 Coordination 2 Intelligence 3 Crisis management, law enforcement, criminal investigations, and prosecution 4 Research 5 Agent detection, identification, and monitoring; epidemiology 6 Disease containment including development and application of vaccines, therapeutics, and other treatments 7 Consequence management (disaster relief; financial relief; cleanup; restoration) 8 Education and communications 9 International cooperation/relations Support area Agency/Program 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Department of Defense—continued

Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Civil Support RPCU.S. Marines Chemical Biological Incident Response Force RPCDefense Advanced Research Projects Agency RPCDeputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Combating Terrorism RPC

Policy and Support

Defense Intelligence Agency RPCDefense Threat Reduction Agency RPCChemical Biological-Rapid Response Team (Army) RPC RPC RPC RPCJoint Program Office for Biological Defense RPCJoint Task Force for Civil Support RPCNational Guard and Reserve Component RPC RPCU.S. Army Technical Escort Unit RPCU.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases RPC RPC RPCU.S. Army Veterinary Service RPC RPC RPC
Support area 

Agency/Program 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Department of Energy

Office of Emergency Preparedness RPC

Department of Health and Human Services

Centers for Disease Control RPC RPC RPCFood and Drug Administration RPC RPC RPCNational Institutes of Health RPCOffice of Emergency Preparedness–National Disaster 

Medical System RPC RPC

Department of the Interior

National Wildlife Health Center RPC RPC RPC

Department of Justice RPC

Federal Bureau of Investigation RPC RPC RPC

Department of State RPCEnvironmental Protection Agency

National Response Center/National Response Team RPC RPC RPC

Federal Emergency Management Agency RPC RPC RPCNational Security Council RPCOffice of Science and Technology Policy RPC RPCU.S. Customs RPC RPC

APPENDIX C 61
63

Appendix D

Key Federal Programs and

Capabilities to Combat

Bioterrorism

1. Department of Defense, Under Secretary for Acquisition and 

Technology

2. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Defense Sciences Directorate, Bio Warfare Defense Technologies Program; Special Projects

Directorate, Biological Warfare Defense Systems Program)

3. Defense Threat Reduction Agency

4. Department of Defense, Secretary of the Army

5. Joint Program Office for Biological Defense (under Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology)

6. U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command (under U.S.

Army Materiel Command)

7. U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (under

U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command)

8. Department of Defense, United States Marine Corps, Chemical Biological Incident Response Force

9. Department of Defense National Guard and Reserve Components

(several programs including National Guard military support detachments in each of 10 FEMA regions to assist state and local authorities

in responding to WMD incidents. Initially called Rapid Assessment and

Initial Detection [RAID] Teams, this designation is no longer used)

10. Department of Health and Human Services

11. Assistant Secretary for Health (Office of Public Health and Science;

Surgeon General; U.S. Public Health Service; Office of Emergency

Preparedness, including the National Disaster Medical System)

12. Food and Drug Administration

13. National Institutes of Health (National Institute of Environmental

Health Sciences)
14. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (National Center for Infectious Diseases; National Center for Environmental Health; Emergency

Response Coordination Group)

15. Department of Agriculture (agriculture and food safety issues)

16. Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment (U.S.

Forest Service)

17. Assistant Secretary for Administration (Disaster Management and

Coordination staff)

18. Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics (Agricultural Research Service; Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service; Economic Research Service)

19. Under Secretary for Food Safety (Food Safety and Inspection Service)

20. Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs (Animal

and Plant Health Inspection Service)

21. Federal Emergency Management Agency, Federal Response Plan 

64 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
65

Appendix E

Selected Agricultural and

Environmental

Organizations

Farm Interest Organizations

Agrimerica (The Association for Agribusiness in America)

American Farm Bureau Federation

American Farmland Trust

Center for Agriculture and Rural Development

National Association of State Departments of Agriculture

National Council of Farm Cooperatives

National Future Farmers of America

Organic Farmers Marketing Association

Professional Farmers of America

Commodity Associations

Livestock, Poultry, and Fish

American Feed Industry Association

American Poultry Association

American Sheep Industry Association

Catfish Farmers of America

Livestock Marketing Association

National Aquaculture Association

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association

National Contract Poultry Growers Association

National Honey Board

National Livestock Producers Association

National Milk Producers Federation

National Pork Producers Council
Crops

American Forage and Grassland Council

American Soybean Association

Fertilizer Institute

National Association of Wheat Growers

National Corn Growers Association

National Cotton Foundation

U.S. Feed Grains Council

U.S. Sugar Corporation

Agricultural Professional Societies

American Agricultural Economics Association

American Association of Avian Pathologists

American Crop Protection Association

American Chemical Society

American Dairy Science Association 

American Phytopathological Society

American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists

American Society for Animal Science

American Society for Horticultural Science

American Society of Agricultural Consultants

American Society of Agricultural Engineers

American Society of Agronomy

Animal Agriculture Coalition

Animal Industry Foundation

Association of Applied Insect Ecologists

Association of Natural Biocontrol Producers

Coalition for Funding Agricultural Research Missions

Consortium for International Crop Protection

Council for Agricultural Science and Technology

Entomological Society of America

Equine Nutrition and Physiology Society

Federation of Animal Science Societies

International Embryo Transfer Society

National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants

National Center for Agricultural Law Research and Information

National Mastitis Council

Poultry Science Association

66 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
Society of Nematologists

United States Animal Health Association

Weed Science Society of America

Environmental and Consumer Organizations

Agriculture for a Clean Environment

Environmental Defense Fund

Greenpeace

National Audubon Society

Sierra Club

Foundation E.A.R.T.H.

Herbicide Resistance Action Committee

Insecticide Resistance Action Committee

Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Inc.

National Institute for the Environment

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

Pesticide Action Network North America

Public Voice

Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment

Sustainable Agriculture Network

International Organizations

Consortium for International Crop Protection

Global Agricultural Biotechnology Association

Global Crop Protection Federation

Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

International Agribusiness Marketing and Trade

International Food Information Council

World Aquaculture Society

World Sustainable Agriculture Association

APPENDIX E 67
Appendix F

Acronyms

AFMIC Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center

AMS Agricultural Marketing Service

APHIS Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

ARS Agricultural Research Service

ASD SO/LIC Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special 

Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict

ATSD–CS Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for 

Civil Support

CBIRF Chemical Biological Incident Response Force

CB–RRT Chemical Biological-Rapid Response Team

CDC Centers for Disease Control

CIA Central Intelligence Agency

CSREES Cooperative State Research, Education, and 

Extension Service

CTR Program Cooperative Threat Reduction Program

DARPA Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

DASD CTP&S Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense

for Combating Terrorism Policy and Support

DIA Defense Intelligence Agency

DOC Department of Commerce

DOD Department of Defense

DOE Department of Energy

DOJ Department of Justice

DOS Department of State

DOT Department of Transportation

DTRA Defense Threat Reduction Agency

EPA Environmental Protection Agency

ERS Economic Research Service

69
FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation

FDA Food and Drug Administration

FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency

FS Forest Service

FSA Farm Services Agency

FSIS Food Safety and Inspection Service

HHS Department of Health and Human Services

JPO–BD Joint Program Office for Biological Defense

JTF–CS Joint Task Force for Civil Support

NDMS National Disaster Medical System

NG&RC National Guard and Reserve Components

NIH National Institutes of Health

NRC/NRT National Response Center/National

Response Team

NSC National Security Council

NWHC National Wildlife Health Center

OEP Office of Emergency Preparedness

OSTP Office of Science and Technology Policy

PPD Presidential Decision Directive

RAID Team Rapid Assessment and Initial Detection Team

SBCCOM Soldier and Biological Chemical Command

TEU Technical Escort Unit

USAMRIID U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious

Diseases

USAVS U.S. Army Veterinary Service

USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture

70 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
Endnotes

1 General Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism: Selected Challenges and Related Recommendations,” report, September 20, 2001, GAO/NSIAD–01–822, accessed at <http://www.gao.gov>. 2 See, for example, Philip H. Abelson, “Biological Warfare,” Science 286, no. 5 (November 26,

1999), 1677; William J. Clinton, “Remarks at the National Academy of Sciences, January 22, 1999,”

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents 35, no. 3, 103–106; Lois R. Ember, “DARPA Expands

R&D on Biowarfare Defense Tools,” Chemical and Engineering News 76, no. 7 (February 16, 1998), 7;

Sidney J. Freedberg, Marilyn W. Serafini, and Siobhan Gorman, “Be Afraid, Be Moderately Afraid,”

National Journal 31, no. 13 (March 27, 1999), 806–817; Donald A. Henderson, “The Looming Threat

of Bioterrorism,” Science 283, no. 5406 (February 26, 1999), 1279–1282; Milton Leitenberg, “Biological Weapons: A Reawakened Concern,” The World & I 14, no. 1 (January 1999), 289–305; Glenn E.

Schweitzer and Carole C. Dorsch, Superterrorism: Assassins, Mobsters, and Weapons of Mass Destruction (New York: Plenum Press, 1998); White House, White Paper: The Clinton Administration’s Policy

on Critical Infrastructure Protection: Presidential Decision Directive 63, May 22, 1998; White House,

Fact Sheet: Preparedness for a Biological Weapons Attack, May 22, 1998, available at

<http://www.nbcindustrygroup.com/0522pres1.htm>; White House, Fact Sheet: Combating Terrorism: Presidential Decision Directive 62, May 22, 1998, available at <http://www.nbcindustrygroup.

com/0522pres3.htm>. 3 White House, A National Security Strategy for a New Century, December 1999. 4 Clinton, “Remarks at the National Academy of Sciences”; Lois R. Ember, “Bioterrorism: Countering the Threat,” Chemical Engineering News 77, no. 27 (July 5, 1999), 8–17; Tom Mangold and Jeff

Goldberg, Plague Wars: The Terrifying Reality of Biological Warfare (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2000). 5 Ember, “Bioterrorism: Countering the Threat”; Freedberg, Serafini, and Gorman, “Be Afraid,

Be Moderately Afraid”; Donald A. Henderson, “Weapons for the Future,” The Lancet 354 (supplement, December 1999), S64. 6 Norm Steele, 2000.

7 General Accounting Office, “Food Safety: Agencies Should Further Test Plans for Responding

to Deliberate Contamination,” letter report, October 27, 1999, GAO/RCED–00–3, accessed at

<http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov>. 8 General Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism: Observations on Biological Terrorism

and Public Health Initiatives,” testimony, March 16, 1999, GAO/T–NSIDA–99–112, accessed at 

<http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov>. 9 Rebecca Hersman and W. Seth Carus, “DOD and Consequence Management: Mitigating the

Effects of Chemical and Biological Attack,” Strategic Forum no. 169, Institute for National Strategic

Studies, National Defense University Press (December 1999). 10 W. Seth Carus, “Bioterrorism and Biocrimes: The Illicit Use of Biological Agents in the 20th

Century,” Center for Counterproliferation Research, National Defense University (August 1998;

rev. July 1999). 11 General Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism: Issues to Be Resolved to Improve Counterterrorism Operations,” letter report, May 13, 1999, GAO/NSIAD–99–135, accessed at 

<http://frwebgate4.access.gpo.gov>.

71
12 Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons

of Mass Destruction, “First Annual Report to the President and the Congress, Part I: Assessing the

Threat,” December 15, 1999.

13 Carus, “Bioterrorism and Biocrimes.” 14 Paul Rogers, Simon Whitby, and Malcolm Dando, “Biological Warfare Against Crops,” Scientific American 280, no. 6 (June 1999), 70–75. 15 Ronald E. Hurlbert, “Microbiology 101 Internet Text: Chapter XV, Addendum: Biological

Weapons; Malignant Biology,” accessed at <http://www.wsu.edu/~hurlbert/pages/101biological

weapons.html>. 16 Abelson, “Biological Warfare”; Ethirajan Anbarasan, “Genetic Weapons: A 21st Century

Nightmare?” The UNESCO Courier 52, no. 3 (1999), 37–39; “Bioterrorism, Foodborne Diseases, and

‘Superbugs’ Pose New Threats to U.S. Cities,” PR Newswire (October 6, 1998); Cultural Terrorist

Agency, “Genetics Activists Create Superweed Kit” (January 24, 1999); Hurlbert, “Microbiology 101

Internet Text”; Mangold and Goldberg, Plague Wars; Richard Preston, “The Bioweaponeers,” The New

Yorker 74, no. 3 (March 9, 1998), 52.

17 Mark G. Kortepeter and Gerald W. Parker, “Potential Biological Weapons Threats,” Emerging

Infectious Diseases 5, no. 4 (July/August 1999), available at <http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/

vol5no4/kortepeter.htm>. 18 Ibid.

19 Ibid.

20 Anbarasan, “Genetic Weapons: A 21st Century Nightmare?”; Philip Cohen, “A Terrifying

Power,” New Scientist 161, no. 2171 (January 30, 1999), 10; Lois R. Ember, “A Double-Edged Sword,”

Chemical and Engineering News 77, no. 49 (December 6, 1999), 109–117. 21 Deb Riechmann, “Russian Lab Develops Anthrax Strain that Might Defeat U.S. Vaccine,” The

Associated Press, February 14, 1998. 22 Christine M. Gosden, testimony before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Technology,

Terrorism, and Government and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Chemical and Biological Weapons Threats to America, “Are We Prepared?”April 22, 1998. 23 Preston, “The Bioweaponeers.” 24 Hurlbert, “Microbiology 101 Internet Text”; Kortepeter and Parker, “Potential Biological

Weapons Threats.” 25 Cited in W. Seth Carus, “Biological Warfare Threats in Perspective,” Critical Reviews in Microbiology 24, no. 3 (1998), 149–155. 26 Ibid.; Peter Chalk, unpublished review of agricultural bioterrorism, The RAND Corporation,

1999; Robert P. Kadlec, “Biological Weapons for Waging Economic Warfare,” in Battlefield of the Future: 21st Century Warfare Issues, eds. Barry R. Schneider and Lawrence E. Grinter (Maxwell AFB, AL:

Air University Press, 1995). 27 Kortepeter and Parker, “Potential Biological Weapons Threats.” 28 Cited in Carus, “Biological Warfare Threats in Perspective”; Carus, “Bioterrorism and

Biocrimes”; Freedberg, Serafini, and Gorman, “Be Afraid, Be Moderately Afraid”; Robert P. Kadlec,

“Twenty-First Century Germ Warfare,” in Battlefield of the Future: 21st Century Warfare Issues; Hurlbert, “Microbiology 101 Internet Text”; Al J. Venter, “New-Era Threat: Iraq’s Biological Weapons,”

Middle East Policy 6, no. 4 (June 1999), 104–117. 29 Terry N. Mayer, “The Biological Weapon: A Poor Nation’s Weapon of Mass Destruction,” in

Battlefield of the Future: 21st Century Warfare Issues, 205–226. 30 Hurlbert, “Microbiology 101 Internet Text.” 31 Freedberg, Serafini, and Gorman, “Be Afraid, Be Moderately Afraid.” 32 Federation of American Scientists, Working Group on Biological Weapons Verification, Report of the Subgroup on Investigation of Alleged Release of Biological or Toxin Weapons Agents

(April 1996). 33 W. Seth Carus, testimony before a joint hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and Government Information, Washington, DC (March 4, 1998). 34 Ibid.; Kadlec, “Twenty-First Century Germ Warfare.” 35 Richard Preston, “Taming the Biological Beast,” The New York Times, April 21, 1998, 21.

72 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
36 Ember, “Bioterrorism: Countering the Threat”; Freedberg, Serafini, and Gorman, “Be Afraid,

Be Moderately Afraid”; Laurie Garrett, The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World out of

Balance (New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1994).

37 Freedberg, Serafini, and Gorman, “Be Afraid, Be Moderately Afraid.” 38 Norm Steele, personal communication, March 22, May 24, 2000.

39 Carus, testimony, March 4, 1998; Hurlbert, “Microbiology 101 Internet Text.” 40 Michael Heylin, “Ag Biotech’s Promise Clouded by Consumer Fear,” Chemical and Engineering News 77, no. 49 (December 6, 1999), 73–88. 41 Hurlbert, “Microbiology 101 Internet Text.” 42 W. Seth Carus, “The Threat of Bioterrorism,” Strategic Forum no. 127, Institute for National

Strategic Studies, National Defense University Press (September 1997). 43 USDA, Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology, Federal Register Notice 64, no.

108 (June 7, 1999), 30297; “Man Who Poisoned Food Gets 11-Year Jail Term,” The Boston Globe, September 24, 1999, A16; Chalk, unpublished review; Steve Goldstein, “U.S. Could Face New Terror Tactic: Agricultural Warfare,” The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 22, 1999; Siobhan Gorman, “Bioterror

Down on the Farm,” National Journal 31, no. 13 (March 27, 1999), 812–813; Debora MacKenzie,

“Run, Radish, Run,” New Scientist 164, no. 2217 (December 18, 1999), 36–39; Rogers, Whitby, and

Dando, “Biological Warfare Against Crops.” 44 General Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism: Observations on Biological Terrorism

and Public Health Initiatives”; General Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism: Need for Comprehensive Threat and Risk Assessments of Chemical and Biological Attacks,” letter report, September 7,

1999, GAO/NSIAD–99–163, accessed at <http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov>; General Accounting Office, “Observations on the Threat of Chemical and Biological Terrorism,” testimony, October 20,

1999, GAO/T–NSIAD–00–50, accessed at <http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov>. 45 General Accounting Office, “U.S. Agriculture: Status of the Farm Sector,” fact sheet for Congressional committees, GAO/RCED–95–104FS, March 1995. 46 USDA, Agricultural Research Service, “Econoterrorism, a.k.a. Agricultural Bioterrorism or

Asymmetric Use of Biological Weapons,” unclassified briefing, February 28, 2000; Terrance M. Wilson

et al., “A Review of Agroterrorism, Biological Crimes, and Biological Warfare Targeting Animal Agriculture,” draft manuscript. 47 USDA, Agricultural Research Service, “Econoterrorism.” 48 USDA, Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology, Federal Register Notice 64;

USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service, “Selected Farm Products—United States and World Production

and Exports: 1995 to 1998,” Foreign Agricultural Commodity Circular Series, no. 1124, 1999. 49 General Accounting Office, “U.S. Agriculture: Status of the Farm Sector.” 50 USDA, Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology, Federal Register Notice 64;

USDA, Foreign Agricultural Service, “Selected Farm Products.” 51 Wilson et al., “A Review of Agroterrorism, Biological Crimes, and Biological Warfare Targeting Animal Agriculture.” 52 Norm Steele, “Econoterrorism: U.S. Agricultural Productivity, Concentration, and Vulnerability to Biological Weapons,” unclassified Defense Intelligence Assessment for the DOD Futures Intelligence Program, January 14, 2000. 53 Ibid.

54 Chalk, unpublished review.

55 USDA, Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology, Federal Register Notice 64.

56 Gorman, “Bioterror Down on the Farm.” 57 Chalk, unpublished review; Goldstein, “U.S. Could Face New Terror Tactic”; Gorman,

“Bioterror Down on the Farm.” 58 USDA, Agricultural Research Service, “Econoterrorism.” 59 USDA, Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology, Federal Register Notice 64;

Chalk, unpublished review. 60 Michael Goldblatt, personal communication, April 6, 2000.

61 Ibid.

62 Chalk, unpublished review.

63 “Terrorists on the Green,” Discover 20, no. 11 (1999), 30; Chalk, unpublished review; Rogers,

Whitby, and Dando, “Biological Warfare Against Crops.” 64 Chalk, unpublished review; Goldstein, “U.S. Could Face New Terror Tactic.”

ENDNOTES 73
65 Chalk, unpublished review.

66 Ibid.

67 Cultural Terrorist Agency, “Genetics Activists Create Superweed Kit.” 68 MacKenzie, “Run, Radish, Run.” 69 Chalk, unpublished review; Rogers, Whitby, and Dando, “Biological Warfare Against Crops.” 70 Chalk, unpublished review.

71 Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons

of Mass Destruction, “First Annual Report to the President and the Congress, Part I: Assessing the

Threat,” December 15, 1999; Chalk, unpublished review; MacKenzie, “Run, Radish, Run.” 72 Chalk, unpublished review.

73 Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons

of Mass Destruction, “First Annual Report”; Chalk, unpublished review; Goldstein, “U.S. Could Face

New Terror Tactic.” 74 Wilson et al., “A Review of Agroterrorism, Biological Crimes, and Biological Warfare Targeting Animal Agriculture.” 75 Chalk, unpublished review; Goldstein, “U.S. Could Face New Terror Tactic”; Kadlec, “Biological Weapons for Waging Economic Warfare”; MacKenzie, “Run, Radish, Run”; Judith Miller, “U.S. to

Use Lab for More Study of Bioterrorism,” The New York Times, September 22, 1999, A1, A25; Rogers,

Whitby, and Dando, “Biological Warfare Against Crops”; Wilson et al. “A Review of Agroterrorism,

Biological Crimes, and Biological Warfare Targeting Animal Agriculture”; Tabassum Zakaria, “Soviet

Era Bugs Threaten U.S. Farming,” The Times of India, September 16, 1999. 76 Steele, “Econoterrorism: U.S. Agricultural Productivity, Concentration, and Vulnerability to

Biological Weapons.” 77 Chalk, unpublished review.

78 Floyd P. Horn and Roger G. Breeze, “Agriculture and Food Security,” in Food and Agricultural

Security: Guarding against Natural Threats and Terrorist Attacks Affecting Health, National Food Supplies, and Agricultural Economics, eds. Thomas W. Frazier and Drew C. Richardson, Annals of the New

York Academy of Natural Sciences 894 (New York: New York Academy of Sciences, 1999), 9–17. 79 Defense Intelligence Agency, “The Worldwide Agricultural Biological Warfare Threat,” unclassified briefing, Biological Warfare Division, Office for Counterproliferation Support, 2000; Goldstein, “U.S. Could Face New Terror Tactic”; Grant Robertson, “Crop Warfare Combat Plan Urged,”

Calgary Herald, August 21, 1999; USDA, Agricultural Research Service, “Econoterrorism”; Wilson et

al., “A Review of Agroterrorism, Biological Crimes, and Biological Warfare Targeting Animal Agriculture.”

80 Chalk, unpublished review; Goldstein, “U.S. Could Face New Terror Tactic.” 81 Wilson et al., “A Review of Agroterrorism, Biological Crimes, and Biological Warfare Targeting Animal Agriculture.” 82 Horn and Breeze, “Agriculture and Food Security.” 83 Ibid.

84 Wilson et al., “A Review of Agroterrorism, Biological Crimes, and Biological Warfare Targeting Animal Agriculture.” 85 USDA, Agricultural Research Service, “Econoterrorism.” 86 Ibid.

87 Hurlbert, “Microbiology 101 Internet Text.” 88 Wilson et al., “A Review of Agroterrorism, Biological Crimes, and Biological Warfare Targeting Animal Agriculture.” 89 Ronald M. Atlas, “Combating the Threat of Biowarfare and Bioterrorism,” Bioscience 49, no.

6 (June 1999), 465–467; George W. Christopher et al., “Biological Warfare: A Historical Perspective,”

Journal of the American Medical Association 278, no. 5 (August 6, 1997), 412–417; Mayer, “The Biological Weapon: A Poor Nation’s Weapon of Mass Destruction.” 90 Carus, “Bioterrorism and Biocrimes.” 91 Jonathan B. Tucker, “Historical Trends Related to Bioterrorism: An Empirical Analysis,”

Emerging Infectious Diseases 5, no. 4 (July/August 1999), available at <http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/

EID/vol5no4/tucker.htm>. 92 J.B. Orenstein, “Now Fear This,” The Washington Post, December 26, 1999, B1. 93 Alliance for America, “Bombings of Two USDA Facilities in Washington State,” memorandum,

July 7, 1998; Alliance for America, “Congress Holds Hearings on Eco-Terror,” memorandum, July 7,

74 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
1998; “Agriculture Fears Terrorist Threats to Food Supply,” Department of Energy and Nuclear Regulatory

Commission Monthly Terrorism and Security Report 3, no. 10 (October 1999); National Animal Interest

Alliance, Request for Action by the Senate Judiciary Committee of the Congress of the United States:

Animal Experts Representing Livestock Production, Farming, Science and Pets to Petition U.S. Senate to

Focus on Terrorism, 1999, available at <http://www.naiaonline.org>; National Animal Interest Alliance,

“Terrorism Gains Momentum: Animal Rights and Environmental Criminals Use Violence to Achieve

Their Ends,” 1999, available at <http://www.naiaonline.org/body/ articles/archives/arterror.htm>; G.

Davidson Smith, “Single Issue Terrorism,” Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Commentary no. 74

(Winter 1998). 94 U.S. Department of Justice, “Report to Congress on the Extent of Domestic and International

Terrorism in Animal Enterprises,” September 2, 1993. 95 National Animal Interest Alliance, “Terrorism Gains Momentum.” 96 Scott R. Taylor, Amy M. Rowe, and Brian M. Lewis, “Consequence Management—In Need of

a Timeout,” Joint Force Quarterly 22 (Summer 1999), 78–85. 97 Federal Emergency Management Agency, “Backgrounder: Terrorism,” available at <http://

www.fema.gov/library/terror.htm>. 98 General Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism: FBI’s Use of Federal Funds for Counterterrorism-Related Activities (Fiscal Years 1995–1998),” letter report, November 20, 1998,

GAO/GGD–99–7, accessed at <http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov>; Hersman and Carus, “DOD and

Consequence Management.” 99 Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons

of Mass Destruction, “First Annual Report to the President and the Congress, Part I: Assessing the

Threat,” December 15, 1999, appendix A. 100 Ibid. 101 Hersman and Carus, “DOD and Consequence Management.” 102 Ibid. 103 Center for Nonproliferation Studies, “Federal Funding to Combat Terrorism,” available at

<http://www.cns.miis.edu/research/cbw/terfund.htm>; General Accounting Office, “Observations on

Federal Spending to Combat Terrorism,” testimony, March 11, 1999, GAO/T–NSIAD/GGD–99–107,

accessed at <http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov>. 104 Center for Nonproliferation Studies, “Federal Funding to Combat Terrorism.” 105 Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons

of Mass Destruction, “First Annual Report to the President and the Congress, Part I: Assessing the

Threat,” December 15, 1999; “Terrorism 2000,” Current Events 97, no. 24 (1998), 2a–2d; Commission

to Assess the Organization of the Federal Government to Combat the Proliferation of Weapons of

Mass Destruction, “Combating Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction,” report to the U.S.

Senate, July 14, 1999; Jessica K. Drake, “After All These Years: Chem-Bio Defense Unequal to Threat,”

National Defense 83, no. 543 (December 1998), 39; John Elvin, “Bioterrorism Breeds a Growth

Industry,” Insight on the News 15, no. 45 (December 6, 1999), 35; Freedberg, Serafini, and Gorman,

“Be Afraid, Be Moderately Afraid”; General Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism: Observations

on Biological Terrorism and Public Health Initiatives”; General Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism: Observations on the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Domestic Preparedness Program,” testimony,

October 2, 1998, GAO/T–NSIAD–99–16, accessed at <http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov>; General

Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism: Opportunities to Improve Domestic Preparedness Program Focus and Efficiency,” letter report, November 12, 1998, GAO/NSIAD–99–3, abstract accessed

at <http://frwebgate4.access.gpo.gov>; General Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism: Analysis

of Potential Emergency Response Equipment and Sustainment Costs,” letter report, June 9, 1999,

GAO/NSIAD–99–151, accessed at <http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov>; General Accounting Office,

“Combating Terrorism: Need for Comprehensive Threat and Risk Assessments of Chemical and

Biological Attacks”; General Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism: Chemical and Biological

Medical Supplies are Poorly Managed,” letter report, October 29, 1999, GAO/HEHS/AIMD–00–36,

abstract accessed at <http://frwebgate4.access.gpo.gov>. 106 Taylor, Rowe, and Lewis, “Consequence Management—In Need of a Timeout.” 107 Ibid. 108 Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons of

Mass Destruction, “First Annual Report.”

ENDNOTES 75
109 General Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism: Observations on the Nunn-LugarDomenici Domestic Preparedness Program”; General Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism:

Observations on the Growth of Federal Programs,” testimony, June 9, 1999, GAO/T–NSIAD–99–181,

accessed at <http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov>. 110 Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons

of Mass Destruction, “First Annual Report.” 111 General Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism: Opportunities to Improve Domestic

Preparedness Program Focus and Efficiency”; General Accounting Office, “Observations on Federal

Spending to Combat Terrorism.” 112 General Accounting Office, “Observations on Federal Spending to Combat Terrorism.” 113 General Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism: Need for Comprehensive Threat and

Risk Assessments of Chemical and Biological Attacks.” 114 Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons

of Mass Destruction, “First Annual Report.” 115 Ibid. 116 Ibid. 117 Ibid.; General Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism: Analysis of Potential Emergency

Response Equipment and Sustainment Costs.” 118 General Accounting Office, “Observations on Federal Spending to Combat Terrorism.” 119 Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons

of Mass Destruction, “First Annual Report.” 120 Hersman and Carus, “DOD and Consequence Management.” 121 Ibid. 122 Chalk, unpublished review; Goldstein, “U.S. Could Face New Terror Tactic”; Gorman,

“Bioterror Down on the Farm”; MacKenzie, “Run, Radish, Run”; Rogers, Whitby, and Dando, “Biological Warfare Against Crops”; Norm W. Schaad, “What Is an Effective Pathogen?” APSnet, Abstracts

of the 1999 American Phytopathological Society Annual Meeting Symposium: Plant Pathology’s Role

in Anti-Crop Bioterrorism and Food Security (September 15–October 31, 1999), available at

<http://www.apsnet.org/online/feature/BioSecurity/Top.html>. 123 USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service, “Agriculture—Farms, Acreage, and Foreign

Trade: 1990 to 1998,” no. 1441 (1999). 124 The White House, White Paper: The Clinton Administration’s Policy on Critical Infrastructure Protection. 125 Advisory Panel to Assess Domestic Response Capabilities for Terrorism Involving Weapons

of Mass Destruction, “First Annual Report.” 126 Floyd P. Horn, statement before the U.S. Senate Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee, October 27, 1999, available at <http://www.senate.gov/

~armed_services/hearings/1999/e991027.htm>. 127 Richard Chapman, Chemical and Biological Warfare Primer, Virtual Information Center,

2001, available at <http://www.vic-info.org>. 128 Center for Nonproliferation Studies, “Federal Funding to Combat Terrorism.” 129 USDA, Advisory Committee on Agricultural Biotechnology, Federal Register Notice 64. 130 Randall Murch, personal communication, April 17, 2000. 131 USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, “The Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic

Laboratory at Plum Island Animal Disease Center,” December 1992, available at <http://www.aphis.

usda.gov:80/oa/pubs/fsfadlab.html>; USDA, Agricultural Research Service, “. . . about the Research

Center at Plum Island, New York,” available at <http://www.arserrc.gov/naa/home/piadc.htm>. 132 Louisiana Cooperative Extension Services, “Welcome to EDEN: Extension Disaster Education Network,” accessed at <http://www.agctr.lso.edu/eden>. 133 USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, “Center for Animal Health Monitoring

(CAHM): National Animal Health Monitoring System,” available at <http://www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/

ceah/cahm.htm>; USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, “Facts about APHIS: Monitoring Plant and Animal Diseases,” available at <http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/monitor.html>. 134 USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, “Emergency Programs: Keeping America

Free from Foreign Animal Diseases,” available at <http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/emergency.html>;

Chalk, unpublished review.

76 AGRICULTURAL BIOTERRORISM
135 Ron Sequeira, “Safeguarding Production Agriculture and Natural Ecosystems against

Biological Terrorism: A U.S. Department of Agriculture Emergency Response Framework,” Frazier

and Richardson, eds., 48–67; Anne Kohnen, “Responding to the Threat of Agroterrorism: Specific

Recommendations for the USDA,” BCSIA Discussion Paper 2000–29 and ESDP Discussion Paper

ESDP–2000–04 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2000). 136 Chalk, unpublished review. 137 USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, “The Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostic

Laboratory at Plum Island Animal Disease Center.” 138 USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, “Facts about APHIS: Monitoring Plant

and Animal Diseases.” 139 USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, “Facts about APHIS: Excluding Foreign

Pests and Diseases,” available at <http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/exclude.html>. 140 USDA, Food Safety and Inspection Service, “Agriculture Fact Book 98: Chapter 9: Food

Safety,” available at <http://www.usda.gov/news/pubs/fbook98/chart9.htm>.

141 Ibid. 142 The program is described in detail at <http://www.fsis.usda.gov/ophs/fsisrep1.htm>. 143 Bonnie Buntain and George Bickerton, “The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety

and Inspection Service’s Activities in Assuring Biosecurity and Public Health Protection,” in Food and

Agricultural Security: Guarding Against Natural Threats and Terrorist Attacks Affecting Health, National

Food Supplies, and Agricultural Economics. 144 General Accounting Office, “Food Safety: Agencies Should Further Text Plans for Responding

to Deliberate Contamination.” 145 Farm Service Agency Online, available at <http://www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/default.asp>. 146 USDA, Office of Crisis Planning and Management, available at <http://www.usda.gov/

da/ocpm>. 147 Horn, statement before the United States Senate Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee. 148 Chalk, unpublished review. 149 USDA, Agricultural Research Service, “FY 2001 Agency Estimates: Enhancing the Capabilities

of U.S. Agriculture to Prevent, Respond to, and Remediate Terrorist Events,” 1999. 150 Floyd P. Horn, personal communication, May 2, 2000. 151 Robert J. Newberry, statement before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Subcommittee

on Emerging Threats, October 27, 1999, available at <http://www.senate.gov/~armed_services/

hearings/1999/e991027.htm>. 152 Goldblatt, personal communication. 153 Randy Fabi, “Boost Agriculture Security, Farm Groups Ask Bush,” Reuters,

October 2, 2001. 154 Chalk, unpublished review. 155 Goldblatt, personal communication. 156 Chalk, unpublished review. 157 Ibid. 158 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “CDC Performance Plans, IV: Infectious Diseases,” accessed at <http://www.cdc.gov/od/perfpln/2000iv.htm>; Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, “CDC Performance Plans, XIV: Public Health Response to Terrorism,” accessed at

<http://www.cdc.gov/od/perfpln/2000xiv.htm>. 159 Chalk, unpublished review. 160 Ibid. 161 Ibid. 162 Ibid. 163 Ibid. 164 Wilson et al., “A Review of Agroterrorism, Biological Crimes, and Biological Warfare Targeting Animal Agriculture.” 165 Goldblatt, personal communication. 166 Ibid. 167 Murch, personal communication.

ENDNOTES 77
168 General Accounting Office, “Combating Terrorism: Need for Comprehensive Threat and

Risk Assessment of Chemical and Biological Attacks”; General Accounting Office, “Observations on

the Threat of Chemical and Biological Terrorism.” 169 Goldblatt, personal communication. 170 Murch, personal communication. 171 Horn, statement before the United States Senate Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee; Norm Steele, personal communication, March 22,

May 24, 2000.

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About the Author

Henry S. Parker is National Program Leader for Aquaculture at the

Agricultural Research Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture and has

served in several other positions related to aquaculture and marine science. 

Dr. Parker is a former associate professor at the University of Massachusetts,

Dartmouth, and instructor at the University of Rhode Island, where he earned 

a master’s degree in marine affairs and a doctorate in biological oceanography.

He retired from the Naval Reserve with the rank of captain. Dr. Parker researched

and wrote this paper while attending the Industrial College of the Armed Forces,

where he was a distinguished graduate. He is the author of Exploring the Oceans

(Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1985).

■■■■

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From the pages of

Agricultural

Bioterrorism: 

A Federal Strategy

to Meet the Threat

The United States ignores the

potential for agricultural bioterrorism at its peril. The relative

ease of a catastrophic bioweapons attack against the

American food and agriculture

infrastructure, and the devastating economic and social consequences of such an act, demand

that the Nation pursue an aggressive, focused, coordinated, and

stand-alone national strategy to

combat agricultural bioterrorism.

The strategy should build on

counterterrorism initiatives

already underway; leverage existing Federal, state, and local programs and capabilities; and

involve key customers, stakeholders, and partners. The U.S.

Department of Agriculture

should lead the development of

this strategy.