Agroterrorism...Something I never really thought of...
The following is from the excellent World Wide Words column that I receive via email. The column is in italics. My commentary and addition in plain script.:
Turns of Phrase: Agroterrorism
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This term has been around for several years (the earliest examples I can find
are from 1999), but has mostly been used by specialists up till now. It has
gained a higher profile in the past year or so and has been in the news
because the first International Symposium on Agroterrorism was held
earlier this month.
Agroterrorism is the deliberate introduction of a plant or animal disease
that disrupts agriculture and so causes widespread economic loss
along with fear and instability. The risk is potentially high in the
USA, which is a major agricultural country with huge exports, so
that the effect of a terrorist attack might be felt well beyond its
own borders. As yet, no successful attack by agroterrorists anywhere
in the world is known to have happened, though there have been
reports of small-scale strikes by Palestinians and Israeli settlers on
each other's crops.
There haven't been any "confirmed" attacks in the U. S. That doesn't mean that there haven't been attacks. Killer bees, the recent plague of bee mites damaging honey production in the U. S., the introduction of the snake head fish into America streams and estuaries that are eating through native fish populations, the fish scale worms that are showing up in American ponds at alarming rates, the mad cow disease scares in England, Canada and the U. S. could all be elements of attacks by foreign competitors on American agriculture, maybe not political, possibly industrial or agribusiness terrorism. Maybe the examples are all just coincidence, but realize that they have all happened in the last 10 years or so and you have to start wondering. How much coincidence do you believe in?
Threats in New Zealand to spread foot-and-mouth disease have
been blackmail by individuals, not terrorism. Known cases of food
contamination in various countries, or of threats to contaminate
food, have also proved to be the work of would-be blackmailers or
disgruntled employees.
* From the Aberdeen News, South Dakota, 2 May 2005:
Agroterrorism is a largely hypothetical problem...The United States
has never experienced an agroterror attack, but some of the hijackers
involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were known to have been
interested in agriculture and crop dusting.
The difference in a hypothetical problem and an emergent situation is merely execution.
Makes you wonder, doesn't it? If these guys were only on a suicide mission, why an interest in agriculture? Crop dusting gave them an "in" into pilot education and such sure, but agriculture...
* From USA Today, 9 May 2005:
Inspections of imported food at the nation's entry ports have declined since
the Department of Homeland Security took over the job in 2003, a new
government report says. The drop means the government is reducing its
first chance to discover a foreign disease or an act of "agroterrorism"
before the food is distributed nationwide.
It seems to me that the height of stupidity would be to forego and/or lessen the inspection of imported food. I mean, c'mon, if you were the bad guy and you saw something like this what would you do. Isn't there anybody up there in Washington whose job it is to think like the bad guys. If so, this is an example of them doing a piss poor job of it.
Your friendly neighborhood opinionated piece of crap,
puff
Turns of Phrase: Agroterrorism
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This term has been around for several years (the earliest examples I can find
are from 1999), but has mostly been used by specialists up till now. It has
gained a higher profile in the past year or so and has been in the news
because the first International Symposium on Agroterrorism was held
earlier this month.
Agroterrorism is the deliberate introduction of a plant or animal disease
that disrupts agriculture and so causes widespread economic loss
along with fear and instability. The risk is potentially high in the
USA, which is a major agricultural country with huge exports, so
that the effect of a terrorist attack might be felt well beyond its
own borders. As yet, no successful attack by agroterrorists anywhere
in the world is known to have happened, though there have been
reports of small-scale strikes by Palestinians and Israeli settlers on
each other's crops.
There haven't been any "confirmed" attacks in the U. S. That doesn't mean that there haven't been attacks. Killer bees, the recent plague of bee mites damaging honey production in the U. S., the introduction of the snake head fish into America streams and estuaries that are eating through native fish populations, the fish scale worms that are showing up in American ponds at alarming rates, the mad cow disease scares in England, Canada and the U. S. could all be elements of attacks by foreign competitors on American agriculture, maybe not political, possibly industrial or agribusiness terrorism. Maybe the examples are all just coincidence, but realize that they have all happened in the last 10 years or so and you have to start wondering. How much coincidence do you believe in?
Threats in New Zealand to spread foot-and-mouth disease have
been blackmail by individuals, not terrorism. Known cases of food
contamination in various countries, or of threats to contaminate
food, have also proved to be the work of would-be blackmailers or
disgruntled employees.
* From the Aberdeen News, South Dakota, 2 May 2005:
Agroterrorism is a largely hypothetical problem...The United States
has never experienced an agroterror attack, but some of the hijackers
involved in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were known to have been
interested in agriculture and crop dusting.
The difference in a hypothetical problem and an emergent situation is merely execution.
Makes you wonder, doesn't it? If these guys were only on a suicide mission, why an interest in agriculture? Crop dusting gave them an "in" into pilot education and such sure, but agriculture...
* From USA Today, 9 May 2005:
Inspections of imported food at the nation's entry ports have declined since
the Department of Homeland Security took over the job in 2003, a new
government report says. The drop means the government is reducing its
first chance to discover a foreign disease or an act of "agroterrorism"
before the food is distributed nationwide.
It seems to me that the height of stupidity would be to forego and/or lessen the inspection of imported food. I mean, c'mon, if you were the bad guy and you saw something like this what would you do. Isn't there anybody up there in Washington whose job it is to think like the bad guys. If so, this is an example of them doing a piss poor job of it.
Your friendly neighborhood opinionated piece of crap,
puff
posted by Mark "Puff" Anderson | 10:39 AM
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